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Very Athletic Person with 10 Years of Diabetes Not Following Principles of Care

November 03, 2026 · 4 min read

70 year old African American, retired professional athlete, . Was evaluated for diabetes management. He's on four medications for diabetes: Metformin, Glipizide , Pioglitazone and Humulin N. He doesn't check his blood sugars. He has episodes of confusion and sweating, suggesting episodes of hypoglycemia. Once we started seeing him, we educated him about hypoglycemia. We did a cognitive assessment; he was mildly cognitively impaired. We educated him on the essentials and principles of diabetes management.

Principles of Diabetes Managamenet

1. Monitoring:The most important principle in diabetes management is checking the blood sugar and understanding the diet. We have a sample of Dexcom, and we gave him Dexcom. It's a continuous glucose monitor. With that, we educated him that his blood sugar has to be maintained between 130 and 200 I also educated him on no hypoglycemia. We worked with the insurance to get a Dexcom continuous glucose meter. Anybody who's on insulin or at risk of hypoglycemia, they are approved by Medicare for continuous glucose monitoring.

The first principle of management of diabetes is self-monitoring of blood sugar. We are lucky in this patient: the insurance carrier approved Dexcom. That is helping in protecting his brain and memory, and also it helps his diet.

2. Diet :The second importanat principle is understanding diet We also encouraged him to write down his diet in a book, including his breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When we reviewed it, I noticed breakfast has a significant carb intake in the morning.

Friday: waffles, fruit and tea
Saturday: cornflakes, fruit and tea
Sunday: toasted bread, fruit and tea
Monday : Cereals, fruit and tea
Tuesday: toast, fruits and tea
Wednesday: cornbread, fruit and tea

The second principle which I want to address is the diet. There are a lot of aspects of the diet we want to discuss, but we want to focus on the breakfast. Most people go for a quick fix breakfast like cereals, toast. These are high-end carbohydrates. High blood sugars at the starting of the day is equivalent to high blood sugars the whole day.

So I encourage everybody in Breakast - stay from cereal

add some vegetable of your choice ( not potatoes)

low glycemic index fruit like strawberries, blueberries, guava.

nuts of your choice. Nuts are good for your heart and keep your stomach filling. You can choose. It gives a good protein content. Nuts reduce risk of heart attack

Eggs: boiled or scrambled or Omlette I generally don't eat more than one yellow. So you can use your choice, either as a scrambled egg, fried egg or a boiled egg, so that you get enough protein content.

3. Movement - Sports and walking helps to improve glycemic control and reduce medication need and manage weight and good for heart and blood sugar control

4. Medications - Medications are useful but first 3 principles are most improratant in diabtes management

5.Following with doctor and checking Hemoglobin Aic every 3 months and monitoring for complaications

Related conditions

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Medical disclaimer: This website is for general information only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions about a medical condition. In an emergency, call 911.

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Ticking this takes you straight down to your booking details. The five points below still apply to your visit.

1. When we can see you depends on your plan

Which plan do you have?

Your plan	Same-day visit?	What has to happen first
Medicare with a supplement	Yes — within a few hours	We verify your insurance first. You need both Part A and Part B — Part B is the part that covers a doctor's visit, so without it payment is due at the time of the visit, by cash or card.
Medicare Advantage with a PPO WellMed, BCBS, Aetna, Anthem, Cigna HealthSprings, Humana and other Medicare Advantage plans	Yes — within a few hours, on working days	We verify your insurance first. A Medicare Advantage HMO is the next two rows — what matters is whose name is on the card.
Medicare Advantage HMO, with Dr. Katari already named on your card A commercial HMO follows the same rule	Yes — within a few hours	We verify your insurance first. This applies as long as you have not been seeing another primary care physician and have not changed the name on your card.
Medicare Advantage HMO, without Dr. Katari on your card A commercial HMO follows the same rule	Not same day	One of three things has to happen first: your insurer approves the visit in advance, or you obtain a prior-authorization code from your insurer and give it to our staff, or you have Dr. Katari named as your primary care physician on the card. A name change takes effect on the first of a following month — see below.
Any private plan with a PPO BCBS, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and other major carriers	Yes — within a few hours, on working days	We verify your insurance first.
EPO or POS	Not guaranteed	These work like an HMO, not like a PPO. Call us and we will check where you stand before you drive over.
Self-pay	Yes — within a few hours, on working days	Nothing to verify. Payment is due at the time of the visit. As a Good Faith Estimate that is about $170 for a new patient and $120 for a follow-up — an estimate, not a fixed price; ask us for it in writing when you book. If you expect to need care regularly, ask about the Direct Primary Care membership — yearly plans with predictable pricing. Membership is not insurance.

