For most people, coping with diabetes is as easy or as difficult as the individual makes it. In the great majority of cases, diabetics should expect to be able to live a fairly normal life. The easiest method of coping with diabetes involves making sure you take some time to understand your condition, the disease, and how you need to manage it. Then set aside some time each day for self-management of your diabetes. And most important, follow up for the rest of your life with this self-management.
There is no doubt that diabetes is a serious disease and needs to be treated as such. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. But early diagnosis and patient self-management will greatly reduce and maybe even eliminate most of the serious complications that chronically affect those who don’t take time to care for themselves. It’s really up to you. If you take care to control your blood sugar every day, watch your blood pressure and cholesterol levels to keep them in line, and inspect your feet regularly for cuts or wounds, you will have done most of what is needed to be successful at coping with diabetes.
With a Supportive Family, Coping with Diabetes is Much Easier.
Everyone in the diabetic’s family has a role, even if they don’t have diabetes themselves. For example, everyone living in the same house as the diabetic plays a supportive role, and needs to understand the dietary needs of the diabetic, the medication regimen, if insulin or other medications are part of the treatment, and most important needs to know what to do in case of an emergency like hypoglycemia comes up and they are alone with the diabetic family member. The family should have emergency phone numbers handy, and understand how to help with insulin or with other dietary emergencies if the patient is unable to care for themselves in the case of a diabetic coma.
Older adults will have to have open and frank discussions about how the disease is affecting their relationship. Honest and open communication is crucial for the patient and plays a key role in coping with diabetes. Everything from the ability to work away from home to the impact on intimacy and sexual function needs to be honestly communicated about. This helps the patient and the family feel less stress, and has a positive impact in the health of the diabetic.
What is the Difference for Children Coping with Diabetes?
The effect of diabetes on children can be profound emotionally. They have their parents to help with the medical aspect of the condition, and to that extent have an advantage in that someone else is always looking after them. But adolescence has its difficulties for all children, and diabetes usually complicates the relationship between the child and their friends, teachers, and classmates. Others their age don’t understand the disease, and aren’t always sympathetic. Coping with diabetes sometimes means hiding the disease from their friends or classmates. This can be a problem if they become hypoglycemic and nobody with them understands what’s happening.
As they become older and approach adulthood, it can complicate relationships with the opposite sex. And if the relationship becomes serious, diabetes and its inherent complications must be discussed with a potential spouse long before thinking of marriage. Your child will need help coping with diabetes, and you should enlist the help of guidance counselors, members of their medical team, and clergy to be sure the diabetic child matures into a healthy adult, both physically and mentally.
