This site is possible thanks to the help and assistance of an RN, BSN  diabetes nurse educator with diabetes who does not wish to be named; she is well-qualified to be our expert.

She offers this advice in coping with diabetes:

• Diabetes is a very complicated disease -- emotionally and physically.
• No one likes to test their blood, but it's better than the consequences -- of feeling lousy, poor control, or not picking up on blood sugar levels too high or too low to remedy.
• The factor most people don't consider is that when sugar levels are regulated during a hospital stay, the "patient" is on a schedule of regular meals and snacks; that schedule must be maintained to avoid hypo- or hyperglycemic episodes.
• Not maintaining sugar levels can affect one's moods immensely. While a healthy person gets grouchy because of a missed meal, you must multiply that reactive feeling by more than 100 to appreciate how a diabetic reacts to altering his or her eating schedule.
•  It's hard to convince people that if they take care of themselves, even though it's a pain, they'll feel better; they've usually felt bad for so long that they forget what good feels like.
• 6 small meals a day are usually better than 3 larger ones.
• Too many people equate insulin with a cure. Insulin plus work is a way to make coping with the condition easier, but it still takes work.
• Dealing with the psychological aspects (of diabetes) is a huge undertaking.

She says that "the patient sometimes may feel he has lost all control, and that his only control is to not control. But once someone recognizes that while it is difficult to live with a chronic condition, that it isn't impossible, he can then appreciate that the efforts necessary to cope with his condition are well worth it. I like to tell people to get in the habit of doing as much maintenance on their bodies as they do with their cars. If someone drives a vehicle for a year without changing the oil, it's going to lock up on them and ruin the engine. Doing simple maintenance -- even though it's a pain and costs a bit -- is better than losing the car. And you can't buy a new body. If a person with diabetes eats right and checks his blood sugar levels, then his engine will run better, too."

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