Which plan do you have?

Your plan	Seen on the scheduled day?	What has to happen first
Medicare with a supplement	Yes — usually within one to two weeks	We verify your insurance first. You need both Part A and Part B — Part B is the part that covers a doctor's visit, so without it payment is due at the time of the visit, by cash or card. If something cannot wait for the next scheduled visit, we can often arrange an urgent same-day tele-visit. For a true emergency — chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke symptoms, a bad fall — call 911 first.
Medicare Advantage with a PPO WellMed, BCBS, Aetna, Anthem, Cigna HealthSprings, Humana and other Medicare Advantage plans	Yes — on the scheduled day	We verify your insurance first. A Medicare Advantage HMO is the next two rows — what matters is whose name is on the card. An urgent tele-visit can be arranged sooner if it is needed.
Medicare Advantage HMO, with Dr. Katari already named on the card A commercial HMO follows the same rule	Yes — on the scheduled day	We verify your insurance first.
Medicare Advantage HMO, without Dr. Katari on the card A commercial HMO follows the same rule	Not until it is authorized	Your insurer approves the visit in advance, or a prior-authorization code is obtained, or Dr. Katari is named as the primary care physician on the card.
Any private plan with a PPO	Yes — on the scheduled day	We verify your insurance first.
Self-pay	Yes — on the scheduled day	Nothing to verify. Payment is due at the time of the visit. As a Good Faith Estimate that is about $170 for a new patient and $120 for a follow-up — an estimate, not a fixed price; ask us for it in writing. If the resident needs care regularly, ask about the Direct Primary Care membership. Membership is not insurance.

On an HMO and need to be seen sooner? Call us at (214) 884-2774. Insurers will sometimes issue a priority or prior-authorization number that lets us see you right away, and we will ask on your behalf. Your insurer gives us a reference number for it, which we have to have before your visit.

Getting Dr. Katari named on your HMO card. Ask your insurer to list him as your primary care physician. The change takes effect on the first of a following month rather than straight away, so allow one to two calendar months — and ask as early in the month as you can, because a request made late in the month usually will not take effect until the month after next. Once his name is on the card, you can be seen the same day like any other patient.

If this is an emergency — chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke symptoms, a serious injury — go to the nearest emergency room or call 911. Do not wait for an appointment.

2. A wellness visit is not a sick visit, and not a problem visit either

A wellness visit is a prevention-planning appointment: your history, your screenings, your medications and a plan for the year ahead. Two different kinds of appointment are not covered by it — a sick visit for something new like a cough, a cold or an infection, and a problem visit to manage an ongoing condition like diabetes or high blood pressure. Each needs its own time.

If you need both, say so when you book and we will schedule the time for it. They are separate services and may be billed separately.

If you are 65 or over, this is your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.

If you are under 65, the equivalent is an annual physical or wellness visit through your commercial plan — a different service with different rules, set out in the next point.

On Medicare, the Annual Wellness Visit runs on a rolling clock — at least 11 full months after your last one — so it is not tied to a particular month. Commercial plans differ: some cover one preventive visit per calendar year, others require a full year between visits. We check your plan's rule when we verify your insurance.

Please book it as the right kind of visit. If you book for an acute problem, we can deal with the acute problem — but we cannot turn that appointment into your annual visit on the day. Booking the wrong one is the usual reason an insurer refuses to pay, so tell us which you need and we will put the right time aside.

3. Under 65? Your annual physical follows your commercial plan's rules

It is billed once a year, per patient — and only one doctor can bill it. If another provider has already billed a physical this cycle, your plan will not pay for a second one, however the appointment was labeled.

