Caring for Seniors with Type 2 Diabetes
Caring For Seniors With Type 2 Diabetes: How Visiting Angels Can Help Summary:
- November being Diabetes Awareness Month is a great opportunity to learn how type 2 diabetes affects seniors.
- Learn about caring for seniors with diabetes and how Visiting Angels Littleton helps seniors manage their symptoms.
- If you suspect your loved one has diabetes, learn about its impact, symptoms, and how Visiting Angels Littleton can assist.
- Caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes requires strategies such as healthy living and medication management.
- Insulin can help manage type 2 diabetes for some individuals.
- If you're starting to feel overwhelmed from caring for a loved one who is living with type 2 diabetes, Visiting Angels Littleton can help.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month and a great opportunity to learn how type 2 diabetes affects seniors. Learn more about what you should know about caring for seniors with diabetes and how Visiting Angels helps seniors in Littleton, Englewood, Centennial, Parker and surrounding areas in Colorado manage symptoms
Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly common among the elderly. Because many seniors are unaware of their illness, it is critical to understand how the condition affects seniors and what symptoms to watch out for.
If you suspect your loved one has diabetes, it’s important that you have some information on how type 2 diabetes can impact your senior loved one, what some common symptoms are, important information on caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes and how Visiting Angels Littleton can help you.
How Does Type 2 Diabetes Affect Seniors?
Because the risks of having type 2 diabetes increase with age, it's critical that your loved ones know what to do if they see any signs.
Common symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:
- Frequent urination
- Feeling very thirsty
- Feeling very hungry
- Fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Cuts and/or bruises that are slow to heal
- Tingling, pain or numbness in the extremities
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is the seventh biggest cause of death in the United States. Prediabetes affects around 85 million Americans aged 18 and over, and it affects more than 25 percent of seniors.
High blood glucose levels, if left untreated, can harm the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels. Diabetes-related problems are common among nursing home patients, and they can lead to additional disability or death.
Because the symptoms are minor at first, some seniors may be unaware they have the condition. The easiest strategy to diagnose diabetes is to see your local doctor for a thorough physical examination.
Helpful Tips on Caring for Seniors with Type 2 Diabetes
The earlier diabetes is diagnosed, the more time you have to help your loved one manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes involves a wide variety of strategies, including healthy living and medication management.
Weight Control
Those who have diabetes are aware that keeping a healthy weight can aid in the management of the illness. If you are overweight, even dropping 10 to 15 pounds can make a significant impact. You can help your loved one manage their weight by introducing meals that are both delicious and nutritious and encouraging them to limit how much junk food they consume. Light exercise can also help your loved one burn off fat and calories and maintain a healthy weight.
Physical Exercise
Regular physical activity can also aid in managing your loved one’s weight and symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
Regular exercise helps maintain muscular strength and bone flexibility, reducing stress on joints and ligaments. Exercise also enhances insulin sensitivity, which aids in the prevention of hypoglycemia.
According to several studies, frequent aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, may lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Strength training activities, additionally, have been shown in studies to increase muscle mass and bone density.
Gardening, walking, raking leaves and carrying groceries are all examples of everyday tasks that can help seniors incorporate some light exercise into their everyday routine.
Other benefits of regular physical activity include:
- More energy
- Improving your A1C, blood pressure and cholesterol levels
- Increasing your strength
- Lowering your risk for heart disease and stroke
Medication Management
Although maintaining a healthy weight helps many seniors manage type 2 diabetes, for others, oral medication is absolutely critical. When caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes, it’s important to ensure they take the medication they need and watch out for any indications that their medication is not working or negatively interacting with any other medication they’re currently taking. Although insulin is more effective for people with type 1 diabetes, some individuals living with type 2 diabetes can manage their condition with insulin.
Before beginning any oral medications, your loved one’s doctor should evaluate them, along with their food and lifestyle plan. According to the American Diabetes Association, oral medication is more likely to be effective for those who have recently become diabetic or need little to no insulin to manage their blood glucose levels. However, seniors who have been living with diabetes for over a decade or take more than 20 units of insulin daily may not get the results they need from diabetes pills.
It’s also important that they consult with their pharmacist if they need to change brands or adjust their dosage. Individuals living with diabetes often have to spend time finding the right pill for their needs or need to take a combination of medications (and even insulin, in some cases). Additionally, oral medication can stop working after a few months or years, meaning your loved one will need to find a different medication or treatment method.
How Visiting Angels Littleton Helps with Caring for Seniors with Type 2 Diabetes
If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed from caring for a loved one who is living with type 2 diabetes, Visiting Angels Littleton can help. Our professional caregivers have been caring for seniors with diabetes and other chronic conditions for many years. We offer a variety of home care services that can help your loved one manage their health and reduce the severity of their symptoms. Best of all, our care plans are personalized so your loved one can get the support they truly need.
Here are some ways Visiting Angels Littleton can help your loved one:
- Planning and preparing healthy meals and snacks
- Helping them get to and from the bathroom
- Clearing clutter from rooms so your loved one can exercise at home
- Providing transportation to fitness centers and senior centers so your loved one can get a workout
- Accompanying your loved one on a morning jog
- Reminding your loved one to take their diabetes medication and keeping an eye out in case they show any side effects
- Driving your loved one to the pharmacy so they can pick up their prescription
- Taking your loved one to doctor’s appointments
- Shopping for healthy groceries
- And so much more
To learn more about caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes and how Visiting Angels Littleton can give you peace of mind, call us at 720-981-0804 to schedule a free in-home consultation!