American Diabetes Association - Managing Type 2 Diabetes For Dummies

Managing Type 2 Diabetes For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2017961517

ISBN 978-1-119-36329-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-36330-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-36331-6 (ebk)

Diabetes touches everyone. You may have diabetes, or you may take care of a loved one like a parent, spouse, or teen with this chronic condition. Its incredibly personal, and yet its global. According to the World Health Organization, 422 million people around the world had diabetes in 2014. Thats a whopping 8.5 percent of the earths population.

Largely, diabetes is a condition that you manage on your own. In other words, youre the top dog. Youre the person in charge of your care. Theres even a name for it: self-care. Youre responsible for learning about diabetes, assembling a healthcare team, taking steps to exercise and eat healthy, and discovering how to manage and treat your blood glucose. Yet, you may have been diagnosed with diabetes for reasons out of your control, such as a family history or because your race and ethnicity put you at higher risk for type 2 diabetes. The factors that contribute to each persons diagnosis of diabetes arent always obvious.

Put in this context, diabetes is quite a journey for most of us. And its almost always an opportunity to take better care of yourself because youre at the center of your healthcare. It can be empowering to realize that youre responsible for making choices that will impact your health today and for decades in the future.

Youre about to find out a lot about diabetes at least enough to get started on this journey. Youll discover how to become a better healthcare consumer and take actionable steps to manage your diabetes and prevent complications. Of course, there are many books out there dedicated to diabetes, and were thankful for all of them.

This book is focused solely on type 2 diabetes. We hope opening this book is like turning to a trusted friend or your favorite nurse to get answers to questions that you never had the time (or opportunity) to ask. There are no dumb questions in a For Dummies book.

This book was written by the American Diabetes Association, an organization dedicated to fighting diabetes and its deadly consequences through cutting-edge medical research, public health information, advocacy for peoples rights with diabetes in the workplace and school, and more. This is a group of volunteers, members, healthcare professionals, and staff with the sole motivation to prevent and cure diabetes. Were on the front lines, right there with you.

This book is organized in easy-to-read parts that focus on specific topics such as how to get started, eating healthy, and staying active. Unlike the last novel you read, dont expect to read this book from front to back. Instead, think of this book as a reference. You can dip in and out of topics as they relate to your diagnosis, care, and questions or concerns. You wont find a pop quiz at the end, and frankly, remembering every detail isnt the point. Use this book as reference when taking care of your type 2 diabetes or someone you love with diabetes.

You can skip the Technical Stuff icons and sidebars if you dont need the nitty-gritty details on a particular topic. Youre going to see reasonable recommendations that the American Diabetes Association makes for most people with diabetes. These are just guidelines. Its up to you and your healthcare provider to set your own goals for managing diabetes and preventing complications. Your goals should be based on your individual needs.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If youre reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as its noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesnt exist. If youre reading this as an e-book, youve got it easy just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

If youre reading this book, you probably have diabetes or someone very close to you has diabetes. However, you may know almost nothing about diabetes because youve never had to deal with it before. Dont worry this book is for you.