It must stay preventive. The visit is for someone without new symptoms: screenings, counseling and the year's prevention plan. Raise a new problem or need a new prescription during it, and that becomes an additional service on the day, billed separately under your plan's rules.

It runs on your plan's rules, not ours. What is included, what codes as preventive and what you pay for the extras is decided by your commercial plan — we will tell you honestly what we can see from our side, but the plan documents govern.

4. Your time is requested. The appointment is not confirmed yet.

Whichever time you pick, the appointment is not confirmed until two things are settled: your insurance is verified, and the slot is actually available. Our staff check both and call you back — usually the same business day. If either does not work out we will call you and move it, rather than let you find out at the front desk.

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Have your insurance card with you when you book. We need the plan name, member ID and group number to check what your visit is covered for before you are seen.

A credit card is kept on file to hold clinic appointments. You give it on the secure new-patient packet you sign electronically — never typed into this website, and never over email or text. It is charged only for balances you have authorised: the $100 no-show fee for an appointment missed without notice, and anything left after your insurance has processed the claim. Cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours ahead and no fee applies. An unfilled slot is a patient who could have been seen.

5. Follow-ups, refills and what counts as a separate visit

A wellness visit or annual physical covers preventive care only: screening and counseling aimed at preventing infection, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Anything outside that is its own appointment.

A new problem or a new prescription is a separate visit. If you raise something new during a preventive visit, it becomes a second service on the day and your plan will usually charge for it separately — commonly in the region of $50 to $100, though what you actually pay depends on your plan.

Follow-up visits are for one or two problems. That is what the time is booked for, and trying to cover everything in one appointment is how visits end up rushed. If you have a longer list, tell us when you book and we will find the time for it.

Chronic medications are prescribed for 90 days. Book your follow-up every three months so a refill never runs out while you are waiting for an appointment. Going away for 91 days or more — a long trip, a season abroad? Book an appointment in the month before you leave, so your prescriptions cover the time you are gone.

Antibiotics usually need an exam or a rapid test first — prescribing without one is how the wrong drug gets given. For established patients whose condition we already know well — for example those in our chronic care and remote monitoring program — some decisions can safely be made by phone or tele-visit between appointments. Dr. Katari decides case by case; new infections usually still need to be seen.

Controlled substances are case by case and are never guaranteed. Depending on what you need, the right person to manage it may be a pain specialist or a psychiatrist, and we will tell you honestly if that is so.

Before we can visit a resident

The new patient packet has to be signed. Every new patient signs it, and it goes out electronically through DocuSign — we will send the link when you get in touch. It covers consent along with the financial power of attorney and medical power of attorney details we need on file. An out-of-hospital DNR is a separate document; tell us if one is in place. Please do not send any of these through this website.

We come on your community's scheduled day. Dr. Katari visits each community on a set day, generally once every two weeks, rather than on request. If something cannot wait for the next scheduled visit, call us at (214) 884-2774 — for many residents we can arrange an urgent tele-visit the same day. For a true emergency, call 911 first.

Please keep a four-hour window for the visit. Dr. Katari sees residents at several communities on the same day, so we give a window rather than a fixed time — this applies to assisted and independent living alike. Coming to you saves the resident the drive, the waiting room and a second person's time, and in return we ask for that flexibility. Because we come on the scheduled day, the $100 no-show fee for missed clinic appointments does not apply to visits at your community; it does apply to a clinic appointment, including one made for an independent-living resident.

Every November we check your insurance again. Plans change at the turn of the year, and a plan that changes without us knowing is how a visit stops being covered. We email every resident and family each November to confirm what is current — please reply to it even if nothing has changed.

We strongly recommend chronic care and remote monitoring for every resident. Chronic care is the phone contact between visits, where medication for something like high blood pressure or diabetes is reviewed and adjusted without waiting for the next round. Remote monitoring is the equipment that tracks blood pressure and blood sugar, so we see the readings as they happen. In Medicare's own evaluations of chronic care management, enrolled patients ended up in hospital less often; families get an update every month, and regular reviews often simplify the medication list. Individual results vary.

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