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I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes this year. I am well controlled with diet, exercise and medication. My diagnosis has been a rollercoaster of emotion. I was fearful and angry over my diagnosis initially, but this has turned into determination. I will not let diabetes be my identity. It’s just a part of my story. As a nurse, I have educated my patients over the years of the importance of taking charge and control over their diabetes. Now I walk this road with them.

My diabetes journey began in August 2016. I was 29 years old. Like many who are first diagnosed, I ended up in the hospital with high blood sugar, severe dehydration, fatigue and exhaustion. “If you were my sister,” I recall my doctor saying, “I’d send you to the hospital.” And off to the hospital I went. I remember that day like it was yesterday: the doctors, the nurses, the diabetes educator, the concerned look on my parents’ faces. I didn’t even know what diabetes was at the time, much less how it would change my life forever.

As part of our commitment to reduce the incidence of diabetes, we are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) to implement a key feature of the program—a research-based, structured lifestyle change program that is proven to help prevent and delay the development of type 2 diabetes. Before people develop type 2 diabetes, they almost always have prediabetes—where blood glucose (also called blood sugar) levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diabetes. Prediabetes is very common. Approximately 88

When I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008, I found myself unsure of how to move forward — how to make the necessary changes in my diet and lifestyle in order to confidently manage this condition.

In February 2025, I went to my wellness exam for the first time in at least seven years. My appointment was with the nurse practitioner (NP) of an internist I had not yet seen. The first shock to my system was when I stepped on the scale: 345 pounds. At 5'10", that placed my BMI at 49.5. The first thing my NP said was, "Tell me about the history of your weight.” I had been athletic in my teens and twenties, but somewhere along the way, I had lost control of my weight, and in turn my health. The second shock to my system was when I received the results of my blood test. My A1C was 13, my

Mary Van Doorn, a mother of two from Dacula, Georgia, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes—but her diagnosis didn’t hold her back. Mary founded Sugar Mama Strong, a diabetes support group and wellness program for women. This is her story: I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when I was just 21 years old, the daughter of two type 2 parents. Our genetics run deep—almost every adult on my mother's side now lives with type 2. At first, I ignored it. I lived in denial for a long time—I call it my young and stupid phase. At 21, you think you're invincible. I didn't FEEL sick. I didn't LOOK sick. It

At age 63, having missed my annual physical due to COVID and ignoring obvious signs of polyuria and polydipsia, the results of my A1C being over 14 came as a shock. My previous readings were in the 5.6–5.9 range. Overnight, I went from a pancreas transplant surgeon to a type 2 diabetes patient on Lantus and metformin. Having been treating kidney failure patients from diabetes, it was a shock. I requested and convinced my endocrinologist colleague to prescribe me a CGM (Libre 2) in addition to a finger prick monitor. I knew I had put on extra weight and always had a sweet tooth, but the CGM

Richard Wood shares with us the different aspects of diabetes management and how to approach them.

I was 21 years old when I was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I had unknowingly been presenting symptoms for a few years: I was always thirsty, always tired, and needed the bathroom a lot. It never occurred to me or my parents that there was something serious going on. I was long overdue for a physical in 2007, and the clinician found sugar in my urine and brought me in for a blood test. The night before I consumed an entire two-liter of pop, a fairly common thing for me at the time. When we tested my blood glucose the next day, it was over 600 mg/dL! No special testing was performed

Lynda Jimenez is the Associate Director of Online Strategy & Operations for the American Diabetes Association. This is her story: Most women begin their journey through pregnancy as soon as those little lines appear. As for me, I started my pregnancy journey eight months before those little lines would make their appearance, an entire year and a half before my son was born. Living with type 2 diabetes, I already tried to live a healthy lifestyle, but I was nowhere near being prepared for pregnancy. Managing with oral medications, an okay diet and the occasional exercise, my A1C was hovering