How My Diabetes Treatment Has Changed Since I Was First Diagnosed

Nikki Nurse is living with Type 2 diabetes, and she says her treatment has changed a lot since she was first diagnosed.

“I think it had to do with me being honest with myself and honest with my doctor,” she says.

Here’s what made a difference for Nurse as far as her Type 2 diabetes treatment:

• Find a provider with whom you feel comfortable being honest: She didn’t necessarily feel comfortable with her first doctor, and was pleased when she found another doctor whom she felt more connected to. “I was able to feel like I could speak to them on a different level of honesty, and then my [medical] care changed,” Nurse says. 

• Be honest with your provider about your side effects — they may be able to help: After Nurse’s initial diabetes diagnosis, the medication she was prescribed made her feel drained and nauseous. After checking in with her doctor, she switched to another medication, which helped.

• You may be able to find a medication that works with your lifestyle: “I just explained to them my lifestyle,” Nurse says. “I just need something to help me, give me a boost.” Her new medication and her injectable are a better fit for her active lifestyle.

Around the holidays or her birthday, she’ll check in with her doctor and let them know of any special treats she’d like to eat.

“By communicating all this with my [care team], they are able to make adjustments to my medicine so that my numbers are still falling in the normal range,” she says. “And that has been so helpful.”

You can read more about Nikki’s experience with Type 2 diabetes here and how she manages her A1C here.

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Marisa Taylor Karas

Marisa Taylor Karas is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn who has covered health, gender, and technology for 15 years. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera America, among other publications, and also served as managing editor of the Mellon Foundation in New York City.

Reviewed by:

Alexandra Schwarz, MD

Alexandra Schwarz, MD, is a board-eligible sleep medicine physician and a board-certified family medicine physician. She is a member of both the AASM and the ABFM.

Our editorial standards

Meet our experts