The CGM Blog
Questions to Ask At Your Diabetes Doctor Appointment
The content in this article should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider regarding your individual health needs.
Managing diabetes is a continual learning process. If you—or your child or loved one—have just been diagnosed with diabetes, you might feel inundated with all the new information and medical terms coming your way at your diabetes appointments. You likely also have many questions about diabetes, how your life might change, and what you can do to take care of your health. Even if you’ve been living with diabetes for a while, going through life transitions and growing older can change how the condition affects your body. Unexpected shifts in your blood sugar or new life circumstances can leave you feeling like you’re in the dark about your diabetes management all over again.
Know that there are plenty of resources to help you learn how to manage diabetes effectively and continue to care for yourself at every stage of your diabetes journey. Taking the initiative and proactively asking questions at your diabetes doctor appointments can help you get the guidance you need to take control of your diabetes management with greater confidence.
Where Can I Get Answers to My Questions About Diabetes?
Your doctor and diabetes care team are the best sources of information about diabetes. Different healthcare providers can support you with different aspects of diabetes management and give you tailored advice based on their expertise and your medical history. The people who can answer your questions about living with diabetes and looking after your health can include:
- Family doctor
- Nurse practitioner
- Endocrinologist or diabetologist
- Registered diabetes dietitian or nutritionist
- Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE)
- Pharmacist
- Counsellor, therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist
In addition to checking in with your diabetes care team, it’s a good idea to increase your diabetes education outside of your regular doctor’s visits. Learning more about diabetes on your own can help you come prepared to your appointments with informed questions or topics of discussion.
Here are a few medically reviewed online resources that can help you learn more about living with diabetes:
While there are credible medical publications that can provide an overview of current science and offer general recommendations, always consult your doctor or diabetes care team before making changes to your routines.
What to Ask Your Doctor When You’re Newly Diagnosed
The diabetes diagnosis process is different for everyone. Some individuals may have initial conversations about diabetes with their family doctor, but others may be referred directly to an endocrinologist for specialized care right away.
Here are some questions to ask your family doctor, your endocrinologist, or the physician who provided your diabetes diagnosis that can help kick-start your learning journey:
- How will diabetes affect my lifestyle?
- How will diabetes affect other conditions or health issues I experience?
- What role will my doctor and/or endocrinologist play in my care?
- What simple lifestyle changes can I make right away to support my health?
And, for parents:
- What changes can I make to my child’s lifestyle right away?
- How can I help my child manage diabetes while they are at school?
Discussing Blood Sugar Management
At your initial appointments, you will likely get directions from your doctor or endocrinologist about how to manage your blood sugar, also known as glucose. Diabetes Canada generally recommends that adults 18 and older aim to maintain glucose levels between 3.9 mmol/L and 10.0 mmol/L and work towards an A1C at or below 7.0%.1 However, every person is unique, and it’s important to work with your doctor to establish the glucose management goals that are right for you.
Some questions you might want to ask about managing your glucose include:
- What is the target glucose range I should aim for?
- What is my A1C goal? How soon should I aim to reach that goal?
- What glucose levels are considered “too high” and “too low” for me?
There are many technologies—including medications and devices—that can help individuals living with diabetes manage their glucose on an everyday basis. It’s a good idea to ask about the options that are available to you.
- What types of devices are available to help me monitor my glucose?
- Is a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system right for me?
T1D and T2D are treated in different ways, so your doctor’s recommendations will be tailored to the type of diabetes you’re managing. In addition to discussing options for glucose monitoring, people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) might also want to ask:
- What technology options are available to help me administer insulin? (e.g., pens, syringes, insulin pumps, insulin patches)
- How do the different types of insulin I’m using work?
- Is an insulin pump or an automated insulin delivery (AID) system right for me?
- What type of insurance coverage is available for insulin, medication, and glucose monitoring options?
People living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) may want to investigate:
- How do the medications I’m being prescribed work to help me manage glucose?
- Do I need to use insulin therapy? If so, what options are available to help me administer insulin?
- What insurance coverage is available for the treatments I want to use?
Discussing Lifestyle Changes, Nutrition, and Exercise
Eating healthy meals, engaging in physical activity you enjoy, managing stress, and making other healthy choices like quitting smoking or reducing how much alcohol you drink can have a positive effect on your diabetes management. Questions you can ask your family doctor or endocrinologist about the new lifestyle changes you need to make might include:
- What are some physical activities I can start now to support my health?
- Can I keep doing the physical activities or sports I love? What do I need to think about when I’m exercising?
- Do I need to lose weight? What are the healthiest and most sustainable ways to do so?
- Are there foods I should start incorporating into my diet right away? Are there foods I should avoid eating?
- Where can I find diabetes-friendly recipes?
- What support is available to help me quit smoking?
- What support is available to help me manage stress or take care of my mental health?
