About Diabetes

Finding out that you or your loved one has diabetes can be challenging. And while this may affect you for the rest of your life, you can still have a hand in managing how it affects you.

Being educated about your condition is key, the more you know, the more you can do to prevent short and long term complications. And the more confident you are with your health care regime, the more you can get on with llife.

We’ve created these pages to give you an overview of some of the issues that may be affecting you. Please always consult with your healthcare professional.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body does not make, or does not properly use, insulin. Insulin is the hormone that helps your body use the energy from sugar, starches and other foods. With Type 1 diabetes, the body stops creating or using insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, the body develops a resistance to insulin. Both can be inherited diseases and Type 2 diabetes can be caused by lifestyle issues such as obesity.

What is Blood Glucose Testing?

Each day you make choices for your health-choices about what and when to eat, how active to be, and so on. Blood glucose testing can be an important part of diabetes management because it can show you how well your choices are working. The results from your blood glucose meter provide immediate feedback, which can help you understand how different factors are impacting your blood glucose levels. But testing is not just about getting a test result. It's also about knowing how to interpret each result and how to take action. Your goal should be to keep your blood glucose in the target range recommended by your health care team, and avoid going either too high or too low. Once you know your blood glucose level, you can use the information to adjust your food, exercise or medication, so that you can feel your best. Keeping your blood glucose level under control is one of the best ways to stay healthy and reduces your risk of diabetes complications.

Various factors determine when you should check your blood glucose. Please always consult with your healthcare professional.