Empower Your Support Team to Help You Manage Your Diabetes

When you have diabetes, a key part of management is having a strong support system. Your support system can include family and friends who know about your condition and how to help you if, for example, you experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar, which can result in confusion, shakiness, headaches, and even loss of consciousness).  They should be advised of medicines you take and the foods you eat to help you if you have a problem.

But as much as your friends and family want to support you, they may be somewhat uncomfortable about offering advice or monitoring how you manage your condition. They also do not want to come across as overly critical, which will not help you or your relationship with them.

You want willing participants as part of your support system who understand what your expectation are from them. Here are five things you can ask of your network to help them support you to manage your condition.

Become knowledgeable: You might suggest one of your support team attend a support group, where both you and your friend or family member learn ways to cope with the disease and the feelings that accompany having diabetes. Your support team can assist at times when you just want to vent about having diabetes and all you need is someone to listen and understand why you are feeling concern and frustration.

Attend doctor’s appointments:  Invite someone who is helping you manage your condition to attend a doctor’s appointment with you. The more they understand about your condition and what you need to do to manage it regarding medications, diet, potential problems; the more they can help you when an issue comes up. Encourage them to ask questions when they accompany you to these appointments.

Encourage healthy eating: Your support team can be part of your decision making when it comes to healthy eating. This does not mean you are encouraging someone to hover over you at mealtime, but it will help if your network understands what are the best strategies for your diet and not only suggests better meal choices, but joins with you in partaking of these foods.

Participate in exercise or other outside activities: Exercise can be more fun when you have someone to do it with. Your friend or family member also will benefit if they join you in exercise activities several times a week. If not exercise, possibly someone will want to participate with you in an extracurricular activity – card games, joining a volunteer organization or helping at community events – to keep your spirits up and your attitude positive.

Be encouraging and positive:  While you are doing your best to maintain your daily diabetes management regime, you may suffer setbacks at times. Let your support team know that you value encouragement to stay on track, but nagging may cause guilt and discouragement. You look forward to positive suggestions and advice not lectures.

Having a chronic condition can be very discouraging and you may feel depressed or low at times. That is why having a strong support team on your side, encouraging you and even participating with you in management can be so crucial to your success in dealing with the disease and maintaining your health.