An AARP® Guide: Living with Diabetes Everything You Need to Know to Safeguard Your Health and Take Control of Your Life

by Perrin, Rosemarie; Braunstein, Seth

• ISBN13: 9781402730122
• ISBN10: 1402730128
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Sterling

Summary

Over 18.2 million people in the United States have some form of diabetes--and more than eight million of them are 60 years of age or older. Those who have been recently diagnosed may feel scared, confused, and full of questions. What is the difference between types 1 and 2? Will I have to take shots every day for the rest of my life? How can I prevent diabetes' debilitating long-term effects? And what should I do in case of an emergency--such as insulin shock? AARP provides the answers that diabetes sufferers and their caregivers need. Most of this valuable, tightly organized guide focuses on Type 2 Diabetes, the form most likely to develop in middle age or later. But there is also advice on how aging affects those with Type 1, which involves a serious, genetically inherited insulin imbalance. There are discussions on how the disease is contracted; what complications can arise; how the illness affects the organs; how to manage diabetes on a day-to-day basis; guidelines for exercise and weight control; and which organizations stand ready to help, both medically and financially. Special sections designed for quick and easy access highlight important information, and provide essential checklists that make it simpler to maintain your treatment and stay healthy. This is a must-have resource for everyone with diabetes, as well as for their families and support group.

Table of Contents

Biographies	p. VIII
Credits	p. X
Editorial Board	p. XI
Preface	p. XIII
Introduction	p. XV
Diabetes Defined	p. 1
What Is Diabetes?
Metabolism: From Food to Energy
What Are the Types of Diabetes?
How Many People Have Diabetes?
Why Is It More Common Today?
Urgency of Managing Diabetes
Living Well with Diabetes
Diagnosis and Treatment Planning	p. 17
The Diagnosis
Symptoms
Preventing Diabetes
Testing for Diabetes
Your Diabetes Health Care Team
Managing Diabetes	p. 35
Managing Means Planning
Diabetes Emergencies
The Big Picture-Managing Your Overall Health
Monitoring Your Blood Sugar	p. 47
How Is It Done?
New Types of Meters and Lancets
When You Need Insulin Therapy	p. 57
Types of Insulin
When to Take Insulin
Key Information to Tell Your Doctor
Using Injected Insulin
When to Call Your Health Care Provider
Storing Your Insulin
Other Methods of Taking Insulin
Looking to the Future
Medications for Type 2 Diabetes	p. 75
Diet and Exercise alone May Work
Medication for Type 2 Diabetes
Some Precautions If You Take Diabetes Medications
Meal Planning to Manage Diabetes	p. 81
Meal Planning and Your Diabetes Type
Understanding What You Eat
How to Make a Healthy Meal Plan
Eating Out
What About Sugar and Alcohol?
Eating to Stay Healthy
Exercise and Physical Activity	p. 99
Exercise and Blood Glucose
First Stop on the Road to Fitness
Complementary and Alternative Medicine	p. 109
Complementary? Alternative? Know the Difference
Commonly Used Uncommon Treatments
Before You Take the Plunge
What About Dietary Supplements?
Talk to Your Doctor
Hypoglycemia	p. 119
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia
What to Do
Long-Term Complications	p. 125
Preventing Complications
Cardiovascular Disease
Nerve Damage
Kidney Problems
Eye Problems
Mouth Infections
Foot Problems
Lifestyle Considerations	p. 151
When Stress Saps Your Strength
Diabetes and Sexual Problems
Educating Others
Your Lifestyle, Your Life
What's Ahead?	p. 163
Is There a Cure?
Improved Treatments
Looking to the Future
Resources	p. 169
Managing Your Diabetes When You Are Sick	p. 185
Travel Tips	p. 189
Diabetes Emergencies	p. 193
Index	p. 197
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