A 21-year-old member asked:
How often should i be seeing my doctor to optimize my diabetes management?
12 doctor answers • 21 doctors weighed in
Dr. Dean Giannoneanswered
Internal Medicine 26 years experience
3 months: Every three months to your primary care doctor, every two months to the foot doctor, and every six months to the eye doctor in order to keep your diabetes in check and minimize long term complications.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Perry Sextonanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
6 months: Typically when i diagnose a type II diabetic, there is a great effort to gain control (improve the hemoglobin a1c). Several medications are started, blood tests are taken. The initial visits will start about 2-4 weeks apart and gradually spread to 6 months after we make sure there are no complications or side effects and after we get a good diet, exercise and medication regimen.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Andrew Carrollanswered
Family Medicine 26 years experience
3 months: I think at minimum, for an extremely compliant and well controlled diabetic, once every 6 months is adequate. For most patients, a quarterly checkup is a good idea. Uncontrolled diabetics should be seen much more often until the diabetes is controlled.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Andrew Rhinehartanswered
Diabetology 30 years experience
?: When uncontrolled i will see patients every 2-4 weeks to make aggressive medications adjustments. If controlled on multiple medications &/or Insulin i see patients every 3-4 months. Patients well controlled on 1-2 medications i see every 4-6 months.
Medicare will cover diabetic foot exams every 13 weeks and the american diabetes association recommends screening eye exams on a yearly basis.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Scott Williamsonanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
3-6 months: If your hemoglobin A1c is normal, you ought to be seen every 6 months. If it is too high, you ought to be seen every 3 months. If you are changing therapies, you may need to be seen more often.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Barbara A Majeronianswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
3 months: Most physicians see their diabetic patients every 3 to 4 months, if the diabetes is controlled and the patient has been stable, this can be increased to every 6 months.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Theodore Caspeanswered
Family Medicine 41 years experience
1 months: If the diabetes is uncontrolled and on Insulin i see then in 1-2 weeks and aggressively adjust the doses. Then they are seen monthly - they must bring their glucometer with then on each office visit. The hga1c is checked every 3 months. If the diabetes is well controlled i see them every 3 months.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 39 years experience
3 months: If your diabetes is not optimally controlled to maintain the hemoglobin A1c below 7 then visits could be as often as every 2 weeks for review of blood glucose readings and medication adjustments. Once well controlled and no other confounding problems such as obesity then every 3-6 months is usually sufficienct.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Visalakshi Valluryanswered
Family Medicine 25 years experience
3 months: Diabetes is a disorder of sugar control which have long term complications such as vision loss, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, nerve damage etc. It is very important to have regular visits to ensure that sugar remains in control. Tests to assess sugar control include self glucose monitoring (day to day control) and the A1c (hemoglobin a1c, asses control over the past 3 months).
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Martin Bressanswered
Internal Medicine 51 years experience
3 months: If your results have been in good range 3 months is fine. The glycohemoglobin test (a1c) reflects your average blood sugar for the previous 90 days.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Lorne Bigleyanswered
Family Medicine 35 years experience
3 months: This is dependent on the severity of the diabetes. If it is under excellent control, then 6 months is fine, but if there are complications or if the diabetes is not under good control, then 3 months is the best interval.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Kenneth Adleranswered
Family Medicine 41 years experience
3 months: The frequency of your visits depends on your knowledge and comfort level with your own care. The more you know about diabetes and the closer you monitor it (in general), the better. There are 3 things we want to see in excellent control with diabetics - blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure. If you are at target on all those (hgb A1c < 7.0, LDL < 100; BP < 130/80) you're golden.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Feb 24, 2017
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