This guide has three important sections:
- The Basics About Living with Diabetes with seven lessons in audio with transcripts that give you the "basics" about living with diabetes. The seven lessons follow the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) Self Care Behavior format.
- A Guide to Caring for Yourself When You Have Diabetes and Vision Loss. It follows the AADE step-by-step lesson format in an audio version and print.
- The third section is a Spanish translation of the guide to caring for yourself when you have vision loss in audio and print.
Diabetes care is almost entirely managed by the person who has it. If you've lived with diabetes for any length of time, then you know there's no negotiating its demands. Day after day, you alone determine when and what to eat and how much to exercise. It's up to you to remember when to take your medication, how often to check your blood glucose level, and what to do if your blood sugar levels are too high or too low.
Successful management of diabetes—even under the most ideal circumstances—requires great discipline, not to mention specific knowledge, skills, and tools for self-care. When vision loss enters the picture—as it frequently does as the disease advances—there's yet another level of complication and risk added to your treatment regimen.
Perhaps you're one of the 3.2 million Americans now living with both conditions—an occurrence that will grow even more common as the nation's retirement-aged population increases. If so, then be sure to check out the resources on VisionAware, which helps adults who are losing their sight continue to live full and independent lives by providing timely information, step-by-step daily living techniques, a directory of national and local services, and a supportive online community.
