November is Diabetes Awareness Month

Torrance Memorial's Outpatient Diabetes Care staff are here to help you manage your diabetes.

It takes a team to manage diabetes and you are the most important participant in your diabetes care. This National #DiabetesMonth build a team of health professionals to get the care you need to improve your health.

Diabetes effects about 37 million American adults and children. That's about 11% of the U.S. population. Diabetes can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart, and is linked with some types of cancer.

But did you know, there's also good news? There is a lot you can do to manage diabetes and make it feel less scary and unknown.

Keeping your blood glucose more consistently “in-range” can help prevent many of the acute (sudden) and chronic (long-term) complications that can come from having diabetes.

Regardless of what type of diabetes you have, or how long you’ve had it, if you have questions about your self-care needs, speak with your physician about getting a referral to visit with us at the Torrance Memorial Outpatient Specialty Center in our Diabetes care office.

When you visit us for your training, which is also called, diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) you will meet individually with a Certified Diabetes Educator, to determine your diabetes learning needs, and discuss your diabetes self-care goals.

Our diabetes care staff are RNs (registered nurses) and RDNs (registered dietitian nutritionists) and are board-certified in providing diabetes care and education.

Our focus is to help you identify ways to reach your diabetes self-care goals in an individualized way, while also considering your daily habits and lifestyle values as part of your plan for self-care.

After your first visit with us, you can also attend our group classes as part of your ongoing diabetes education, to help further sharpen your diabetes self-management skills. Classes are taught by one of our diabetes educators, who will provide you with even more valuable diabetes self-management insight and education.

It takes a team to manage diabetes, whether you have Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, or Gestational Diabetes. YOU are the most important participant in your diabetes care.

We are on your team, and we are here to help you.

Here is an overview of what we do to support you on your journey with diabetes:

Diet

Healthy eating shouldn't be boring! We’ll show you how simple changes in your diet can greatly impact your blood glucose (blood sugar). You’ll learn about building meals that will help to keep your blood glucose in control, meet other important health care goals at the same time, and all while still including variety and foods you enjoy.

Exercise

Activity is magic medicine! We’ll share the latest guidelines on being active and how a regular physical activity routine is another important tool in your healthy self-care toolbox. We’ll explore strategies to incorporate activity into almost every person’s life.

Medications

Whether you’re on one diabetes medication or several, you’ll learn how your medications work, how timing can improve effectiveness, and what to watch out for – so you get the maximum benefit from each of them, to help you achieve your blood glucose goals.

Self-Monitoring your Blood Glucose

Self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) is key in helping you get to know your body. You’ll learn how your foods, medications, exercise, and other habits affect your blood glucose in real-time. If you are already SMBG, great. If not, we will teach you how.

Healthy Coping Strategies and Stress Management

Stress is a part of life. But a high level of stress can cause your blood glucose to go up. We’ll explore resources and methods that can help to manage stress in healthy ways.

Problem Solving

At one time or another, most people face problems with their diabetes self-management along with other parts of their daily lives.

Challenges can change over time and may seem frustrating. Problems with diabetes self-management may be minimal for some people, while for others there can be many.

Some examples:

• Lack of time to engage in diabetes self-care (exercise, SMBG, eating healthy)
• Financial burdens that prevent you from getting medications and/or supplies
• Distractions that keep you from sticking with your healthy eating or exercise plans

We’ll highlight some effective ways to solve diabetes self-care problems, so when they strike, you’ll feel better prepared to take them on and problem solve.

Managing diabetes is a journey that no one should travel alone, it takes a team. And remember - YOU are the most important member on that team. Our goal is helping you learn to better understand your diabetes and build your team, so that YOU are in charge of your diabetes.

We look forward to being on your team!

For more information on our Outpatient Diabetes Education program, click here