National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Ask About Low Blood Sugars
Be Involved in Your Health Care:
Ask About Low Blood Sugars
What's Important to Know?
If you have diabetes, talk with your health care team about selecting a safe and effective glucose (blood sugar) target range that is based on your own goals, priorities, and lifestyle. Selecting a safe glucose target range can help you best manage your diabetes and prevent episodes of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Want to Know More?
Veterans Health Library
- Decision Aids for Managing Type 2 Diabetes: 1. Taking Insulin; 2. Taking an Oral Medication; 3. Managing A1C
- Use these three VHL decision aid tools to learn about treatment options, insulin, oral medications, and setting a safe A1c goal for managing Type 2 Diabetes.
- Work through one or all three tools to learn about different treatment options while factoring in what is important to you in managing your diabetes. At the end you can print a summary of your responses to share with your health care team, family members, or caregivers.
- What is Low Blood Sugar?
- We Want You and Your Health Care Provider to Discuss and Choose a Safe A1C Goal
- What You Should Know About a Safe A1C Goal
- How to Check your Blood Sugar
- Videos for Veterans and VHA Health Care Team Members on Setting an A1c Target Range:
Resources
Department of Veterans Affairs Resources
Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) Programs
DSMES services help people with diabetes manage their diabetes in ways that fit their lifestyle. In DSMES programs, people with diabetes do the following:
- Work with a diabetes care and education specialist to set and track goals.
- Learn how to use knowledge, skills, and tools to build confidence and emotional strength to manage diabetes.
- Practice how to fit diabetes care into all parts of life—like eating and problem solving.
- Find ways to get support (in person and online) from family, friends, the community, and their health care team.
For more information visit: VA Nutrition: Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES).
VA Nutrition and Food Services Diabetes Education
Optimizing diabetes management involves a dedicated health care team that provides personalized, proactive, and patient-driven health care. This care empowers, equips, and encourages Veterans to take charge of their health and to adopt healthy living practices to reduce risks for diabetes-related complications. Checking blood sugars, monitoring A1C levels, knowing blood sugar targets, recognizing low blood sugars, and counting carbohydrates are just a few of the ‘numbers’ that Veterans should know. These Diabetes Patient Education Materials can help.
Understand Your Diabetes Numbers Campaign Podcasts
These podcasts provide Veterans with information on important numbers to help manage their diabetes, be safe, and achieve their personal goals. They cover relevant diabetes topics such as food insecurity, managing sick days, reading food labels, and counting carbohydrates.
Federal Government Resources
NIDDK conducts and supports research on many of the most common, costly, and chronic conditions to improve health. Review some of the diabetes educational materials linked below:
- Low Blood Glucose (Hypoglycemia)
- The A1C Test and Diabetes
- Diabetes Diet, Eating, & Physical Activity
- Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Resources
If you or a loved one is living with diabetes, it’s important to work together to manage diabetes. Use these resources to learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices to help manage diabetes, prevent complications, and improve your health.
