Diabetes is tough. When you have diabetes,

you need to eat healthy food, stay active,

control your weight, take your medicine,

and check you blood glucose (sugar) to 

see how you are doing. And that’s on top

of handling all the other things in life! 

No wonder a person with diabetes can

feel stressed out and afraid.

Good diabetes care also means controlling

the ABCs of diabetes to avoid having a

heart attack, a stroke, or other diabetes

problems. A is for the test that measures

blood glucose control, B is for blood pressure,

and C is for cholesterol.

You want the best for your loved ones with 

diabetes—whether they are family members or

friends. Maybe you are looking for ways to ease

the pressure your mother feels. Or maybe you

would like to help your husband take better control

of his diabetes. It’s a hard disease to handle alone.

You can make a big difference in how well your

loved one copes with diabetes.

Use these tips to get started today.

Learn about diabetes.

There is a lot to learn about living

well with diabetes. Treatment is

changing and we are learning more

every day. You can use what you 

learn to help your loved one.

■ Attend a class.

■ Look on the Internet.

■ Ask the doctor or nurse how 

you can learn more. 

Understand your loved

one’s diabetes.

Each person’s experience with diabetes

is different. What things are hard for

your friend to manage? What things 

are easy?

Find out what your 

loved one needs.

Try asking these three questions.

■ What do I do that helps you with 

your diabetes?

■ What do I do that makes it harder for 

you to manage your diabetes?

■ What can I do to help you more than 

I do now?

Talk about your feelings.

Diabetes affects you, too. Telling your loved one

how you feel can help both of you.

Offer practical help.

Instead of nagging, find ways to be helpful. 

Ask what would help your loved one most.

■ Offer to go to the doctor with your father 

or mother. 

■ Take a walk with your wife. 

■ Cook a tasty and healthy meal for a friend.

Try a new approach.

When things aren’t going right, try something 

new. Find one thing that works and build 

from there.

Get help.

Many people can help you help your loved one

with diabetes. 

■ Find a diabetes support group in the health 

section of your newspaper or on the Internet. 

■ Ask your health care provider about ways to 

get help if your loved one is sad or depressed. 

■ See the resource list for groups to contact.

Continued on the reverse.

tip 1 tip 4

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How You Can Help Your Loved One with Diabetes

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Get started today.

I will take these three actions to help my loved one: By When:

❶____________________________________________________________ _________

❷ ___________________________________________________________ _________

❸ __________________________________________________________ _________

Where to go for help.

■ American Association of Diabetes Educators

1-800-338-3633 or www.diabeteseducator.org

Find the name of an educator and resources in your community 

to help you learn about diabetes. 

■ American Diabetes Association

1-800-DIABETES or www.diabetes.org 

Ask for information about diabetes care. 

■ American Dietetic Association

1-800-877-1600 or www.eatright.org

Find a dietitian to help you and your loved ones eat healthy foods.

■ Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International

1-800-JDF-CURE or www.jdrf.org 

Find out about type 1 diabetes.

■ National Diabetes Education Program

1-800-438-5383 or www.ndep.nih.gov 

Call or visit the website for information about diabetes prevention and control.

■ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

1-800-860-8747 or www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov

Find out more about diabetes self-care.

■ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Division of Diabetes Translation

1-877-232-3422 or www.cdc.gov/diabetes 

Click on “State-based Programs” for information on government contacts in your state.

A Joint Program of the National

Institutes of Health and the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention

American Association of 

Diabetes Educators tips

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NIH Publication No. 04-5485 ■ January 2004