(NAPSI)—Nearly 26 million Americans live with diabetes, and 90−95 percent of them have type 2 diabetes. For many of these people, managing blood sugar can feel overwhelming. Not only do they need to manage high blood sugar, but they should also be aware of ways to manage low blood sugar, which can make a person feel dizzy, shaky and sweaty.
Certain diabetes medications, skipping meals, irregular mealtimes or excessive exercise may cause low blood sugar, and if it’s not treated quickly it can have serious consequences such as fainting and could require emergency medical care. Since a low blood sugar episode can happen at any time, including while driving, exercising or while at work, it’s important to know the causes and symptoms, and have a diabetes management plan in place.
With that in mind, the American College of Endocrinology and Merck teamed up to create The Blood Sugar Basics Game Plan, a step-by-step educational program designed to help educate people with diabetes, their families and their loved ones about the importance of controlling high and low blood sugar as part of a successful diabetes management plan.
“One of the toughest things about managing type 2 diabetes can be the feeling that you have to change everything about your lifestyle all at once,” says Dr. Etie Moghissi, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “That’s why we’ve developed The Game Plan, available on BloodSugarBasics.com to offer easy-to-understand goals to help people with type 2 diabetes make important lifestyle changes and help manage both high and low blood sugar.”
The Game Plan offers the following tips as part of a successful diabetes treatment plan:
• Goal #1: Huddle—Get Organized and Set Goals: Meet with a diabetes healthcare team member (primary care provider, endocrinologist and/or diabetes educator) to set personalized goals with The Playbook, and learn about the causes and symptoms of high and low blood sugar.
• Goal #2: Enter The Nutrition Zone—Develop Meal Plans: Take small steps toward meal planning with the Healthy Meals and Snacks Planner, a tracker for patients to help make sure they are eating healthy meals and diabetes-friendly snacks at the right times.
• Goal #3: Get In The Game—Get Active: Find easy ways to get active using the Weekly Activity Tracker, a resource designed to help patients work with their healthcare provider to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine and record progress.
• Goal #4: Check The Scoreboard—Review Your Progress: Schedule follow-up appointments with a healthcare team member to assess what worked and what didn’t, and continue to work toward and/or maintain goals by managing the ABC’s of diabetes-A1C (also known as blood sugar), blood pressure and cholesterol.
More information can be found at www.BloodSugarBasics.com, which offers resources to help work with a healthcare provider to develop a “game plan,” including diet, exercise and, if appropriate, medication.
