Patient Education Topics and Talking Points: Diabetes



Patient Education Topics and Talking Points: Diabetes

Patient Name:________________________ DOB:_____________ Provider: _________________

|Topic |Talking Points |Check if pt can|Date |

| | |repeat back |& |

| | |with |Staff |

| | |under-standing |Initial |

|What is diabetes? |Do you know what diabetes is? | | |

| |Have you heard of people with “high sugar?” Some people call diabetes, “sugar” Diabetes is an illness that| | |

| |prevents your body from using sugar from food the right way. The sugar floats around in your blood instead| | |

| |of going into your cells (show visual) - | | |

| |Diabetes is inherited. It runs in families. You don’t get it from eating “too much sugar” - | | |

| |Do you know what insulin is? | | |

| |Insulin is a substance made in the pancreas (point to general area) - It helps people use sugar correctly.| | |

| |In type 2 diabetes, your body makes insulin, but the insulin doesn’t work correctly (reshow visual). | | |

|Complications |Eye problems (blindness), amputation, erectile dysfunction, kidney problems, nerve damage, foot problems, | | |

| |heart and blood vessel problems (visual) | | |

|Blood Glucose Testing | | | |

| |How to use patient’s specific glucometer: demonstrate competency in use. | | |

| |When to test? Useful times: before injecting insulin, 1st thing in the morning, 1-2 | | |

| |hours after meals (Once per day is usually enough for patients not on insulin unless | | |

| |otherwise ordered by provider) - | | |

| |What is a “good” glucose level: 1) 80-120 before meals, 2)100-180 after meals. Visual. | | |

|Insulin use |Pt demonstrates appropriate injection technique | | |

| |Insulin should usually be injected before meals (about ½ hour for regular insulin, 5-15 minutes before | | |

| |Humalog or Novolog | | |

| |Lantus can be given any time of day. | | |

| |Inject in the abdomen, not the arms or legs. | | |

| |Always check blood sugar before injecting insulin | | |

| |If blood glucose is low, eat first, recheck, then inject if sugar has come up to normal. | | |

|Importance of wt Loss |Show cartoon visual showing impact of fat | | |

| |Even a tiny bit of weight loss helps | | |

|The importance |Exercise lowers your blood sugar for the whole day. | | |

|of exercise |Thirty minutes a day is great but every little bit helps. | | |

| |Ways to get some exercise include: walking (inside or out), dancing, chair exercises, taking the stairs | | |

| |1-2 flights, parking far from store door, meeting a friend for coffee and walking around the block before | | |

| |or after the coffee. Ask patient for ideas. | | |

|Diet: Foods to limit |Get patient to understand that they need to be concerned with carbohydrates in general, not just food they| | |

|. |think of as sweet. Use food boxes to point out foods high in carbs but low in sugar. Let them know that | | |

| |the body can’t tell rice from chocolate cake. | | |

| |Avoid sugar sodas, malta. Switch to diet soda or water with lemon & sugar substitute. | | |

| |Limit fruit juice to 4 oz. (112 cup) at a time : juice has as much sugar as soda. | | |

| |Watch portions of Rice, Pasta, Breads | | |

| |Limit fat intake, switch to canola or olive oil, limit fried foods | | |

| |Limit consumption of red meat, more poultry but remove skin | | |

|Diet: Food to increase |Eat more vegetables, half plate. Discuss what patients think of as vegetables. | | |

| |Remind them that corn and beans are high in carbohydrates (sugar) | | |

| |3 fruits per day | | |

| |Snacks: sugar free Jello; tea/coffee with couple gingersnaps or vanilla wafers, fruit, sugar-free low fat | | |

| |yogurt, ½ sugar free pudding made with skim milk (Visual) | | |

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