Diabetes and your doctor

A diabetes diagnosis can be an overwhelming one. It is important to arm yourself with the right knowledge about your condition and choose a doctor you are comfortable with. These guidelines will walk you through the process.

Waiting too long between doctor visits and assuming everything will stay the same in the interim is like driving without looking and assuming that the road is straight. Most people with diabetes visit the doctor every three to four months, but that can vary depending on your health status, including your glucose levels and how stable they are.

Ask your doctor how often he'd like to see you, and keep those appointments. If you go for long periods without seeing your doctor and your glucose is not under control, you'll be asking for trouble.

If you love your doctor, it's fine to stick with him — he knows you best and probably diagnosed your diabetes in the first place. But while your GP may be the one watching over your diabetes in general, your feet, kidneys, eyes — even your diet and exercise — will need extra-special care because diabetes affects your whole body. In fact, it takes a team of people to properly manage diabetes, so work with your doctor to put a team in place.

Simple: just become a diabetes student. Research diabetes, as well as any other medical conditions or concerns you may have by gathering information from reputable websites and publications. This is a great start!

• Generally, government health websites and those maintained by medical associations, large non-profit groups dedicated to a single medical condition and university medical centres have the most trustworthy, up-to-date medical information.
• Make notes and create questions. However, don't hand your doctor a huge sheaf of printouts and expect her response to them during your visit.
• And don't try to diagnose your symptoms or self-prescribe your remedies. It's still up to your doctor to do that.