Living life with type 2 diabetes

How can my healthcare team help?

Regular communication with your healthcare team is an important part of managing and controlling your type 2 diabetes, so that you can keep living life how you want. Care for type 2 diabetes can vary depending on your own personal needs and where you are located, but generally they can support by:

Offering

healthcare support and advice

Helping

you to understand your treatment options

Providing

tools and resources to support your lifestyle goals

Living with a long-term condition like type 2 diabetes can be challenging, so it’s really important that you feel confident in communicating with your healthcare team. To help you feel more confident in your conversations with your doctor, it may help to try the following tips:¹

Write down any questions

or talking points beforehand. This will help to structure your conversation during your appointment.

Be completely honest

about your experiences and concerns. That way, your doctor can give you the best advice for you.

Seek support

if you would feel more confident with extra support, you could even take someone with you to your appointment to help you keep track of all the information that you’re given.

Treatments for type 2 diabetes

You’ll likely have questions about how your type 2 diabetes will be treated. Your healthcare team will be able to answer these questions and prescribe the recommended treatment for you.

It is important to keep in mind that risk factors like blood sugar, body weight, blood pressure and the protection of the heart and the kidneys are all interconnected. In the best case, medications should help manage more than one individual risk factor.²

There are lots of different types of medication to help manage your type 2 diabetes, including:^3,4

Metformin – Reduces the amount of glucose in the blood and helps the insulin produced by your body to work more effectively
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors – Reduce the amount of glucose in your blood by helping the kidneys pass excess glucose through the urine
Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists or GLP-1 analogues – Increase the amount of insulin released by the pancreas which reduces the amount of glucose in your blood
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors – Block the action of an enzyme called DPP-4. This inhibition helps your body to regulate insulin and glucose levels
Sulfonylureas – Reduce the amount of glucose in your blood by helping the pancreas produce more insulin
Insulin – Supplements the natural insulin your body produces to help reduce the amount of glucose in your blood

Each therapy has a different role in managing your condition, so be sure to take your treatments as directed by your doctor.

Your doctor will also advise you to make some lifestyle changes, such as changes to your diet and more regular exercise, to help manage your blood sugar level.⁴

Staying on top of your type 2 diabetes

Speaking to your doctor about your symptoms can ensure that your symptoms are managed in a way that is most appropriate for your situation.

Your doctor may have suggested that a change of lifestyle is necessary to help manage your type 2 diabetes and help control your symptoms. While there are many benefits to a healthy diet and regular exercise, changing your lifestyle can seem like an overwhelming task, but you don’t have to make these changes all at once. The key is to make small, practical changes, such as:⁵

Walking

If and when you can – this could be as simple as: taking the stairs instead of the elevator; parking the car, a little further away; getting off the bus one stop earlier.

Do household chores

These allow you to move and stretch a lot, like raking leaves, washing the car or gardening.

Active play with children and pets

Or, alternatively taking a walk in the park with friends.

Tracking your food intake

Using a journal or app can help you identify habits of overeating and gives you better control over your diet.

Swapping sugary drinks

For example fruit juices, out with water if you can, or drinking no added sugar versions of drinks.

Adapting your diet

Eating more foods rich in heart-healthy fats such as fish, nuts and seeds. Also, think about using vegetable oils as an alternative to frying with butter, ghee or lard.

Reducing carbohydrate intake

Try and cut down on the number of carbohydrates in your meals. Replace some of the white rice or pasta on your plate with green vegetables or try whole grain alternatives which are less
processed.

Reducing alcohol intake

Lower the amount of alcohol you drink. The recommended daily limit for people with diabetes is one drink a day for women, and two for men.

Reducing salt intake

Cutting down on your salt intake, buying low salt versions and not adding extra salt to your meals.

Your emotional experience with type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is not only a physical disease; it can also have a significant impact on your mental health.⁶ Rapidly changing blood-sugar level, fatigue and the daily responsibilities associated with managing a long-term condition aren’t always easy to deal with, but it’s important to be kind to yourself, and to know where you can turn for help if you need it.

Anger, denial, fear and depression

are common responses to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.⁶ Being diagnosed with a long-term condition is tough and it will take some time to adjust to your new routines. In the meantime, it’s important to be kind to yourself and take things day-by-day until you get adjusted.

Speaking to close friends or loved ones

about the way you are feeling might help to lighten the load and support you as you get used to your new routine.

Joining online communities or support groups

can provide extra help and encouragement along your journey with type 2 diabetes. The people within these support groups can also help to address your concerns and can give advice based on real life experiences with the condition.

Depression and anxiety are serious conditions

that are common among people living with type 2 diabetes.⁶ There are a lot of different reasons that you might be feeling depressed or anxious but it’s important not to ignore the signs – your mental health is extremely important and plays a huge role in your quality of life.

For further information, or if you just want to talk, there are various helplines available that can offer support.

Did you know:

As many as 40% of people with type 2 diabetes said they have struggled with their psychological wellbeing since being diagnosed.⁶

There are links between type 2 diabetes and depression, so it’s important to seek help from your healthcare team if you’ve not been feeling like yourself for an extended period of time.⁶

References

American Diabetes Association. Getting the most out of your doctor’s appointment. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org/sites/default/fifiles/2019-10/ADA_2019_ADM_Questions_for_Dr_Visit%20%281%29.pdf (Last accessed: October 2021).
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Type 2 Diabetes. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/type-2-diabetes (Last accessed: October 2021).
Nasri H, Rafifieian-Kopaei M. Metformin: Current Knowledge. J Res Med Sci. 2014;19(7):658–64.
Davies M., et al. Management of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes, 2018. A consensus report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Diabetologia. 2018;61:2461–98.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diabetes Diet, Eating, and Physical Activity. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/diet-eating-physical-activity (Last accessed: October 2021).
Kalra S, Jena BN, Yeravdekar R. Emotional and Psychological Needs of People with Diabetes. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2018;22(5):696–704.

Job code: PC-CRP-102667

Essential diabetes information