Although there’s no magic formula to living well with diabetes, the secret seems to be developing healthy eating habits, exercising regularly, taking all the proper medications and communicating with your doctor. Do these four things and there’s a good chance your diabetes will be well under control, but perhaps the biggest challenge is keeping up with all your medications.
Although we’re sharing these three most common mistakes diabetics make when it comes to taking their medications, these mistakes can easily be applied to anyone who takes prescribed medication(s).
1. Forgetting doses
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This happens to almost everyone, especially these days when multitasking is encouraged and everyone is being pulled in what seems to be a million different directions.
“Forgetting or skipping doses would likely cause your diabetes to be out of control,” says Dr. Bola Oyeyipo, a family physician in San Antonio, Texas and co-founder of Healthgist.com. “Many patients would go as far as lie to their doctor to cover up their indiscretions.”
She continues: “Their uncontrolled blood sugar would often lead to the doctor increasing the medication dose when all that’s needed is better compliance with the prescribed medications.”
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To keep better track of what medications to take and when to take them, set a reminder on your smartphone or leave an old-fashioned note on your dresser or refrigerator door – hey, whatever it takes! Communication with your doctor is key, so you should already have discussed with him or her what to do if you accidentally skip a dose.
Sign up for a type 2 diabetes clinical trial here!2. Quitting medications after experiencing negative side effects
No one wants to deal with nausea or vomiting after taking medication or any other time for that matter. However, if you do experience any of these not-so-pleasant side effects, it’s not a cue to stop taking your medication.
“Diabetics shouldn’t be too quick to discontinue their diabetic medications when they experience side defects,” Dr. Oyeyipo says. “Discuss your symptoms with your doctor first as some diabetic medications, especially metformin have side effects that taper off with continue use.”
Side effects still not subsiding after a couple weeks of continued use? Inform your doctor right away. He or she will either lower your dosage or suggest a different medication altogether.
3. Not realizing when you’ve become immune to your medication
“Over time, a good number of diabetics would need more than one diabetic medication to control their blood glucose levels regardless of good compliance,” Dr. Oyeyipo explains. “This is a result of the progression of the disease and no fault of the diabetic patient.”
If you start to notice that your medication isn’t as effective as it once was, schedule an appointment with your doctor to determine whether it’s time to add and/or switch medication or increase the dosage.
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