Treatment for type 2 diabetes involves using diet, exercise, and often medications to keep your blood sugar within a normal or near-normal range, reducing your risk of complications.

People with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely than people who don't have diabetes to die from heart and blood vessel diseases.⁶ If you are 30 or older, talk to your health professional about taking a low-dose aspirin daily to help prevent heart attack, stroke, or other large blood vessel (macrovascular) disease. You also can reduce your risk by lowering high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you smoke, quitting may also lower your risk of diabetes complications.

Daily treatment to keep your blood sugar in a normal or near normal range involves:

• Limiting and spreading carbohydrate throughout the day to prevent high blood sugar levels after meals. A registered dietitian can help you develop a meal plan that fits your lifestyle. You likely will use one of several methods to plan your diet, such as the plate format, the food guide for diabetes, or carbohydrate counting. For more information on diet, see the Treatment section of the topic Type 2 Diabetes: Living With the Disease.
• Getting about 30 minutes of physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. Some tips for exercising safely may be helpful. It may also help to keep track of your exercise on an activity log(What is a PDF document?).
• Testing your blood sugar to monitor your progress and find out how exercise and various foods affect your blood sugar. For more information, see:

  Home blood sugar monitoring.

• Taking oral diabetes medication or insulin. For more information, see the Medications section of this topic.

Taking steps to prevent complications

People over the age of 30 who have diabetes should consider taking a low-dose aspirin every day to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications.⁶

You should also control your blood pressure and maintain healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can increase your risk of developing complications of diabetes. If you smoke, quitting may lower your risk of diabetes complications.

How often should I see my doctor?

See your doctor about every 3 to 4 months for the rest of your life to:

• Review your blood sugar levels since your last checkup and evaluate whether your treatment needs to be changed.
• Check your blood pressure and start treatment if it's high.
• Check your feet for signs of diabetic foot problems.
• Have a hemoglobin A1c or similar test (glycosylated hemoglobin or glycohemoglobin). If your blood sugar levels are stable and your treatment hasn't changed, this test may be done every 6 months.
• Have a blood glucose test. Check the accuracy of your blood sugar meter at this time to see whether your home blood sugar tests are reliable.