Age-Related Changes in Diabetes: How To Control Diabetes
While many type 2 diabetics are aware that their condition necessitates continuing care, it’s also critical to understand the changes in diabetes which may eventually worsen as people age. As a result, older diabetics will probably need to change their treatment strategy several times throughout the years. Chronic high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, poses a serious risk to diabetics since it can result in a wide range of problems, including kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, blindness, lower limb amputation, heart disease, and blindness. See Our Previous post on Diabetes: Types | Prevention | Treatment
The good news is that these consequences can be avoided or delayed with effective diabetes care. For this reason, it’s crucial for older persons with diabetes to maintain a balanced diet, engage in regular exercise, and take their medicine as directed. Prescription medications, diet, and activity guidelines will probably need to be modified over time as type 2 diabetes worsens. The fact that many persons with type 2 diabetes eventually require insulin therapy does not indicate that they are not managing their diabetes properly.
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As you age, your body will change as your diabetes progresses.
Along with diabetes’ progression, aging also causes physical decline in older people. They can begin to develop diabetes problems that call for a change in their diabetes care strategy. For instance, as diabetes worsens, an older adult may experience nerve pain or develop a separate condition like osteoarthritis, which creates the ideal conditions for decreased mobility and a greater likelihood that your diabetes management plan will require medical intervention to get back on track.
A trained diabetes care and education specialist is one of the healthcare specialists who may be able to help older people manage their age-related conditions (CDCES). The senior adult’s diet, exercise routine, and medication management plan can be modified by these healthcare professionals so they can maintain a high quality of life.
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Diabetics of any age can best control their condition by:
- Healthy eating: While there isn’t one diet that works for all diabetics, it’s crucial to realize that dietary choices can affect blood sugar levels. Focusing on putting half of your plate in veggies at every meal, making it a habit to read nutritional labels, and knowing more about appropriate portion sizes are all beneficial for people with diabetes.
- Be Active: Diabetics can increase their sensitivity to insulin by combining aerobic, resistance-training, and flexibility-enhancing activities.
- Try to maintain a healthy weight: A diabetic’s risk of health issues is increased by obesity. Even a 10- to 15-pound weight loss can help with diabetes management.
- Do a blood sugar check: Target blood sugar levels may alter as people age. Older diabetics should check their blood sugar levels more frequently, especially if they are on insulin.
Even though it can be difficult to manage a chronic, progressive condition like diabetes, you can stop its progression in your elderly loved one by ensuring that they take the best possible care of themselves each and every day. To stay on top of diabetes care and have plans in place to stop additional health issues, make sure to maintain regular contact with their doctor and CDCES.
Call (610) 765-0497 to find out more about Care At Heart or to make an in-home care request.