1. Health
2. Diabetes

blood sugar

• Article - How to Help Your Parent With Type 2 Diabetes Deal With Stress

  Effective strategies to help your parent with type 2 diabetes deal with stress.

• Article - Managing Your Parent's Type 2 Diabetes: Coping With the 5 Toughest Challenges

  Learn about the toughest challenges seniors with type 2 diabetes face and find ways you can help your parent with diabetes overcome these obstacles.

• Article - Monitoring Blood Glucose: What You Should Know to Help a Parent with Diabetes

  Monitoring the blood glucose of a parent with diabetes helps identify which treatments work best. Here are the basics of blood glucose monitoring.

• Article - 8 Ways to Help Your Parent With Diabetes Handle Sick Days

  Eight tips to help your parent with type 2 diabetes deal with illnesses.

• Article - 12 Common Diabetes Myths Debunked

  Discover the truth about 12 common diabetes myths so you can help your parent with type 2 diabetes sort fact from fiction.

• Article - 3 Acute Diabetes Complications You Can Help Your Parent Avoid

  Find out how to help your parent with type 2 diabetes avoid short-term complications such as low or high blood sugar (hypo- or hyperglycemia).

• Article - 15 Essential Diabetes Drug Tips

  15 tips for people with type 2 diabetes, and their caregivers, about taking oral medications

• Article - 2 Emergency Diabetes Complications You Can Help Your Parent Avoid

  Find out what you can do to help your parent with type 2 diabetes avoid two potentially life-threatening diabetes complications.

Blog Posts

• Blog Post - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People With Diabetes

  Find advice from self-help writer Stephen R. Covey in a guide for people with type 2 diabetes and their caregivers called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes.

• Blog Post - Should You Put Type 2 Diabetes to the Test?

  Researchers are asking whether daily self-monitoring is worth the effort and expense.

• Blog Post - Got a Parent With Diabetes? Chew on This

  A new chewing gum, infused with the widely-prescribed diabetes drug metformin, is in development.

• Blog Post - The Plot Thickens: Another Clue in the Alzheimer's-Diabetes Mystery

  New research may help explain the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Plus tips if you suspect your parent with type 2 diabetes has Alzheimer's disease.

• Blog Post - In Men With Type 2 Diabetes, Bedroom Blues May Signal a Broken Heart

  In men with type 2 diabetes, erectile dysfunction may be a warning sign for serious heart trouble, including heart attack and death.

• Blog Post - Diabetes: Can't Get No Respect -- And Why It Should

  Why people with type 2 diabetes -- and their caregivers -- should take the disease seriously.

• Blog Post - With Diabetes, Diet and Dumbbells Make a Difference

  Making lifestyle changes can help people at risk for type 2 diabetes prevent or delay the disease, includes diet and exercise tips.

• Blog Post - Diabetes Studies: Good News? Bad News? Who Knows?

  How to make sense of drug study findings for people caring for parents with type 2 diabetes.

• Blog Post - A Big Butt May Keep Diabetes at Bay

  New research suggests that body fat found around the buttocks may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

• Blog Post - Yelling and Nagging: Not the Way to Keep Someone With Diabetes on Track

  Practical advice on how to help your parent or partner with diabetes comply with health recommendations.

• Blog Post - Say What? Hearing Loss Common Among Adults with Diabetes

  NIH researchers discover that hearing loss is widespread among adults with type 2 diabetes.

• Blog Post - How to Take a Vacation With Diabetes

  How to help your parent with diabetes eat well -- and keep blood sugar and weight in check -- while on vacation.

Questions & Answers

• Question - How can I help my mother handle low blood sugar incidents?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - My parent’s blood sugar is going up and down from 275 to 43 on metformin and glipizide, what should we do?

  When blood sugar goes up and down on Metaglip, what does it mean? Diabetes patients must see their doctor when blood sugar goes up and down wildly.

• Question - How can I help my parent figure out when her blood sugar is too high?

  Blood sugar needs to be monitored often when someone has type 2 diabetes. How do you help a person with diabetes keep track of glucose levels?

• Question - Does stress affect my parent's blood sugar levels?

