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Your Diabetes Team: 7 People You Don't Want to Live Without
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In order to live well with diabetes, it's vital that you have the right professional support.
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Primary care doctors provide 80 to 95 percent of all diabetes care in the country. They can be the vital anchor of a team of diabetes experts devoted to your care that may also include nutritionists, endocrinologists, nurse practitioners and an array of other professionals.
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) encourages all people with diabetes to ask their primary doctor to help them assemble their own multidisciplinary team. It can pay dividends.
One report by the NDEP (a joint program of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) cites studies that found that people with diabetes who received team care averaged substantially shorter hospital stays and fewer diabetic complications. Here are some people whom you might want on your team.
• Registered dietitian. A registered dietitian (RD) is a trained nutritionist who may also be a certified diabetes educator. It’s wise to work with someone specializing in diabetes when you develop your nutrition plan and set your weight goals.
• Certified diabetes educator (CDE). A CDE is a licensed professional, often trained as an R.N. or registered dietitian, who helps with lifestyle questions and diabetes management. She can help people with diabetes meet the challenges of medications, glucose monitoring and insulin issues.
• Eye doctor. Your eye doctor should know how to spot and treat diabetic eye disease and insist on annual exams.
• Foot doctor. Diabetes puts you at risk for serious foot and lower leg problems. Examine your feet daily and see a doctor if you have sores, blisters or calluses.
• Dentist. Diabetes increases risk of gum disease, which can complicate glucose control. Tell your dentist that you have diabetes and visit every six months.
• Exercise trainer. Exercise is essential to glucose control. Find a trainer or exercise physiologist who understands the special requirements of designing an exercise program for someone with diabetes. Make sure the program is approved by your doctor.
• You. You are the captain of your care-management team. Ultimately your care is in your hands. To learn more about how to live with and manage diabetes, go to ndep.nih.gov or visit niddk.nih.gov.
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