In essence, people with diabetes must act as their own health advocates. They must take meticulous care in the daily activities that most people take for granted, such as meal planning, exercise, and stress management. They must learn proper use and administration of medications and monitoring equipment. And, most importantly they must learn to recognize the symptoms of complications of their disease so that they may be prevented or treated in their early stages.

It is for this reason that UCSF has traditionally placed a great emphasis on the education of people with diabetes, in order to assist them in managing the extraordinary change in lifestyle that necessarily accompanies the disease.

The Diabetes Teaching Center's programs, established in 1978, are distinguished among self-management outreach programs in that they place an exquisite emphasis on individualized care - teaching patients how to recognize their own individual patterns of response to various effectors of their condition. The program enables patients to make more consistent and appropriate adjustments in their therapy and lifestyle.

What you will learn:

• how to understand diabetes mellitus: its types, its causes and effects
  and the goals of treatment
• effective ways of managing lifestyle changes: exercise, diet, meal planning,
  weight management and prevention of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• how to manage insulin: principles of usage, modes of action, the best
  regimen of dose adjustments
• how to test blood glucose and ketones and develop testing skills,
  adjusting therapy based upon your test results
• how to use oral medications for diabetes treatment: reasons for use,
  types of medication, potential effects
• how to prevent and manage potential complications, both acute and
  chronic
• how to recognize the psychosocial issues: emotional adjustment to
  diabetes mellitus, the role of family and support groups pecialized Classes:

Insulin pump classes, oral agent and insulin workshops are provided on a regular basis. Appointments can also be scheduled on an individual basis with the educators.

Please see the attached link for our Diabetes Education Online for additional information.