Voices of Diabetes

Note: Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE is a paid consultant for Novo Nordisk and wrote this story on behalf of Novo Nordisk

You visit your primary care provider or endocrinologist a few times each year. During those appointments, you and your healthcare provider have a lot to do. Time is of the essence. To get the most out of your visits, use these checklists to prepare ahead and be ready for your provider at your appointments.

Before your visits:

• Get your blood glucose (sugar) records organized. Analyze the past few weeks for patterns – when are your blood glucose levels just right, too high, or too low? Record your observations.
  
  
• Jot down your questions. List them in order of priority to make sure you ask the most important ones first.
  
  
• Be in the know about the tests and checks you need at each visit or annually to check for complications and keep you healthy. These are the standards of medical care for diabetes and include tests for kidney, nerve, and circulatory function as well as others.
  
  
• Maintain a record of the tests and checks you have had done and the results. Bring this along to your visits. Ask about the tests you may need and record results your healthcare provider has in your chart. 

At your visits:

• Get your records and questions out and accessible.
  
  
• Have a list of the medications you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements.
  
  
• Take your shoes and socks off to ensure that your provider inspects your feet and does the needed nerve and circulatory testing.
  
  
• Ask about referrals you may need to other healthcare providers, such as an eye doctor for your annual eye exam or a diabetes education program for initial or follow-up self-management education.

The best thing you can do is be honest about your daily self-care behaviors and open about concerns you have with your current diabetes care plan. Let your healthcare provider know what is and isn’t working for you.

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