  My mom is diabetic and has a tendency to get upset and anxious. Does stress have an impact on her blood sugar level, and if so, what can I do to help?

• Question - What extra precautions should my dad with diabetes take when he has the flu?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should my active parent check his blood sugar during exercise?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can I help my mom deal with high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol?

  Along with high blood sugar, someone with diabetes might also have high blood pressure and cholesterol. But she can reduce all three the same way.

• Question - What's an A1c test and why is it important for my dad to take it?

  A diabetes expert gives you the scoop on A1c tests and why your parent with diabetes might need one.

• Question - Is it OK if my mom with type 2 diabetes drinks alcohol?

  Know the guidelines, dangers, and precautionary measures involved in mixing alcohol with type 2 diabetes and hypoglycemia.

• Question - What's carbohydrate counting and should my dad do it?

  A diabetes expert gives you the scoop on why your parent might want to count carbohydrates and what carb counting means.

• Question - What can I do to get my mom to take her diabetes pills, which she doesn't think are keeping her blood sugar in check?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should my dad, who’s scheduled to have an operation unrelated to his diabetes, keep up his normal diabetes routine?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should I let my dad, who has diabetes, drive?

  Help your parent with diabetes avoid hypoglycemic episodes while driving, and learn some legalities of driving with type 2 diabetes.

• Question - How can I help my mom, who seems really down about her diabetes diagnosis?

  Offers guidance on helping your parent deal with depression following a diabetes diagnosis.

• Question - Can the new drug Symlin help my overweight dad with diabetes?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should my father, who has type 2 diabetes, avoid carbohydrates?

  Explains whether it's okay to cut out carbs completely to quickly lower blood sugar following a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

• Question - Can a new diabetes drug also help my mother lose weight?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is type 2 diabetes less serious than type 1?

  My mom, just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, keeps it under control without taking insulin. So is type 2 diabetes less of a problem than insulin-dependent type 1?

• Question - How can we prevent my mom, who has type 2 diabetes, from constantly getting yeast infections and cystitis?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What precautions should my dad, who has type 2 diabetes, take when traveling?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How do I handle my dad's denial about his diabetes?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should I be concerned that my mom has lumps where she injects insulin?

  Lumps under the skin from insulin injections (lipohypertrophy) may appear in someone with diabetes. Insulin like Novolog or Humalog might avoid these.

• Question - My mom has type 2 diabetes, so does that mean I'll get it?

  Know your risk factors for type 2 diabetes if one or both parents have the disease -- and the steps to take to avoid developing diabetes later on.

• Question - What is insulin resistance?

  What "insulin resistance" means, how it affects people with type 2 diabetes, and what you can do to treat the condition.

• Question - Can you tell me about a drug called Sumitinib?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

Tips & Reflections

• Tip - How to Take the Ouch Out of Blood Sugar Testing

  Checking blood sugar levels to keep type 2 diabetes...

• Tip - Take Care When Choosing Over-the-Counter Drugs

  Many over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as cough...

• Tip - A Handy Way to Practice Portion Control

  Measuring food is a necessary part of how your parent...

• Tip - Medicare Covers Some Obesity Treatment

  Medicare now covers some obesity treatment. Read this tip to find out what treatments are included.

News

• News - Heart Attack Boosts Diabetes Risk

  THURSDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- After a heart...

• News - Diabetes Drugs Boost Heart Failure But Not Death

  THURSDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The widely used...

• News - A Full and Long Life, Despite Diabetes

  WEDNESDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Bob Cleveland...

• News - Standard Septic Shock Treatments Ineffective

  WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies...

• News - High Blood Sugar Boosts Women's Heart Disease Risk

  MONDAY, Jan. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Increased blood...

• News - Caffeine Could Spell Trouble for Diabetics

  MONDAY, Jan. 28 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests...

• News - Dogs Could Be a Diabetic's Best Friend

  SUNDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Irish researchers...

• News - Deaths Halt Part of Large Diabetes Trial

  WEDNESDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A large North...

• News - Aggressive Diabetes Therapy Lowers Death Risk, Study Finds

  WEDNESDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- People with type...

• News - Current Blood Sugar Control Test Results 'Inaccurate'

  FRIDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The current standard...