Well, who says that a diabetic cannot enjoy college life like the other healthy students? Diabetes, no doubt is complicated. However, if you follow a well-disciplined lifestyle, you will be able to deal with the disease effectively and lead a normal life. Following a strict diet, exercise regimen, and a proper routine becomes very difficult when you are away from home.

So, here is a list of 10 most important tips that will be handy when you want to enjoy your college life inspite of being a diabetes patient:

1. Inform Your Roommate

First and foremost, when you are a college student, you should reveal about your condition to your roommate as well as all the close friends with whom you interact on a daily basis. You should not only reveal them about your condition but also let them know how you deal with the situation so that they can be of some help in case of any type of emergency. You also have to show them about where you keep your medicines, insulin syringes, cartridges, strips, amongst other things related to your diabetes.

2. Get Yourself Acquainted with the Health Services

You will need to know in detail about the health services that are located in the vicinity of your campus. You need to explain your situation in detail to the new doctor and make him understand about your condition thoroughly. You should also take recommendations as to what should your diet be. Finally, you should take the number of the office so that you can contact the doctor whenever you need him or her.

3. Make a List of Emergency Contacts

Always make sure that you have a list of emergency contacts handy and that your roommate and all close friends are aware of these contacts. It may include the contact of your doctor, pharmacy, or even a diabetes educator.

4. Keep a Diabetic Emergency Kit Handy

There may be a time when you are extremely sick and you might need a few things on an immediate basis. For that purpose, it is advisable to always keep an emergency kit handy. Such a kit should consist of insulin, glucagon, saltines, and other things. Keep it in such a place that you are able to locate it easily.

5. Regulate Your Diet

As far as your diet is concerned, as you know, it forms a very important part of managing diabetes. However, when at home, you can manage and regulate your diet in a much more effective and desirable manner. However, the same may not be true when you are in college. Hence, being aware of what you eat becomes all the more important when you stay away from home. You should try to eat your meals at the same time regularly so that your blood glucose levels are kept under control. You should also keep some healthy snacks with you in your room so that you can eat them whenever you feel hungry without adversely affecting your health.

6. Choose Your Insulin Plan Effectively

In college days, your routine can be really erratic. There will be times when you will have to get up in the morning, while there will be a few days when you will like to sleep in and get up really late. In such scenarios, it is difficult to stick to the insulin routine which you must have followed when you are at home. You need to be flexible with the insulin regimen while you join college. The few guidelines include:

• You should ideally go for a long-acting insulin combined with a short-acting insulin
• You might also like to choose insulin pumps to administer insulin in your body

Another important thing suggested by the experts is that you should get into the routine of following this type of insulin regime a few days before going to college so that the changes are not sudden for your body.

7. Follow an Exercise Regimen

When you go to a college, you should not forget about devising a proper, well-devised exercise regimen for yourself. With the hectic schedule to follow, it may not be possible to concentrate on exercise in a very disciplined manner. Hence, whatever time you can get, you should do some or the other form of physical exercise. This will go a long way in helping to better manage diabetes.

8. Understand the Role of Alcohol

When you study in college, you tend to get carried away with your friends and others in parties where you can take alcohol. However, if you are a diabetes patient, you need to be really aware of the effects of alcohol on your blood glucose levels. you should talk to your doctor about drinking alcohol and also about the quantity that you should drink.

9. Understand Your Legal Rights

There are a few colleges that provide scholarships to students who have diabetes. These scholarships, are, however, for only those people who need some or the other type of financial help. Students can make a list of the expenses they need for their diabetes care and see if some or the other type of aid is available to them.

10. Be Stress-Free and Enjoy Your College Life

Staying stress-free is another important way of effectively managing diabetes. College life is an important part of your life and you should not miss on having any kind of fun. Do not let diabetes come in the way of enjoying your college life.

We hope that the above article has been helpful in providing you some of the everyday tips that you should follow when you are someone who has diabetes and are going to a new college away from home. The above is a list of some of the most important tips that shall be handy to you!!