Living with type 2 diabetes requires ongoing management: being mindful of what you eat, exercising regularly, and monitoring your blood sugar. For most, it also means taking medication as directed. But even when you’re doing everything right, diabetes can change over time. Regularly assessing how well symptoms are being managed is an important part of treatment.
Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong condition that has two core causes: the pancreas not making the right amount of insulin and the body’s cells not taking in glucose (sugar) as they should. “That tends to get worse over time,” says Laurie Kane, MD, an endocrinologist at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California. Due to these changes, the diabetes treatment plan you follow may require adjustments over the years to help keep things under control.
Knowing when and if you need to make treatment plan changes can be tricky. Some symptoms, such as blurry vision and losing weight despite eating more, may be more noticeable. Others, such as fatigue and dry eye, are harder to recognize as a sign that it may be time for a treatment change. “Diabetes can be a silent disease,” says Dr. Kane. That’s why it’s important to work with your primary care provider or endocrinologist to monitor it closely. “We really want your numbers at the levels that have been proven in research studies to prevent complications,” she adds.
The most important number to be aware of is your hemoglobin A1C, which measures the average amount of sugar in your blood over the previous 3 months. “A1C is our main measurement to understand your average blood glucose. It’s used to diagnose diabetes and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment,” says Kane. The higher the A1C number, the higher the amount of blood sugar in your body. According to the American Diabetes Association, an A1C below 7 percent is the goal for most adults who have diabetes.
Is your treatment plan for type 2 diabetes working as well as it should to keep these measurements in the healthy range? Take this assessment to find out.
