It is a lot easier to work on your diabetes when you have the help of other people who have to deal with the same issues as you do, day in and day out. That is why finding support can be very important. Online support has the benefit that it is there for you 24/7. It keeps you in touch with the latest research findings as well as exposing you to the tips and tricks other people with diabetes have found helpful.

When you find support online, you will do best if you take advice from people who have had diabetes for several years and who have maintained excellent control, for example, A1cs in the 5% range or better. Remember that we all have different metabolisms and the causes of our high blood sugars can be very different, so what works for one person may not work at all for you. Be aware too that people paid to promote bogus supplements often participate in support groups and pretend to be people with diabetes. Spend some time getting to know any support group and read it for a while to get a feeling for how useful the advice is and how knowledgeable the participants.

Here are a few online support sites you might want to check out.

Tu Diabetes

Tu Diabetes Calling itself "MySpace on Insulin" this Web 2.0 community is turning into a friendly, helpful place for people with diabetes to find friendship and support with other people who face the same daily issues as they do.

There are a lot of young Type 1s posting there, possibly due to the MySpace style format which is more familiar to younger people, but there are also quite a few older people and people with Type 2.

The visually rich format which gives people faces seems to avoid some of the nastier flaming and personal attacks that occur in some text-only diabetes groups.

Tu Diabetes lets you create a blog of your own which is automatically picked up by Diabetes Daily (described below) too.

Diabetes Daily

Diabetes Daily has a wonderful headline service that keeps up with a lot of diabetes bloggers and news sites. Definitely worth subscribing. There is also a discussion board.

diabetesforums.com

diabetesforums.com is a moderated bulletin board that appears to have a steady stream of visitors. It has been recommended by some people I respect. However, diabetesforums.com has banned me from participating because I posted links on their board to pages on this Blood Sugar 101 web site that contained information relevant to the discussion thread. As a result, I no longer visit the site and cannot recommend it. You'll have to make your own decision about the worth of diabetesforums.com.

Diabetes Support UK

Diabetes Support UK is a site with a discussion forum tailored to the unique needs of the UK diabetes community.

Another active UK Diabetes support forum can be found at Diabetes.co.uk Forum.

If you find a diabetes support site I have neglected that you feel is useful, please let me know.