For most people, coping with diabetes is as easy or as difficult as the individual makes it. In the great majority of cases, diabetics should expect to be able to live a fairly normal life. The easiest method of coping with diabetes involves making sure you take some time to understand your condition, the disease, and how you need to manage it. Then set aside some time each day for self-management of your diabetes. And most important, follow up for the rest of your life with this self-management.

There is no doubt that diabetes is a serious disease and needs to be treated as such. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. But early diagnosis and patient self-management will greatly reduce and maybe even eliminate most of the serious complications that chronically affect those who don’t take time to care for themselves. It’s really up to …