Just found out you have diabetes? You're not alone, and there's a lot you can do.

Whether you've been told you have type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, prediabetes or diabetes in pregnancy, a new diagnosis can bring a lot of questions, new words and new routines. The good news is that diabetes care has never been better. With the right support, most people with diabetes live long, active, full lives. Here you'll find clear, friendly guides for you and your family, one step at a time.

Updated October 3, 2026

In an emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

Start here

A short welcome video, a guide to your first weeks, and a checklist to help you get started.

Your first few weeks: a checklist

  • Save the phone number of your diabetes team, family doctor or a nurse you can call with questions.
  • Ask which type of diabetes you have, and what your A1C and other test results mean.
  • Ask for a referral to a diabetes education program, where a nurse and dietitian can help you get started.
  • Learn how and when to check your blood sugar, and ask your team what targets are right for you.
  • If you take insulin or a medicine that can cause lows, learn the signs of low blood sugar and keep fast-acting sugar with you.
  • Ask your team for a sick-day plan before you get sick.
  • Choose one small change, such as a short walk after a meal, and do it most days.
  • Book your first eye exam and ask when your kidney, foot, blood pressure and cholesterol checks are due.
  • Tell your team if you feel low, worried or overwhelmed for more than two weeks.
  • Your first weeks after a diabetes diagnosis: A calm, step-by-step guide to the first weeks after you learn you have diabetes: understanding your results, checking your blood sugar, medicines, food, activity and support. (6 min read)
  • Questions to ask your diabetes team (printable): A printable list of questions to bring to diabetes appointments: your diagnosis, blood sugar targets, medicines, insulin, lows, checkups, food, activity, feelings and costs. (5 min read)

Which kind of diabetes?

Each kind of diabetes is a little different. Choose yours for what it means, how it's treated and what helps day to day. Not sure which kind you have? Ask your team.

  • Type 2 diabetes: The most common kind: what's happening, medicines that protect your heart and kidneys, food, activity and yearly checks.
  • Type 1 diabetes: Insulin every day: injections, glucose sensors and pumps, carb counting, lows, sick days and preventing DKA.
  • Prediabetes: An early heads-up: what your results mean, and the small, steady changes that can keep type 2 diabetes away.
  • Gestational diabetes: Diabetes in pregnancy: checking your blood sugar, eating well for you and your baby, insulin if needed, and after the birth.

Understand it

What insulin does, what goes wrong in diabetes, and why blood sugar matters for your whole body.

  • Understanding type 2 diabetes: What happens in your body with type 2 diabetes, how it's diagnosed, why it isn't your fault, and why looking after your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol protects your health. (6 min read)
  • Understanding type 1 diabetes: What type 1 diabetes is, why it happens, how it's diagnosed, what daily care looks like, and what it means for your family, in plain words. (6 min read)

Treatment and monitoring

Checking your blood sugar, the A1C test, diabetes medicines and insulin, and the team and checkups that keep you well.

  • Your diabetes care team and checkups: Who's on your diabetes team, and the regular checks that protect your heart, kidneys, eyes and feet: A1C, kidney tests, eye exams, foot exams, blood pressure, cholesterol and vaccines. (6 min read)
  • Type 2 diabetes treatment options: A plain-language guide to treating type 2 diabetes: healthy habits, metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 medicines, DPP-4 inhibitors, sulfonylureas and insulin, plus what we know about remission. (7 min read)
  • Insulin and technology for type 1 diabetes: How basal and mealtime insulin work, using insulin pens, injection sites and storage, and how glucose sensors (CGM), insulin pumps and automated insulin delivery can make daily life easier. (7 min read)

Staying safe

How to spot and treat low blood sugar, what to do when you're sick, and the signs that mean get help now.

  • Low blood sugar: what to do: How to spot and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) with the rule of 15, when to use glucagon and call 9-1-1, and how to stay safe while driving. (6 min read)
  • Sick-day rules: managing diabetes when you're unwell: What to do with diabetes when you have the flu, a stomach bug or another illness: keep drinking, keep checking, keep taking insulin, ask about pausing certain medicines (SADMANS), and check ketones. (6 min read)
  • DKA: what to know: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious but preventable emergency. Learn what causes it, the warning signs, how to check ketones, what the numbers mean, and when to call 9-1-1. (6 min read)

Living well

Food, activity, protecting your heart, kidneys, eyes and feet, your feelings, and driving, work and travel.

