NELFT marks Diabetes Week (10-16 June) by raising awareness of the importance of having regular diabetes check-ups.

Life with diabetes can feel like number, check, and test overload. You might feel fine or feel like you don’t have the time. Or maybe you’re not sure what checks you should be getting. But these regular diabetes health checks are vital to keep you healthy, so you can continue living life to the full.

When you have diabetes, you need regular health checks to tell you and your healthcare team how diabetes is affecting your body.

These vital tests can spot changes to your average blood sugar levels, kidneys, heart, eyes, and feet. And the results help you make decisions how to manage your condition.

What diabetes health checks should I be getting?

According to Diabetes UK, as part of your annual review, these are the health checks you should be offered:

A blood test where enough blood is taken to be sent to the lab to check your:

• HbA1c your average blood sugar levels for the past three months.
• Cholesterol levels how much fat is in your blood.
• Kidney function how well your kidneys are working.

You should be asked to provide a urine sample that is sent to the lab to check for signs of kidney disease.

At the appointment you should also have:

• A foot check which may be done safely once every two years if your last check showed no problems.
• Your weight and height measured to work out your Body Mass Index (BMI).
• Your blood pressure measured.

Your healthcare team will also ask if you smoke, so you can be offered help to stop.

It may not be at your annual review appointment, and is likely to be done by a different team, but you should also be invited to:

• A diabetic eye check this is not the same as a sight test at the optician. Photos are taken of your eyes to see how diabetes is affecting them, as it can damage the blood vessels and cause an eye problem called diabetic retinopathy.

If your last diabetic eye check was clear, it may be safely offered once every two years rather than once a year.

So it's important to get all of your health checks, contact your healthcare provider.