Caring for Adults
As our loved ones with diabetes age, they may need your help managing their diabetes, from diet and exercise to monitoring blood glucose levels to meeting with healthcare professionals. Whether you're a caregiver, a spouse, parent or relative, you're filling a vital role in helping your loved one stay healthy.
Supporting your loved one starts with educating yourself about diabetes. For simple tips you can use each day, check out our Guide for Caregivers series, powered by the motivational coaches at Fit4D.
Independence and Interdependence
We spend our childhood and adolescence learning how to be independent adults. In fact, many of us link our self-confidence to our own self-reliance. As a result, it can be a difficult adjustment for mature adults to first admit they need help and then accept it. As a caregiver to an adult, it's important to be sensitive to the value people feel in self-reliance. Keeping your loved one informed, involved and as self-reliant as possible will help you both stay energized and happy.
Medications and Treatment
As a caregiver it's important to be informed about the medications your loved one is taking and what their treatment options are. Their healthcare team will create a diabetes treatment plan for them which may include insulin, oral medications or both. To learn more about diabetes medications, click here.
Blood Sugar Testing
Regular blood sugar testing is an integral part of diabetes management. As a caregiver it's important for you to know why testing is important, how it can help your loved one feel better, and the types of tests that they should be getting done regularly. To learn more, click here.
Nutrition
Nutrition is just as important as testing when it comes to managing diabetes. What your loved one eats will have a direct, and sometimes immediate, effect on their health. But nutrition doesn’t need to be complicated, as long as you know the basics. To learn more, click here.