Living With Diabetes

You are not alone.

An estimated 18.2 million people in the United States have diabetes. If you’ve just been diagnosed with the disease — or you know a friend or family member who has — you’re probably eager to absorb as much accurate and up-to-date information about diabetes as you can.

Step by step, Living with Diabetes explains how people with this prevalent but little-understood condition can enjoy full, active, satisfying lives. Created by AARP, the book abounds with authoritative, well-researched, resource-packed guidance.

In these pages you will find a complete education in all aspects of diabetes: Its chemical causes. Its physical consequences. Its emotional challenges. You will also discover abundant practical advice about living with diabetes in the real world, including new oral alternatives to injected insulin, long-term complications to be aware of, and simple but fundamental lifestyle changes that can dramatically blunt the effects of the disease.

Are you wondering which treatments are available today—and which new ones are closest to hitting the market tomorrow? (You’ll find that in Chapter 13.)

Perhaps you’ve been a lifetime athlete and refuse to give that up. What sort of relief is offered by the modern array of “complementary and alternative” medicines? (The answers are in Chapter 9.)

Rounding out this indispensable handbook are travel tips and instructions on how to handle a diabetes emergency — your own or someone else’s. So whether you’re seeking the optimal balance of diet, weight loss, and exercise; wondering how best to monitor your blood glucose; eager to safeguard your emotional and sexual health; or in quest of reliable information about “discreet” insulin-delivery systems such as the disposable injection pen, let Living with Diabetes be your first step on the road to taking charge of your treatment — and taking back control of your life!