Comprehensive Diabetes Guide

Author Grace Atea Ampofoh was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes at the age of twenty- eight. During her long period of nursing career, the author took care of many elderly diabetic patients, including family members. "Comprehensive Diabetes Guide" is a book written not only for her legacy, but also for her contribution to worldwide campaigns for diabetes research and awareness of the disease, as well as diabetes self- care management. Updates of current reports and information as related to diabetes have been highlighted in this health resource guide. To achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle as a diabetic, Atea Ampofoh added that self- management of diabetes is imperative. She said, "Just because you've been diagnosed with diabetes does not mean your life cannot be a wonderful and exciting journey." The author had long experience in Gerontology, and she worked hard daily as a Registered Nurse, and as a diabetic patient herself. So, she understood and learned to be an advocate, a champion, who has been working wholeheartedly to raise awareness of diabetes. The author challenges her audience, diabetics and health-care providers to work closely with each other for successful outcome. Regarding management of all types of diabetes, medical supervision by routine doctors' visits is necessary. Based on the laboratory tests' results, the doctor can evaluate how the patient is handling the disease throughout the journey to recovery. The doctor can change medications or adjust medication doses, to control high blood glucose levels to normal range. A diabetic patient can be referred to diabetes management classes with various health-care personnel, including dietician for diet control, fitness center for exercise and weight control. Government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are utilized for financial assistance. Everyone plays a role in the society to support diabetes management globally. Diabetes is a condition that you must just live with longer and take good care of managing your disease, and your health in general. Although this might be hard, time consuming, and requires the help of loved- ones, health- care team and the society in general. It is hard, but it is a choice you have to make for your survival. Comparatively, it is not easy either, for example, an epileptic individual to live with this illness in life, and that he or she has to suffer from the negative impact, emotionally and physically in some cultures. In fact, Diabetes must not slowly get worse or control your life, because if you have diabetes, you have to be in charge of living a healthy lifestyle. You can control prediabetes from slowly reaching Type-2 diabetes, and Type-2 from getting to complications of diabetes, including heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, eye disease, and kidney disease. Today, there is hope and more opportunity for diabetics than a hundred years ago. More research workers have tried to develop new plans for diabetes management, such as home management education, diabetics with complication of kidney disease can receive kidney transplant treatment or dialysis, and even both. Wow! Same individuals living with diabetes can live longer because of these interventions.