Learning you have diabetes can be difficult, especially when you consider the lifestyle changes you may need to make to get and stay healthy. The good news is your health plan makes it easy to manage your diabetes, with built-in benefits, tools and resources.
These tips can help you stay on top of your diabetes:
1. See Your Doctor Regularly
When you have diabetes, it's important to keep up with your blood sugar and other measurements. That's how you know your diabetes is controlled or if you need to make changes to your management plan.
What Tests Do You Need?
Your doctor will tell you what you need and when, but here are some of the most important tests for diabetics:
- A1C: The hemoglobin A1C test shows your average blood sugar levels over a two-to-three-month period.
- Diabetic Eye Exam: Diabetes can cause complications that lead to vision loss or blindness, so it's important to have regular diabetic eye exams to check for diabetic retinopathy. These tests include dilation.
- Urine and Blood Tests: These tests check your kidney function. The urine test checks for proteins in your urine that could be a sign of kidney disease. The blood test checks your creatinine level to make sure your kidneys are removing this waste product from your blood.
- Blood Tests for Anemia: About 25% of Americans with diabetes also have anemia, or low red blood cell counts. This can cause nerve and eye damage and worsen conditions like heart, artery and kidney disease.
- Blood Pressure Test: High blood pressure is especially dangerous with diabetes because it raises your risk for heart attack and stroke.
- Cholesterol: Diabetics are at higher risk for high cholesterol, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.
- Foot exam: This screens for nerve damage or circulation problems related to diabetes.
2. Monitor Your Blood Sugar
Your blood sugar can vary throughout the day depending on things like:
- what you eat
- your activity level
- your medications
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends regular monitoring to make sure your blood sugar is in range or allow you to act quickly if it's not. Your doctor will let you know when and how often you should test and what to do if your blood sugar is too high or low.
Many diabetes monitors keep a history of readings. If yours doesn't, you can keep a log to show your providers if your readings are out of range so they can adjust your diabetes management plan.
3. Eat Right
Eating a balanced diet is critical for diabetes management. These tips from the ADA will help you make healthy choices:
- Focus on fish and lean meats. Think broiled, grilled or baked. If you're going to fry, go with the air fryer. There are lots of good protein choices for vegetarians and vegans, including beans, hummus, quinoa, lentils and tofu.
- Enjoy dairy. Moderate portion sizes of milk, sugar-free yogurt, cottage cheese and cream cheese can be included in a diabetic diet.
- Focus on “healthy" fats. Olive oil, nuts and avocados may actually help lower your risk of heart disease.
- Eat fruit in moderation. Fruit has natural sugar, but it's also packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. You can keep the sugar spikes at bay by focusing on lower glycemic fruits like apples, berries, cherries and oranges.
- Ditch the high-calorie sodas and juices. Not only do they add unnecessary calories, they can also spike your blood sugar!
- Pay attention to portion size. You might be surprised by what makes up a serving of certain foods:
- a baked potato serving = the size of a computer mouse
- one serving of pasta = the size of a baseball
- meat = the size of a deck of playing cards
- Check food labels and restaurant menus for hidden calories.
- Limit your sugar, carbs and fat. Think smaller portions, and less often. That includes potatoes, grains, rice, white and wheat flour-based pasta, breads and tortillas chips.
When in doubt, use the Diabetes Plate Method. Fill half of a nine-inch plate with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, one quarter with lean protein and one quarter with carbs.
4. Get Active!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say exercise helps lower blood sugar levels and improves insulin sensitivity. It can also improve your mood, which is important since studies show about 40% of people with diabetes have depression.
Make sure to:
- Check with your doctor before starting any fitness plan.
- Get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week.
- Add two or more days of muscle-strengthening activities.
- Do what you like! If your fitness activities are a chore, you're not likely to stick with them. A brisk nature walk, a bike ride, a tennis date or a dance class can all be considered fitness activities – and they can also be considered fun!
5. Take Your Meds
If you've been prescribed medication, be sure to take it according to the directions. Skipping doses can be dangerous.
New regulations for insulin price caps have made it more affordable than ever:
- TRS-ActiveCare and TRS-Care Standard: $25 copay for 31-day supply and $75 copay for a 60- to 90-day supply
- TRS-Care Medicare Rx: $25 copay for 31-day supply and $70 copay for 60- to 90-day supply
Be sure to reach out to your provider with any concerns about your medication.
TRS-ActiveCare & TRS-Care Standard Resources
Personal Health Guides
Your TRS-ActiveCare or TRS-Care Standard plan may include no-cost generic preventive drugs for diabetes management. For information about diabetic supplies and equipment, call a Personal Health Guide (PHG) at 1-866-355-5999, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A PHG can also help you find a provider or make an appointment.
Provider Finder
Find an in-network provider for TRS-ActiveCare and TRS-Care Standard. Preventive care is covered at 100% with in-network providers. That includes diabetes screenings.
Well onTarget ®
Through your TRS health plan, you have access to one-on-one coaching with a registered dietician and other health coaches who can help you develop and stick to a healthy eating plan. The program also provides access to personal trainers and diabetic self-management programs. Participants and their covered dependents also have access to the Fitness Program, with a variety of in-person and digital fitness options. All of these resources are included at no cost. Get started with TRS-ActiveCare or TRS-Care Standard.
TRS-Care Medicare Resources
Real Appeal®
An online lifestyle program designed to help you lose weight, gain energy, feel your best and reduce your risk of developing diabetes. The program is available to you if you have a BMI of 25 or more, have prediabetes and have no previous diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Each week, you'll learn how to create healthy habits and stay motivated so you can achieve your long-term goals. For more information, call 1-844-924-7325, TTY 711.
Rally Coach TM
These virtual programs are available at no added cost and are designed to help you live a healthier, happier life. Get started today. Visit rallyhealth.com/retiree.
Wellness CoachingOnline and live coaching support provides access to a variety of digital health and wellness courses. For Wellness Coaching, call 1-800-478-1057, TTY 711.
Quit For Life®
Quit For Life® is a tobacco cessation program designed to give you a clear path to quitting and remaining nicotine-free. Through an online dashboard, you can phone, text or chat to get the support you need. For Quit for Life, call 1-866-QUIT-4-LIFE, TTY 711. Get additional diabetes support resources
Sign into your member site retiree.uhc.com/TRS-CareMA and click on “Health & Wellness."