Talk to Your Doctor

There are many benefits of exercise. Physical activity improves overall health, helps protect against heart disease, and fights depression. It can increase your energy level and help you lose or maintain weight.

Q Which of the following individuals should talk to their doctor before starting an exercise plan?
right

EVERYONE with diabetes should talk to their doctor before starting an exercise plan.

Wrong

EVERYONE with diabetes should talk to their doctor before starting an exercise plan.

One of the first things you'll need to do is to meet with your health care team. You should have a complete medical history done and a physical examination, if you haven't done so recently. You will want to talk to your team about adjusting your eating plan and your insulin or oral diabetes medication to keep your blood glucose levels on target. Also, you may want to discuss the types of physical activity you're considering.

Make sure you don't have any health problems that could keep you from exercising safely. If you are going to begin a regular exercise program, you need to be tested for retinopathy, cardiac disease and problems with kidney or nerve function. If you have any of these problems, it doesn't mean you can't exercise, but you may need to treat these problems before you start exercising regularly.

Physical activity topics to discuss with your doctor before starting exercise:

  • How can I safely be more active?
  • What times of day are best for me? How long should my session last?
  • How hard can I safely exercise?
  • Are there types of physical activity I should avoid?
  • Are there symptoms of hypoglycemia or heart disease that I should look out for?
  • Do I need to take less insulin or other medications before I work out?
  • Do I need to modify my meal plan?
  • Will diabetes pills or other medications affect me differently if I work out?

This information is a summary from the "Complete Guide to Diabetes" and is provided with the permission of the American Diabetes Association.

It is a comprehensive book and recommended by the American Diabetes Association for those people that want to learn more about diabetes.

Click on the image to go to the American Diabetes Association bookstore.

Note: Care4life has no commercial interest in any of the books or resources it recommends.