Diabetes Care

Download our Diabetes Introduction packet for an overview to the condition.

Prediabetes means you’re at high risk for diabetes – but there’s still time to turn things around.

It’s time to take your foot off the gas.	Driving over the limit has consequences.
Eating sweets is a slippery slope.	Once you tip into diabetes, there’s no going back.

There are different maintenance schedules for people with diabetes, people with prediabetes, and healthy people who want to prevent diabetes.

If you want to stay on course around diabetes, follow the recommended maintenance schedule to know when to visit your doctor and what to ask for.

For patients with Diabetes:

Your diabetes care team will build a personalized relationship with you. They will communicate with you and your
other doctors about diagnostic testing, monitoring and disease treatment.

Connecting with your care team may include doctor visits, telephone check-ins, educational classes and nutritional
planning.

Your diabetes care team includes:

• Primary care: Your primary care provider manages the majority of your day-to-day needs. They are
  trained experts who can provide information and who will partner with you to develop a management plan that works
  for you. You may have telephone or virtual visits to check in on your progress.
• Diabetes specialists:
  • Registered dietitians (and certified diabetes educators) who will assist you with healthy
    food choices and lifestyle changes, an essential part of living with diabetes successfully.
  • Clinical pharmacists for medication management and questions about your current medications
  • Optometrists and ophthalmologists for regular eye care
  • Podiatrists for foot care and preventive checks
  • Behavioral therapists to treat depression, which can get in the way of successful self-care.
• Other PacMed medical staff members: These include our nurses and medical assistants. These
  educators can help you with blood sugar testing, management, coaching, healthy eating choices and much more.

Bring a few things to your diabetes care team visit:

• Your family and friends are an important part of your care team and are invited to join you at
  any of your appointments and education sessions.
• Your blood sugar levels: We ask that you check and bring your
  daily blood sugars to this appointment. If you keep a log—bring it with you. If you keep your blood sugars on a
  meter—bring your meter. If you keep track on a computer—bring a printout.
  • You may have more frequent appointments until your blood sugars return to normal.
• What you eat: We need to know the foods you eat and when you eat them in a typical 24-hour day, including snacks. You can write down everything you eat in a day, take pictures of what you eat on your phone or if you keep track on an app, bring in a sample day.
• What exercise you do: We need to know how often you exercise and for how long.
• What medications you might be on (especially if you are new to PacMed).