How to Manage Your Diabetes

[Originally published: Sept. 08, 2022. Updated: Oct. 30, 2023]

More than 34 million Americans have diabetes, a chronic disease in which the body can’t properly manage blood sugar (glucose) levels in the blood.

If not well-controlled, the condition can lead to a number of serious health complications. But the good news is that it can be managed.

“It takes a lot of effort, but thinking about lifestyle changes in the realm of diet and exercise and medications ensures that you're taking a multi-pronged approach to control your diabetes,” says Janelle Duah, MD, a Yale Medicine primary care physician. “And there are specialists and subspecialists, as well as your primary care doctors who can help you along the way.”

In this video, several Yale Medicine medical experts explain the disease, including its symptoms and how it affects the body. It also covers how diabetes affects the heart and cardiovascular system, eyes, feet, and kidneys.

This video and several others (below) explore various aspects of the disease, and are meant to empower patients to take control of their diabetes, says Yetunde Asiedu, MD, a Yale Medicine primary care physician.

Visit the Yale Medicine Diabetes Content Center for more diabetes-related articles and videos.