FOR CAREGIVERS
Most adults with type 1 diabetes are used to managing it—they may have been handling it since they were quite young. So, you may wonder what your role can be as a care partner and how you can help.
There are many reasons why an adult living with type 1 diabetes could use your extra support. They may need help:
Emotional support is also important. Sometimes, just having someone to talk to can be what people living with diabetes need most.
This page provides practical tips on how to be a care partner for an adult living with type 1 diabetes. You’ll also find links to other sections of the website that can provide information you need.
Your loved one with type 1 diabetes probably has a lifetime of knowledge about living with this disease that you may not have. One way that you can be a positive care partner is to learn more about type 1 diabetes. The more you know, the more you will be able to help.
Get the facts about type 1 diabetes
Find out more about what happens in the body when you have type 1 diabetes, diabetes symptoms, and treatments.
Learn about the highs and lows
Learn to recognize the signs of low blood glucose and high blood glucose and what needs to be done to correct blood glucose levels.
Know what to do in case of an emergency
Your loved one with type 1 diabetes is well aware of what he or she needs to bring with them to handle blood glucose emergencies. Talk to them and their diabetes care teamDiabetes care teamYour diabetes care team may include a primary care doctor, a diabetes and hormone doctor (endocrinologist), a registered nurse, a diabetes educator, a dietitian, a heart doctor (cardiologist), a foot doctor (podiatrist), an eye doctor (ophthalmologist/optometrist), a kidney doctor (nephrologist), a dentist, a pharmacist, and a mental health professional. about what you need to know.
Follow these 4 steps for making a care plan.
Start small. Try making some simple, healthy food swaps, like eating brown rice instead of white.
Start your activity plan by following these 3 simple steps:
Step 1: Talk to his or her doctor before getting started
Step 2: Help your loved one choose an activity. Start small, like going for a walk every day after dinner
Step 3: Set a goal and agree to meet that goal, together
Help your loved one put their treatment plan into action by tracking the medicines they’re on and the instructions they have for how to take them.
Help your loved one start a tracking routine by thinking of one thing they do every day that they can pair with checking their blood glucose, like making the morning coffee.
If you are one of the millions caring for someone with diabetes, you may be putting your own needs aside. But to take good care of others, you need to take good care of yourself.
How can being a care partner affect you?
As a care partner, you may think of yourself as “the healthy one.” But providing support for someone else can be hard on you. You may have trouble:
Just like your loved one has a care plan, you should also have one to take care of you. Here are some things you should consider when making your plan.
Follow these 5 steps to making a care partner plan.