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"A joint effort, almost camaraderie, between you and your healthcare provider is often required to successfully manage type 2 diabetes. Your healthcare provider will monitor your health, set goals for you and help determine if prescription medication is needed for those goals to be reached."
— Dr. Daniel W. Jones, Past President, American Heart Association
Healthcare providers should be your primary source for individualized information and advice about your type 2 diabetes. There are many healthcare providers in the medical field who can help you develop a treatment plan, enabling you to better manage type 2 diabetes so that its associated complications, such as cardiovascular disease, can be prevented.
In some cases, managing your diabetes requires a multi-disciplinary approach. You may even find it necessary to deal with a variety of healthcare providers — some specializing in specific areas — who can help manage different aspects of your diabetes health. Learn more about the different professionals who may be a part of your healthcare team.
Keeping an open and ongoing dialogue with healthcare providers is essential to successfully managing type 2 diabetes. Try to talk honestly and openly with your healthcare provider. If you are going to visit a new healthcare provider, research your family history of type 2 diabetes and associated risks and write down your diabetes questions as they occur to you so that you can bring the information with you. The following list of questions to ask your healthcare provider can also help the two of you develop a comprehensive treatment plan that will help you reach treatment goals and ultimately better manage your type 2 diabetes.
Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Provider:
- What are my current critical health numbers? What are my future goals?
- Blood sugar
- Blood pressure
- Blood cholesterol
- What are my risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease or stroke? What are the warning signs?
- What types of foods should I eat? What should I avoid?
- What are the best types of physical activities for me? How active do I need to be?
- Am I overweight or obese? How much weight do I have to lose?
- Are there medications I can take that will help me manage my type 2 diabetes?
Enroll in The Heart of Diabetes program
Enroll in The Heart of Diabetes program to receive tools that can help you get closer to achieving your treatment goals and better managing your type 2 diabetes. 