  • Eating well with diabetes: There's no single diabetes diet. Learn the plate method, how carbohydrates affect blood sugar, smart drink swaps and simple, flexible ways to eat well with diabetes. (6 min read)
  • Moving more with diabetes: How activity helps your blood sugar, heart and mood, how much to aim for, and how to stay safe from lows when you exercise with diabetes. (6 min read)
  • Diabetes and your feelings: Diabetes distress, burnout, worry and low mood are common and treatable. Learn the signs, simple ways to cope, how family can help and where to get support, including 9-8-8. (6 min read)
  • Driving, work and travel with diabetes: Practical tips for staying safe on the road, knowing your rights at work, and travelling with insulin, pumps and other diabetes supplies. (6 min read)

When to get help

Call 9-1-1 now

  • Severe low blood sugar: the person is passed out, having a seizure, too confused to swallow safely, or can't treat the low themselves. Never put food or drink in the mouth of someone who can't swallow. Use glucagon if it's available and you've been shown how
  • Signs of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA): throwing up, stomach pain, fruity-smelling breath, deep or fast breathing, or feeling very sleepy or confused, especially with high blood sugar or ketones
  • Very high blood sugar with extreme thirst, signs of dehydration, confusion or drowsiness (possible hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, or HHS)
  • Blood ketones of 3.0 mmol/L or higher, or high ketones and you can't keep fluids down
  • Chest pain, pressure or discomfort, or discomfort spreading to the arm, neck, jaw or back, with or without shortness of breath
  • Signs of a stroke: face drooping, arm weakness, or trouble speaking

Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number. Don't drive yourself.

Call your diabetes team today

  • Low blood sugar that keeps happening, or a low that needed help from someone else, even if you're fine now
  • Blood sugar readings that stay higher than your target for several days, or above 14 mmol/L (about 250 mg/dL) for more than a few meals
  • Blood or urine ketones that are moderate or high (for example, blood ketones of 1.5 mmol/L or more), or any ketones while you feel unwell
  • An illness that stops you eating or drinking normally, or throwing up or diarrhea for more than a few hours
  • A cut, blister, sore, ulcer or crack on your foot, or a foot that is red, warm, swollen or draining, even if it doesn't hurt
  • New blurry vision, or new numbness, tingling or burning in your feet or hands
  • Side effects from a diabetes medicine, or you can't get or afford your medicines or supplies
  • Low mood, worry or feeling burned out by diabetes for more than two weeks

Call your diabetes team, family doctor or after-hours line the same day. If you can't reach anyone and you're worried, go to urgent care or emergency.

If you or someone with diabetes has any of the signs in the first list, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number right away. Tell the call taker the person has diabetes. If someone is passed out or can't swallow, don't give food or drink. Turn them on their side and give glucagon if you've been trained. For the second list, call your diabetes team, family doctor or after-hours line the same day. If you can't reach anyone and you're worried, go to an urgent care centre or emergency department. When in doubt, call.

Questions to ask your team

A printable list of questions to bring to your next appointment.

Go deeper

Written for clinicians and students. More technical material from Hibbert Medical, for readers who want more detail.

Podcast summaries

Lectures

Seminars

Clinical cases

Common questions

What is diabetes?

Diabetes means there is too much sugar (glucose) in your blood. Glucose comes from the food you eat, and it's the main fuel for your body. A hormone called insulin, made by the pancreas, works like a key that lets glucose move from your blood into your cells. In type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn't use insulin well and may not make enough. Over time, high blood sugar can affect the heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves and feet, which is why treatment and regular checkups matter.

Did I cause my diabetes?

No. Diabetes is not your fault. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that nothing you did caused. Type 2 diabetes is linked to many things, including family history, genes, age, ethnic background, stress, sleep, some medicines and where people live and work. Many of these are out of anyone's control. What matters now is the plan going forward, and there is a lot you can do.

What is an A1C test?

The A1C (also called HbA1c) is a blood test that shows your average blood sugar over the past 2 to 3 months. Many adults with diabetes aim for an A1C of 7% or lower, according to Diabetes Canada and the American Diabetes Association. But targets are personal. Your team may suggest a different goal based on your age, health and risk of low blood sugar. Ask, "What A1C target is right for me?"

Will I need insulin?

Everyone with type 1 diabetes needs insulin, every day. Many people with type 2 diabetes manage with healthy habits and pills or other medicines, but some need insulin at some point, sometimes for a short while. Needing insulin is not a failure. It's a normal part of treatment for many people. If you are pregnant, insulin may also be part of your plan.

Is it normal to feel overwhelmed after a diabetes diagnosis?

Yes. Many people feel shocked, worried, frustrated or tired by all the new tasks diabetes brings. This is sometimes called diabetes distress, and it's very common. Tell your team how you're feeling. Support from a diabetes educator, counsellor or peer group can help. If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 in Canada or the U.S., or call 9-1-1.

Sources for this page

  1. Diabetes Canada: Newly diagnosed
  2. Diabetes Canada: Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
  3. Diabetes Canada: Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar)
  4. Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines: Chapter 8, Targets for glycemic control
  5. Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines: Chapter 14, Hypoglycemia in adults (2023 update)
  6. Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines: Chapter 15, Hyperglycemic emergencies in adults
  7. American Diabetes Association. Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026. Diabetes Care. 2026;49(Suppl 1)
  8. NHS: Diabetic ketoacidosis
  9. Diabetes UK: Hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS)
  10. NIDDK: What is diabetes?
  11. NIDDK: Low blood glucose (hypoglycemia)
  12. NIDDK: Diabetes and foot problems
  13. Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada: Signs of stroke
  14. 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada)

General information, not medical advice. It does not replace your own care team. If you think you or someone else is having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 (Canada and the US).

All After a Diagnosis guides