Diabetes Health Center
Type 2 Diabetes: Recently Diagnosed - Treatment Overview
Treatment for type 2 diabetes involves using diet, exercise, and often medicines 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.5 If you are 40 or older, talk to your doctor 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.
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 make 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.
- Doing
moderate activity at least 2½ hours a week. One way to
do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. It's fine to
be active in blocks of 10 minutes or more throughout your day and week. Also
include resistance exercises in your exercise program.6, 7 Resistance exercises can include
activities like weight lifting or yard work. Some
tips for exercising safely may be helpful. See the
topic
Fitness for ideas on how to add daily activity to your
life. Work with your doctor to plan a safe exercise program. 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:
- Taking oral diabetes medicine or insulin. For more information, see the Medications section of this topic.
Taking steps to prevent complications
People over
the age of 40 who have diabetes should consider taking a low-dose aspirin every
day to reduce the risk of
cardiovascular
complications.5
You should also control your blood pressure and reach and keep 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?
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Type 2 Diabetes: Recently Diagnosed Topics
Indication
Uroxatral® (alfuzosin HCl 10 mg extended-release tablets) is an alpha1-blocker for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH.
Important Safety Information
Do not take UROXATRAL if you have liver problems or if you are taking antifungal drugs like ketoconazole or itraconazole, or HIV drugs like ritonavir.
UROXATRAL can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, especially when starting treatment. This may lead to fainting, dizziness, and lightheadedness. Do not drive, operate machinery, or do any dangerous activity until you know how UROXATRAL will affect you. This is especially important if you already have a problem with low blood pressure or take medicines to treat high blood pressure. There may be an increased risk of low blood pressure and fainting when taking UROXATRAL in combination with blood pressure medication or nitrates, or erectile dysfunction medication.
If considering cataract surgery (clouding of the eyes), tell your eye surgeon that you are currently taking UROXATRAL or have previously been treated with an alpha-blocker.
Before taking UROXATRAL, tell your doctor if you have kidney problems.
Also, tell your doctor if you or any family member(s) have or take medications for a rare heart condition known as congenital prolongation of the QT interval.
BPH and prostate cancer can cause the same symptoms. However, UROXATRAL is not a treatment for prostate cancer.
The most common side effects with UROXATRAL are dizziness, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, and tiredness.
Please see UROXATRAL full prescribing information.
Hot Topics in Diabetes
Vinegar is in everything from coleslaw to pickles. What if you could actually use it to help prevent disease?
