Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: what now?

Type 2 diabetes means glucose remains in the bloodstream because insulin is not working effectively or the body cannot make enough of it. Over time, raised glucose can affect blood vessels, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and skin. Managing glucose alongside blood pressure and cholesterol helps reduce strain on these areas.

Your clinician may use blood tests to confirm the diagnosis and discuss your personal glucose target. You may also be offered checks of kidney health, eyes, feet, blood pressure, and cardiovascular risk. These checks look for changes early; they do not mean that damage has already occurred.

Learn how to take and monitor your medicines. If insulin or another treatment can lower glucose, ask how to recognise and treat hypoglycaemia. Do not change doses because of a single reading without advice. Keep appointments for foot checks, eye screening, kidney tests, and medication reviews.

Build meals and activity around advice you can maintain. Look after your feet each day: check for blisters, cuts, colour changes, or areas of heat, and wear well-fitting footwear. A wound that does not improve needs medical review. Weight, smoking, sleep, and blood pressure may also be part of your plan. Related conditions include [Chronic Kidney Disease] and [Peripheral Neuropathy].

Get urgent help for severe drowsiness or confusion, repeated vomiting, difficulty breathing, or inability to keep fluids down. Seek prompt advice for a foot wound, spreading redness, warmth, swelling, pus, or fever, because an infection such as [Cellulitis] can worsen. Treat low glucose promptly according to your plan; if the person is unconscious or cannot swallow, do not give food or drink and call emergency services.

Ask: What is my glucose target? How and when should I check it? What should I do for a low or high reading? Which checks do I need for my eyes, kidneys, feet, and nerves? Who should I contact about sick-day medicines? What support is available for meals, activity, or stopping smoking?