Ask The Expert
Diagnosis & Symptoms

I can understand your concerns, as this can all seem overwhelming, especially when you don’t yet feel well. Believe it or not, most of your questions are already answered on our website in the educator archives, although when you are new to this, you may not be sure what to even look for. I will attempt to walk you through how to begin to sort this out through some related questions at the end of this answer—and I hope you will open and read all the links I provide, as I think you will find information that will help you. However, because you do not feel well, first I must urge you to contact your doctor to discuss your symptoms.

• Diabetes Symptoms: It is difficult to know if your symptoms are due to high glucose or some other cause, which is why you should contact your doctor first to discuss how you are feeling.
• Lack of energy: Likewise, your doctor needs to determine the cause for your fatigue. While it can be due to your newly diagnosed diabetes that is perhaps not yet well controlled, it could be from other things, so please discuss this with your doctor.

Education Referral: While you will be able to read answers to many of your questions, it is first extremely important that you ask your doctor for a referral to a nurse and dietitian who are certified diabetes educators. Not only will they help you manage your condition, but they are also trained to help you realize that you need to do this in small steps—it takes time to understand this condition, accept the fact that you may need to make some lifestyle changes, and then put this all into practice. Diabetes educators are trained to help you accomplish your individual goals in a realistic fashion. As you sort this all out, I hope you will periodically revisit our site for updates, as well as to search the archives.