Diabetes in Teens

Managing diabetes is like a three-way balancing act: The medications you take (insulin or pills), the food you eat, and the amount of exercise you get all need to be in sync. Diabetes can get out of control if you: •don't take your diabetes medicines as directed
•don't follow the meal plan (like eating too much or not enough food without adjusting diabetes medicines)
•don't get regular exercise or exercises more or less than usual without making changes your diabetes plan
•have an illness or too much stress
•don't check your blood sugar levels enough Keeping blood sugar levels under control can help keep you healthy and prevent health problems from happening later. Checking your blood sugar regularly and keeping a record of the test results is very important. This helps you and your diabetes health care team, make adjustments to your diabetes management plan as needed.
Keep your blood sugar at a healthy range by:
•Taking your insulin or pills when you're supposed to.
•Following your meal plan.
•Getting regular exercise.
•Checking your blood sugar levels often and makeing changes with the help of your diabetes health care team.
•Visiting your doctor and diabetes health care team regularly.
•Learning as much as possible about diabetes

The quality of a therapeutic relationship depends on the ability of the healthcare provider to communicate effectively. A female teenage diabetic faces the prospect of many changes. She must learn to take blood samples to monitor glucose levels, she may need to lose weight or adopt a new diet, she may establish a consistent exercise routine, learn to draw up and inject insulin, and understand the importance of foot care. All require the health care provider to develop a partnership with the diabetic to ensure success. An effective partnership is built on listening skills. Therapeutic listening requires undivided attention to the speaker and an effort to fully understand what is being said. Don’t just listen to the words, but also the tone and pitch of the voice. Ask questions to clarify what is being said. Observe the person's body language, looking for clues to the emotions behind the spoken message. Being therapeutic means demonstrating respect, being nonjudgmental, sharing current clinical data and acknowledging the person's statements. Being empathic means trying to understand how the person feels about his or her