If you want to successfully manage your diabetes, educating yourself about the disease and how it is affecting you personally is paramount. You probably have many diabetic questions already, and you should get those answered either by educating yourself or with the help of your healthcare team.

There are some diabetic questions you may not even know you should be asking. The purpose of this short article is to make sure you at least know the right questions to ask. You need to go to your doctor on a regular basis anyway, so use the opportunity to ask some of the following diabetic questions on each visit. Listen carefully to the answers, and if you don’t understand – ask again, maybe in a different way.

 

Make a List of Diabetic Questions So You Don’t Forget to Ask

 

Your doctor’s time to spend with you is limited, so make a habit of writing down a few diabetic questions you want to be sure to ask and take them with you to your next visit. Take a pen and notebook with you, so you can write down notes on the answers you get to the diabetic questions, and before long you’ll have a handy reference to keep for the use of everyone in your home.

 

Some Diabetic Questions to Get You Started

 

Here are some important questions to get you started on your next trip to the doctor’s office.

  • What were the results of my last lipid profile? – This is the test that measures the blood fat levels. The test will give you results and measurements on your cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol will be shown as both HDL and LDL. HDL is the “good” cholesterol. Triglycerides are another fat that is measured. Make sure you know not only your results, but what your individual goals are and how you are measuring up against them.
  • What were the results, and the interpretation of them, of my last dilated eye exam? – First of all, if you haven’t had one of these you need to schedule one. All diabetics are at risk for retinopathy, and you should get your doctor’s opinion of the results of this exam. You might want to bring in the results from your ophthalmologist to discuss with your physician, since they probably aren’t talking to each other unless they are part of the same team at a medical center.
  • When was the last time I was tested for microalbuminuria? – This is a urine test you may not have even had, and asking the question will get your doctor to schedule it for you. It is a test to determine if there is protein in the urine, and if there is, further testing may be required to see if you are at risk of kidney damage. If you catch kidney damage early, you have a better chance of slowing it down.

 

Hopefully, this short list of diabetic questions not commonly asked will help you manage your diabetes better, and more importantly will keep your doctor vigilant, because he will realize you are paying attention too.