Are you in charge of your diabetes?

Diabetes is a complex disease. It is not like having a broken arm where the doctor sets the bone and you just wait to heal.

Instead you have to take care of yourself every day with limited help from your medical team. In other words, you are the person really in charge of your health.

You and your medical care team are equals in managing your diabetes. The health professionals are experts about diabetes, but you are the expert about your life. Together you must figure out how to fit diabetes care into your daily routine.

You and your medical team have two different roles. Your role is to learn as much as you can about diabetes. The medical team's role is to help you explore all your treatment options. Since no two people are alike, you must experiment to figure out what works best for you.

To achieve good diabetes control, work with your medical team to set clear goals:

First, define the problem. Ask yourself, what am I struggling with now in my diabetes care and why?

Second, examine your beliefs, thoughts and feelings that may help or hinder you from solving the problem.

Third, identify long-term goals. What do you really want and how do you need to change to feel better? Really think about where you want to be in three months, six months, or even a year.

Fourth, choose a behavior change that will move you toward the longterm goal. Review your options and look for support from others. How will you benefit from the new behavior? Are there any personal costs? What would happen if you did nothing at all?

Fifth, test your true commitment. Rate how important the change is to you on a scale of 1-10. If the score is low, what do you need to do to get motivated?

Sixth, try the new behavior. List the steps required to make the change and decide how you will know if you have succeeded. Then do one step right away to get started.

Finally, learn from what you tried. What were the barriers? What would you do differently next time? How can you move farther toward your goal?

If your first attempt is not perfect, don't quit. This is an experiment. We learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. Rethink, revise and keep trying. Soon you will begin to see what works best for you.

New ways to manage diabetes are appearing all the time. Even if you are falling short right now, a new tool or method may appear tomorrow that could be a major breakthrough for you. Rely on your medical team to keep you up-to-date on what's new in diabetes management.

Be an active member of your diabetes team. You deserve the best care available that will allow you to have the best life possible.