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Living with Diabetes 101 is written by registered nurses and diabetes educators.

Be Your Own Best Advocate

May 13, 2015
 

I was recently talking with a friend when she mentioned she had lab work done but no one had called her with the results.

“So that must mean the results were normal?” she asked.

“Not necessarily,” I replied. “Maybe they were normal or maybe not. What if your healthcare provider tried to contact you, but couldn’t reach you?”

I encouraged my friend to be proactive and to call her provider to find out the results.

We are our own best champions. I always encourage people to use their healthcare system to its fullest potential and be proactive in making sure they are working in partnership with their providers.

I later learned that when my friend did call her provider she learned that her provider had tried to contact her multiple times to no avail. Her results were far from normal. Her blood sugar was dangerously high. She had an A1C of 10, which is equal to an average blood sugar of 240mg/dl!

Fortunately, she is now on her way to better health. She accessed resources with the help of her healthcare team, including diabetes support groups, and learned a valuable lesson in the process: to be your own best advocate!

For more information on being proactive in your diabetes care:
http://www.joslin.org/info/comprehensive_diabetes_checklist.html

Tags: diabetes, advocacy, information

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