Diabetes Management and Nutrition
Choosing well. Eating well. Staying well.
At Pentucket Medical as part of your overall treatment plan we offer diabetes care management with nutritional guidance and support for our patients with diabetes, or other related health issues.
Pentucket Medical’s diabetes care department is an integrated program that combines education with specialist care, as needed, in coordination with your primary care physician, and Certified Diabetes Educator/ Registered Dietitian.
As a member of your healthcare team, a diabetes educator can help make the challenging task of managing your diabetes a little easier. They work with you to develop a plan to stay healthy, and give you the tools and ongoing support to make that plan a regular part of your life. Our Certified Diabetes Educators are highly skilled, with over 30 combined years of specialized diabetes education between them. They can help you learn:
- What diabetes is, and how you can make lasting lifestyle changes that will help improve your health
- How to cope with diabetes
- How to use diabetes medications
- How to check your blood glucose, and what your target range is
- How to keep track of your diabetes self care
- How to identify and treat the symptoms of low and high blood glucose
- How to develop strategies to lower your risk for complications from health conditions that often accompany diabetes, such as heart disease
- How to use insulin or other injectable diabetes medications
- How to use tools like a glucose sensor, insulin pump, pen or patch, or app to track your glucose, intake and activity
- How to handle “sick days”
- How to stay healthy when you are pregnant
- How diabetes changes over time with life stages, treatment option changes and management goals.
Registered Dietitican
A Registered Dietitian/Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (RD, LDN) helps you figure out your food needs based on your desired weight, lifestyle, medication, and other health goals such as lowering blood fat levels or blood pressure. Even if you’ve had diabetes for many years, a visit to the dietitian can help you figure out what to eat. Food needs change as we age. Conflicting advice and guidelines for health and medical conditions can make it difficult to know which foods, and how much, to choose. Nutrition guidelines for people with diabetes and other health conditions also change over time.
Dietitians can also help you:
- Balance food with medications and activity
- Read food labels – new labels will be introduced in 2017
- Plan personalized menus, meals and snacks
- Plan for eating out and special events
- Develop strategies for including some favorite or ethnic foods in your meals
- Find good cookbooks, reputable resources, recipe web sites, phone apps, nutritional content
- How to modify your family’s favorite recipes to plan healthier meals, including any additional health conditions
- Make a sick day meal plan
Individual appointments for diabetes education and personalized nutrition education are available at all Pentucket Medical locations.
Small group diabetes education classes are also offered, helpful for newly diagnosed people or those who would like a skills refresher.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment call: Haverhill 978-521-3200 / RiverWalk (Lawrence) 978-557-8900/ Newburyport 978-499-7200