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To the Editor,
November is National Diabetes Month
Diabetes remains a major chronic disease in the United States and West Virginia has one of the highest rates in the country. Lions Clubs International focuses on diabetes as one of its 5 global causes.
Learning to manage your diabetes through healthy lifestyle choices can be challenging. Making small changes every day can prevent or delay complications like chronic kidney disease, heart disease or nerve damage.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a focus on diabetes on their website "Living with Diabetes".
Here are four steps that the CDC recommends to help you manage your diabetes and live a long, productive life.
Step 1: Ask your doctor to refer you to Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support services;
Step 2: Know your diabetes ABC's - A1C test, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking;
Step 3: Learn how to live well with diabetes. Learn coping skills. Ask for help if you feel down. You can go on to become depressed - ask for help. Make healthy food choices. Be physically active. Know what to do every day - take your medications, check your feet for issues, brush your teeth and floss, know how often to check your blood sugar and keep track of it, check blood pressure and don't smoke.
Step 4 - Get routine care to stay healthy. See your health care team at least twice a year to find and treat any problems early.
Weirton Lions Club has a lot of good information to share on diabetes - contact Bernice Pitcock for information.
Bernice Pitcock
Weirton Lions Club