Discussing Additional Support and Resources
Before you leave your appointment, it’s a good idea to learn where you can get additional support and where to turn if you have further questions. Your healthcare provider can refer you to other medical specialists and recommend resources to ensure you get the care you need. Be sure to ask:
- Who can answer my questions between appointments?
- What other healthcare providers are available to support my diabetes management?
- Do I need a referral to an endocrinologist, diabetes dietitian, or other specialist?
- Are there local diabetes educators I can contact?
- Are there diabetes support groups or organizations in the area that could help me?
What to Ask During Routine Diabetes Doctor Appointments
In general, Diabetes Canada recommends that individuals living with diabetes get an A1C and blood pressure test every three months. It’s also a good idea to visit the dentist every six months and have an eye exam, a foot exam, a cholesterol test, and a kidney test done once a year. These check-ups assess whether you’re at risk of diabetes complications and can provide the insight you and your care team need to make proactive changes to your diabetes treatment plan.
Regular appointments5,6 with your family doctor or endocrinologist also give you the chance to check in about whether your diabetes management routines are working for you. It’s smart to review whether your insulin dosing and medication routines are having the desired effect on your glucose levels, in addition to talking about the lifestyle changes and habits you’ve adopted.
Diabetes will affect you in unique ways at different life stages. For example, routines that worked for you as a young adult may not be right for you when you’re thinking about starting a family. Your diabetes management may also change throughout the year. You might go through a period of stress at work, school, or during the holiday season, or you might be more physically active in the summer than in the winter. Even changes in the weather can impact your glucose levels. Going to your regular check-ups helps you understand your body better and gives you more tools for managing diabetes through all the seasons of your life.
A few questions you can bring up with your diabetes care team at your regular checkups could include:
- How does my A1C compare to my previous test? How does it compare to my last three tests?
- How can I reduce how often I experience high glucose and low glucose?
- How can having a cold or the flu impact my glucose levels?
- Am I experiencing low glucose at night? How can I check?
You can also bring up challenges you’re having and find out how to get more support. Your diabetes care team is there to make sure that your diabetes is under control. If you need help, you can ask:
- I’m having trouble knowing when I experience low glucose. How can I get ahead of lows?
- I’m struggling with [insert concern] aspect of my diabetes management; where can I get more guidance?
- How can I reduce the emotional stress of managing diabetes and make things a little easier? Are there mental health professionals who can help?
Using Dexcom CGM Systems to Get the Most Out of Your Appointments
Regular appointments aren’t just for checking in on your health; they’re also an opportunity to get actionable advice to improve your diabetes management. Using a CGM system can give you greater insight into what causes changes in your glucose levels, providing information you and your diabetes care team can use to make changes to your diabetes management plan.
The Dexcom G7 CGM System can provide glucose readings on your compatible smartphone, smartwatch, or handheld receiver up to every five minutes without the need for routine fingersticks.*† This can make it a little easier to keep track of what affects your glucose so that you and your doctor can take a look back at what’s been going on with your diabetes management. You can connect the Dexcom G7 app directly to other health and food tracking apps and easily log routines and events next to your glucose readings so you can see what impacts your glucose levels throughout the day and even at night. Dexcom G7 also shows you key glucose trends over time, like your time in range (TIR), average glucose levels, and glucose management indicator—which is an approximation of your A1C. You can use these metrics to watch your progress and show your doctor how you’re doing.
Using Dexcom CGM Systems, like Dexcom G7, also makes it easier to collaborate with your diabetes care team at regular appointments by giving them better visibility into your glucose management through Dexcom Clarity. When you connect your Dexcom CGM System to Dexcom Clarity, it can store your glucose readings and organize them into helpful graphs and visualizations that you can seamlessly share with your care team at the clinic. You and your care team can use these reports to identify patterns in your glucose and spot opportunities for improvement. You can also track your progress and celebrate your wins along the way.
* Smart devices sold separately. For a list of compatible devices, please visit dexcom.com/compatibility.
† Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
† Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
- Imran AS, et. al. Can J Diabetes. 2018:42(S42–S46)
- Living with Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 15, 2024. Accessed January 21, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/living-with/index.html
- Managing Diabetes: Six Healthy Steps with the Most Benefit. Johns Hopkins University. Accessed January 21, 2025. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/diabetes/managing-diabetes-six-healthy-steps-with-the-most-benefit
- Diabetes and drinking. Diabetes Canada. December 17, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.diabetes.ca/en-CA/about-diabetes/impact-stories/diabetes-and-drinking
- Diabetes: Tests to Watch for Complications. HealthLink BC. Updated March 1, 2023. Accessed October 9, 2024. https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/illnesses-conditions/diabetes/diabetes-tests- watch-complications
- Your Diabetes Care Schedule. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated May 15, 2024. Accessed October 24, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/treatment/your-diabetes-care-schedule.html