Routine checkups

How often should your parent with type 2 diabetes see her diabetes doctor? The ADA recommends quarterly appointments for people who take insulin or who have trouble controlling their glucose levels, and two or three annual visits for others with diabetes. At these visits your parent's physician will review her blood glucose numbers to see if she's in her target range, since managing blood sugar is the most important way for her to feel her best and prevent long-term complications. Make sure your parent brings her logbook to these appointments.

During these checkups, your parent's healthcare provider should also review your parent's plan to address high or low blood sugar episodes, discuss any lifestyle changes and medication goals, and check on her medication usage and treatment plan. If your parent smokes, her doctor should immediately refer her to a counselor to help her quit, and he should follow up at subsequent checkups to see if she's broken the habit.

Also on her initial visit, your parent's physician should refer her to a diabetes educator, a health care professional who can teach your parent how to manage the disease and avoid complications.

Also at these appointments your parent's physician will want to assess whether social, mental, or emotional conditions, such as isolation, cognitive impairment, depression, or denial, have an impact on her ability to manage her own diabetes care.

Quarterly foot checks

People with diabetes can develop a variety of foot problems. Since even routine ailments can lead to serious trouble if left unchecked, your parent's doctor should examine her feet at routine checkups for any sores, ulcers, blisters, or calluses that may require treatment.

Quarterly infection checks

High blood sugar impairs your parent's immune system, limiting her ability to fight off bacteria and viruses that cause infection. That's why people with diabetes are more prone to bacterial and fungal skin infections. Any breaks in the skin, redness, or wounds that won't heal should be examined by your parent's doctor, who should also conduct a routine skin check, especially at insulin injection sites. People with diabetes are also more prone to vaginal and bladder infections, and the doctor should ask about such concerns at regular visits as well.

Your parent should also get a yearly flu shot and a pneumonia vaccine to help prevent these common illnesses. Check with your parent's physician to see if she needs a booster shot against pneumonia.

Quarterly blood pressure and weight checks

Your parent's doctor will want to keep close tabs on her blood pressure and weight, both of which will be measured at routine visits. Here's why:

If your parent has high blood pressure, also called hypertension, her heart has to work much harder to pump blood, and her doctor will advise her about lifestyle changes and drug therapy that can help with this condition. Hypertension is also a contributor to kidney and eye diseases associated with diabetes.

Carrying excess pounds in any amount can also complicate diabetes management and puts your parent at greater risk for other related health ailments, including hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. Even modest weight loss of just 5 to 10 pounds can improve blood sugar levels and reduce cardiovascular risks. In addition to her weight, your parent's body mass index, or BMI (which measures her weight in relation to her height to assess her amount of body fat), should be regularly checked.

Biannual A1c test

The A1C test, also known as the HbA1c test, is a blood analysis that determines glucose control over the previous two to three months. It does so by measuring the amount of the protein hemoglobin found in red blood cells. The ADA recommends this test at least twice a year for people whose diabetes is under control; people who have changed therapies or who aren't meeting blood glucose goals should be tested quarterly. The test results give a good indication about how the treatment plan is working. It's a bit like a batting average in baseball, because it gives an overall assessment of success, not just a look at how things are going on a day-to-day basis.