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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.
    Diabetes: Using a plate format for eating
    Diabetes: Counting carbs if you don't use insulin
  • 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:
    Diabetes: Checking your blood sugar.
  • 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

Last Updated: June 16, 2008
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
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