After hearing a comment from a friend that his blood glucose was running on the high side, I suggested he adjust his dose of insulin to fix things. He demurred, saying that he would have to contact his physician for permission to change his dose. Later, I realized I had found another myth about diabetes care:

1) Patients with diabetes must get approval from their physicians to change their insulin doses. This sort of thinking is true for many disorders, but people with diabetes should be...