Ask the Geriatrician

In our monthly column, Peter Warrington, D.O., answers a question regarding diabetes.

Question: I have diabetes. What do I need to be aware of to stay healthy?

Answer: The most important thing is to recognize that YOU ARE IN CHARGE and can do a lot to stay healthy. Your physician can help you learn about diabetes, and can help you set and achieve your goals, but only with your effort.

So, learn about diabetes. It is a disease in which your body does not make enough insulin to control blood sugar or the insulin being made is not working well. You need to learn how diet—eating the right foods and the right amount of food—affects blood sugar. You need to learn about the blood test hemoglobin A1c and how it gives feedback as to how well you are controlling your blood sugar. There are various medicines that can be prescribed, but your diet and level of exercise are just as important.

Control your blood cholesterol, STOP SMOKING, and if you are significantly overweight, losing weight can be very helpful. Your physician will advise about the importance of regular diabetic eye exams, care of your feet, and vaccinations to get.

It can seem overwhelming to try to change so much at once—adopting a more healthy diet, exercising more regularly, losing weight, changing other habits such as smoking or too much alcohol.

The key is to work with your physician to help you set achievable goals so that small changes (gradually increasing the amount of time you go for a brisk walk each week, setting a quit date to stop smoking, etc.) allow you to successfully make the overall changes to live healthfully with diabetes. 

Peter Warrington, D.O., is a physician who specializes in family medicine and geriatrics. He has offices in Media and Crum Lynne, and can be reached at (610) 499-7180.

Have a question for our geriatrician? E-mail us at webmanager@crozer.org.