How You Can Help Your Loved One with Diabetes
Diabetes is tough.
When you have diabetes,
you need to eat healthy food, stay active,
control your weight, take your medicine,
and check you blood glucose (sugar) to
see how you are doing. And that's on top
of handling all the other things in life!
No wonder a person with diabetes can
feel stressed out and afraid.
Good diabetes care also means controlling
the
ABCs of diabetes to avoid having a
heart attack, a stroke, or other diabetes
problems.
A is for the A1c test that measures
blood glucose control,
B is for blood pressure,
and
C is for cholesterol.
You want the best for your loved ones with
diabetes — whether they are family members or
friends. Maybe you are looking for ways to ease
the pressure your mother feels. Or maybe you
would like to help your husband take better control
of his diabetes. It's a hard disease to handle alone.
You can make a big difference in how well your
loved one copes with diabetes.
Use these tips to get started today.
Tip 1
Learn about diabetes.
There is a lot to learn about living
well with diabetes. Treatment is
changing and we are learning more
every day. You can use what you
learn to help your loved one.
- Attend a class.
- Look on the Internet.
- Ask the doctor or nurse how you can learn more.
Tip 2
Understand your loved
one's diabetes.
Each person's experience with diabetes
is different. What things are hard for
your friend to manage? What things
are easy?
Tip 3
Find out what your
loved one needs.
Try asking these three questions.
- What do I do that helps you with
your diabetes?
- What do I do that makes it harder for
you to manage your diabetes?
- What can I do to help you more than I do now?
Tip 4
Talk about your feelings.
Diabetes affects you, too. Telling your loved one
how you feel can help both of you.
Tip 5
Offer practical help.
Instead of nagging, find ways to be helpful.
Ask what would help your loved one most.
- Offer to go to the doctor with your father
or mother.
- Take a walk with your spouse.
- Cook a tasty and healthy meal for a friend.
Tip 6
Try a new approach.
When things aren't going right, try something
new. Find one thing that works and build
from there.
Tip 7
Get help.
Many people can help you help your loved one
with diabetes.
n Find a diabetes support group in the health
section of your newspaper or on the Internet.
n Ask your health care provider about ways to
get help if your loved one is sad or depressed.
n See the resource list for groups to contact.
Get started today.
I will take these three actions to help my loved one:
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Where to go for help.
- American Association of Diabetes Educators
1-800-338-3633 or www.diabeteseducator.org
Find the name of an educator and resources in your community
to help you learn about diabetes.
- American Diabetes Association
1-800-DIABETES or www.diabetes.org
Ask for information about diabetes care.
- American Dietetic Association
1-800-877-1600 or www.eatright.org
Find a dietitian to help you and your loved ones eat healthy foods.
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
1-800-JDF-CURE or www.jdrf.org
Find out about type 1 diabetes.
- National Diabetes Education Program
1-800-438-5383 or www.ndep.nih.gov
Call or visit the website for information about diabetes prevention and control.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
1-800-860-8747 or www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
Find out more about diabetes self-care.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Diabetes Translation
1-877-232-3422 or www.cdc.gov/diabetes
Click on "State-based Programs" for information on government contacts in your state.
From the The National Diabetes Education Program
NIH Publication No. 04-5485
January 2004
http://www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/pubs/TipsHelping_Eng.pdf (PDF file) [PDF help]
Also see
tips for supporting your family member or friend with diabetes
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