Just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes? You're not alone, and there's a lot you can do.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes, and treatment has never been better. Healthy habits, modern medicines and regular checkups can keep your blood sugar in a healthy range and protect your heart, kidneys, eyes and feet. 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

Diabetes: What Now?: your first steps after a diagnosis (video, 4:05)

Your first 30 days: a checklist

Save the phone number of your diabetes team or family doctor, and a nurse or pharmacist you can call with questions.
Ask what your A1C and other results mean, and what targets are right for you.
Ask for a referral to a diabetes education program and a dietitian.
Ask what each of your medicines does, and whether any of them can cause low blood sugar.
Ask whether a medicine that protects the heart and kidneys is right for you.
Choose one small change, such as a short walk after meals or swapping sugary drinks for water.
Book an eye exam, and ask about kidney tests, a foot check, blood pressure and cholesterol.
Ask your team for a sick-day plan.
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)

Understand type 2 diabetes

What insulin resistance means, how type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, and why it isn't your fault.

Type 2 Diabetes, Explained: and how to lower your risk (video, 4:39)
How Your Kidneys Work: your body's filters (video, 4:24)

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)

Treatment and monitoring

Healthy habits, medicines by type, insulin when it's needed, checking your blood sugar, and your yearly checks.

Diabetes Medicines, Explained: what each one does (video, 3:45)
Checking Your Blood Sugar: meters, sensors and the A1C test (video, 3:47)
Starting Insulin: a step-by-step guide to your pen (video, 3:55)

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)
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)

Staying safe

Some diabetes medicines can cause low blood sugar, and being sick can push it high. Here's what to do.

Low Blood Sugar: What to Do: spot it, treat it, stay safe (video, 4:02)
Sick Days with Diabetes: what to do when you're unwell (video, 3:55)

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)

Living well

Food, activity, protecting your heart, kidneys, eyes and feet, and looking after your feelings.

Eating Well with Diabetes: no single diet, just a few good habits (video, 3:41)
Moving More with Diabetes: how activity helps your blood sugar (video, 3:51)
What Exercise Does for Your Body: and how much you really need (video, 4:38)
Protecting Your Body: heart, kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves (video, 3:42)
Blood Pressure, Explained: what the numbers mean (video, 4:48)
Cholesterol, Explained: the good, the bad and what to do (video, 4:31)
Diabetes and Your Feelings: you're more than your numbers (video, 4:08)

Living well with type 2 diabetes: Everyday ways to look after yourself with type 2 diabetes, using Diabetes Canada's ABCDEs: A1C, blood pressure, cholesterol, medicines that protect your heart, healthy habits, checkups and support. (6 min read)
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, or too confused to swallow safely. Never put food or drink in their mouth. Give glucagon if it's available and you've been shown how
Very high blood sugar with extreme thirst, signs of dehydration, confusion or drowsiness (possible hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, or HHS)
Throwing up, stomach pain, fruity-smelling breath, or deep or fast breathing, especially if you take insulin or an SGLT2 inhibitor (possible diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, which can happen even when blood sugar isn't very high)
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 someone else's help
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
Moderate or high ketones, if your team has asked you to check them
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, such as ongoing stomach upset, or genital itching or discharge
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. Don't drive yourself to the hospital. 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

Endocrinology podcasts: Diabetes and hormone specialists on new research and treatments, each with a written summary.
Nutrition podcasts: Researchers and dietitians on eating patterns, carbohydrates and health.
Fitness and exercise podcasts: Exercise scientists on activity, strength and metabolic health.

Lectures

Type 2 Diabetes: A Goal-Directed Approach: Residency family medicine: setting personal targets and building a plan.
Type 2 Diabetes: Oral and Injectable Therapies: Residency endocrinology: metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 medicines and insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes: Individualized Pharmacotherapy Beyond Metformin: Choosing medicines that also protect the heart and kidneys.
Endocrine Pharmacology: Medical school: how diabetes medicines work.
Diabetic Kidney Disease: Residency nephrology: protecting the kidneys in diabetes.

Seminars

Diabetes Management in Primary Care: Clerkship seminar: diagnosis, targets, medicines and yearly checks.
Diabetes Management: Clerkship seminar: from new diagnosis to insulin, and diabetes emergencies.

Clinical cases

New Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes: The first visits after a type 2 diagnosis.
Type 2 Diabetes: Initiating and Intensifying Therapy: How treatment is started, and stepped up when needed.
Diabetic Glucosuria and SGLT2 Inhibitor Therapy: How SGLT2 inhibitors lower blood sugar through the kidneys.
Type 2 Diabetes: Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State (HHS): A rare but serious emergency of very high blood sugar.

Common questions

What is type 2 diabetes?

In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn't respond to insulin as well as it should (insulin resistance), and over time the pancreas can't make enough extra insulin to keep up. Sugar then builds up in the blood. It usually develops slowly, often over years, and many people have no symptoms at first. It's the most common kind of diabetes, making up about 90% of cases.

Did I cause my type 2 diabetes?

No. Type 2 diabetes is not your fault. It runs strongly in families and is more common as people get older and in some ethnic groups, including people of South Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Indigenous and Asian descent. Stress, sleep, some medicines, and where people live and work also play a part. What matters now is the plan going forward.

Can type 2 diabetes go away?

For some people, yes, at least for a while. Studies such as the DiRECT trial found that some people with type 2 diabetes who lost a substantial amount of weight, especially soon after diagnosis, had normal blood sugar levels without diabetes medicines. This is called remission. It doesn't happen for everyone, and blood sugar can rise again, so regular checkups are still important. Ask your team if this is a realistic goal for you.

Will I need insulin?

Many people with type 2 diabetes never need insulin. Others need it at some point, because type 2 diabetes can change over time, or for a short while, such as during an illness or pregnancy. Needing insulin is not a failure or a punishment. It's a safe, effective treatment that works with your body.

Can I still eat the foods I love?

Yes. There is no single diabetes diet. Many eating patterns can work, and your favourite foods can usually fit with some changes to portion sizes or how often you have them. A dietitian can help you make a plan that fits your culture, tastes and budget.

Sources for this page

Back to Diabetes: checking your blood sugar, low blood sugar, sick days, food, activity and support, for any kind of diabetes

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