What Advice Have You Gotten for Living With Diabetes? Tell Us and Get a Free Book!

thanks for the info.

I don't have diabetes (yet), but have many of the high risk markers for it. Therefore I am making the changes that I'm able to make to improve my chances of either never acquiring it, or delaying it for a long time.

I think your book, if accurate and plainly written, could be invaluable. One would think that a book published by Harvard Health Publications would be a stickler for accuracy, but without reading it and asking my doctor, I couldn't make a judgement about its veracity.

I wish I had been encouraged to go on the insulin pump much earlier. It has made my life so much healthier and easier. I can't imagine living without it now.

I have just recently in the past 3 months been diagnosed with Diabetes ... It has taken the wind out of my sails and left me wondering what is ahead for me. Having just gone through a major surgery where my sugar jumped to 600 it is a scarey time for me.

Faith--I'm glad to hear the pump is working for you now!

Katherine, I'm sure this is a scary time for you. Rely on your doctors to help get things under control. Of course, you'll need to help them, but they should be able to give you good advice about medications. Hopefully you've also had the chance to meet with a nutritionist or registered dietician. If not, ask to see one. Good luck!

I think we are very fortunate to live in a time when there are so much medical knowledge to be had for our benefit. It is a shame so many generations before us had to suffer so much with diabetes.

I need a newer machine. I still have the stick finger method machine.

I don't have diabetes, but I have had some insulin issues that could very well lead to diabetes in the future. My doctor put me on the south beach diet, and told me to lose 30 pounds and it would really help a lot. The south beach diet is great, because it is high in fiber and relatively low in carbs, which is great for someone who is diabetic or high risk.

My parents are both diabetic, and I'm trying to get them on the south beach diet, I think it will really help them!

There is a lot that I do to control diabetes and it makes my life a lot easier.
*Be a factfinder. Knowing as much as possible is my best defence against diabetes. *Find out how your body uses food and what role insulin plays in this process.
*Never skip a meal or eat much later than usual.
*Become a snackpacker.
*Beware the hidden fats in things like sauces, stews, fried foods and pastries.
*Go nuts with fruits and vegetables.
*Get a move on. Exercise ,Excercise, excercise
And last of all
*Listen to your body.

I have recently in the last month been daignosed with diabetes.. i also have diabetic neuropathy... and they are doing a biopsy soon to see if i have breast cancer...

I am learning to do things to control my sugar levels and make them more normal, but i am having a difficult time doing this.. I coudl really use a program of some sort that would help me figure it all out and figure out what are good snacks and what are bad ones...

and not all these foods that i would not eat to even live..

My mother had diabetes and died from complications that arose with the disease. My sister has had it for over 20 years. The advice that my family received was of course telling us the best foods that a diabetic can eat but the best advice was to take it very seriously. You cannot play with diabetes. You have to watch the stress in your life, be aware of how you're feeling, watch when and what you eat, be careful of any activities you participate in, watch those sugar levels, do not hesitate to call a doctor or 911 if you feel ill, have candy around in case your sugar level goes too low (this has happened with my sister), be aware of everything.

Diabetes cannot be cured but it can be controlled. My sister has been off her insulin for five years but that does not mean she is cured, it just means that she has a good control over it but she still has to watch everything she watched when she was still taking insulin.

Diabetes doesn't kill you so much as the complications caused by it. My mother had heart problems, eye sight problems, numbness in her hands and legs, and other things caused from her diabetes.

Best advice - Do not play games with it. People do die from it. It's very dangerous. Not only does the person who has it suffers but their loved ones suffer too. I don't know how many times I rushed my mom and sister to the ER because of this disease. I watched my mother slowly die from it's complications. Thank goodness my sister has super control over it because she now has colon cancer and is doing her best to fight that.

I developed diabetes as a result of having solumedrol IV treatments. It was a very difficult time in my life.

It is beyond the time for the free books, but my advice is take diabetes seriously and take care of your skin. I have serious and rare skin problems that I hope do not become life threatening some day.