If you have already been diagnosed with diabetes, or have other risk factors for diabetes, such as obesity, pregnancy, or family history, these self-care strategies can help delay or prevent the onset of the disease. These measures are also effective if you already have a positive diagnosis of the disease.
Lifestyle changes are largely credited with lowering risk factors like high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are long-term complications associated with diabetes. Some lifestyle changes such as strict adherence to the recommended diabetic diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and body mass index (BMI), can delay the progression of type 2 diabetes. In most cases, these lifestyle adjustments must be complemented by taking medications that help manage blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Taken together, this
course of therapy could further prevent the progression of other diabetes-related complications, such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney problems.
We now know that type 2 diabetes can be prevented and in some cases put into remission, by lifestyle change in conjunction with your medical provider by setting personal goals that monitor your:

• blood sugar level
• weight
• blood cholesterol level
• blood pressure

Medication
As insulin resistance progresses the body produces less of the hormone insulin, hence diabetic patients will start with medications like Metformin, sitagliptin, canagliflozin, etc, and eventually will need insulin several times a day. Insulin can be administered through multiple daily injections, or
via insulin pump therapy. Diabetes can be diagnosed via routine blood tests that measure blood glucose levels and treatment is often geared towards maintaining steady blood glucose levels.