What is Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Symptoms Cause

Type 2 diabetes develops when your body is unable to use insulin appropriately. Without treatment, Type 2 diabetes can lead to a variety of health issues, including heart disease, renal disease, and stroke. You can manage this disease by changing your lifestyle, taking medications, and visiting your doctor regularly. 

Overview

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic illness that occurs when blood sugar levels remain consistently high (hyperglycemia).

Healthy blood sugar (glucose) levels range from 70 to 99 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). If you have undetected Type 2 diabetes, your readings are usually 126 mg/dL or higher.

T2D occurs when your pancreas produces insufficient insulin (a hormone), your body fails to use insulin appropriately, or both. This is distinct from Type 1 diabetes, which occurs when an autoimmune attack on the pancreas causes a complete absence of insulin production.

How frequent is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is extremely common. In the United States, more than 37 million people have diabetes (approximately one in every ten), with T2D accounting for 90% to 95% of the cases.

According to researchers, T2D affects approximately 6.3% of the global population. T2D is more frequent in adults over 45, however, it can also afflict people under 45, including children. 

Symptoms and Causes

What are the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes?

Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes usually appear gradually. They could include:

• Increased thirst (polydipsia).
• Peeing more often.
• Feeling more hungry than normal.
• Fatigue.
• Slow healing of cuts and sores.
• Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.
• Blurred vision.
• Dry skin.
• Unexplained weight loss.

People who are designated female at birth (AFAB) may get frequent vaginal yeast infections and/or urinary tract infections.

If you have these symptoms, you should see your doctor. Simple blood testing can detect T2D.

What causes Type 2 Diabetes?

The primary cause of Type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance occurs when cells in your muscles, fat, and liver do not respond appropriately to insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that is necessary for life and regulates blood sugar levels.

If your body does not respond effectively to insulin, your pancreas must produce more insulin to try to counteract rising blood glucose levels (hyperinsulinemia). Type 2 diabetes develops when your cells become resistant to insulin and your pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to conquer them.

Insulin resistance can be caused by several reasons, such as:

• genetics.
• surplus body fat, particularly visceral fat, which is stored in the abdomen and surrounding organs.
• Absence of physical exercise.
• consuming foods heavy in carbohydrates, processed foods, and saturated fats regularly.
• several drugs, such as prolonged usage of corticosteroids.
• hormonal conditions such as Cushing syndrome and hypothyroidism.
• Prolonged stress and inadequate sleep quality.

Is diabetes type 2 generic?

Although the exact origin of T2D is unknown, genetics is known to have a significant part. If one of your biological parents has T2D, your lifetime risk of getting the disease is 40%, and if both of your parents have it, your lifetime risk is 70%.

At least 150 DNA polymorphisms are associated with the chance of acquiring type 2 diabetes (T2D); some variations increase risk, while others lower it. A portion of these changes might be directly related to the generation of insulin and insulin resistance. Others may raise your chance of developing type 2 diabetes by making you more likely to be overweight or obese.

Together with lifestyle and health variables, these genetic variants probably affect your total risk of type 2 diabetes. 

What are the diabetes type 2 risk factors?

Type 2 diabetes is more likely to strike you if you:

• possess a biological parent or sibling with a history of Type 2 diabetes in the family.
• are more than 45 years old.
• possess an obesity or overweight diagnosis (BMI > 25).
• are fewer than three times a week physically active.
• are Pacific Islander, Asian American, Native American, Black, or Hispanic.
• had diabetes during her pregnancy.
• possess elevated blood pressure and/or cholesterol levels.
• possess prediabetes.
• possess PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome.

If you are at risk for T2D, it's critical to visit your primary care physician frequently as the condition's symptoms usually develop gradually. In this manner, they can do screens to determine your blood sugar levels, such as a basic metabolic panel (BMP). Early detection of T2D is preferable to late detection.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is diabetes type 2 diagnosed?

The blood tests listed below aid in the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes by your healthcare provider:

• The fasting plasma glucose test measures your blood sugar levels in a laboratory setting. This test is usually scheduled for the morning following an eight-hour fast (nothing to eat or drink except water). If your result is 126 mg/dL or more, you have diabetes.
• Random plasma glucose test: This is a non-fasting laboratory test that measures blood sugar levels as well, but it can be obtained at any time. If your result is 200 mg/dL or more, you have diabetes.
• The A1C test calculates your blood sugar levels on average over the previous two to three months. If your score is 6.5% or over, you have diabetes.

To determine whether you have Type 1 Diabetes rather than Type 2 Diabetes, your doctor may occasionally perform an autoantibody blood test.

Management and Treatment

What is the course of treatment for diabetes type 2?

In contrast to many other medical diseases, you primarily manage type 2 diabetes on your own with assistance and supervision from your healthcare team. This might comprise you:

• Endocrinologist or primary care physician (PCP).
• Dietitian with registration.
• Specialist in the care and education of diabetes certified (CDCES).
• Ophthalmologist: physician of the eyes.
• dentist.

Family members and other significant individuals in your life ought to be on your team as well. It can be difficult to manage T2D because you have to make multiple decisions every day. But it's all worthwhile to take steps to enhance your health.

The following are the main components of managing type 2 diabetes:

• lifestyle modifications, such as increased activity and dietary alterations.
• blood sugar observation.
• Drugs.

Diabetes Type 2: Exercise

Everybody benefits from regular exercise. The importance increases if you have diabetes. Your health benefits from exercise because it

• reduces blood sugar levels both temporarily and permanently without medicine.
• burns calories and could be useful for losing weight.
• raises blood pressure and increases blood flow.
• elevates your mood and gives you more energy.
• aids in the management of stress.

Consult your healthcare provider before beginning any fitness regimen. Particularly if you take insulin, you might need to take extra precautions before, during, and after physical activity. Getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise is the main objective. 

Diet for type 2 diabetes

Get advice from a trained dietician or your healthcare provider about the best food plan for you. Maintaining your blood sugar levels within the range advised by your healthcare team depends on what, how much, and when you consume.

Eating a range of nutrient-dense meals in the amounts recommended by your meal plan, from all food groups, is the key to eating well with Type 2 diabetes. These foods can generally assist in maintaining normal blood sugar levels:

• Turkey, eggs, fish, and chicken are examples of lean proteins.
• veggies that are not starchy, such as cucumbers, salad greens, broccoli, and green beans.
• healthy fats found in nuts, avocados, olive oil, and natural peanut butter.
• Complex carbs found in berries, sweet potatoes, beans, and whole-wheat bread

Blood sugar tracking

To determine how well your current treatment plan is working, you must monitor your blood sugar. It provides you with daily, sometimes even hourly, diabetes management information. You can use the findings of blood sugar monitoring to guide your decisions about what to eat, how much exercise, and how much insulin to take.

Your blood sugar might be impacted by various factors. Some of these effects are very difficult or impossible to foresee, but with time and experience, you can learn to forecast some of them. If your healthcare practitioner advises you to check your blood sugar frequently, it's crucial to do so.

If you have diabetes, there are two primary methods you can use to check your blood sugar at home:

• using a finger stick and a glucose meter.
• use an ongoing glucose meter (CGM).

There are several reasons why you would select one or both approaches, including:

• Your level of access to the technology may differ depending on your health insurance policy and cost.
• How often is recommended to check your blood sugar by your healthcare provider?
• The drugs you now take.
• Your general well-being.

Medications for type 2 diabetes

To control Type 2 diabetes, your healthcare professional could advise medication in addition to lifestyle modifications. Among them are:

• Oral diabetes medications: These are drugs that persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) use orally to help control their blood sugar levels while still producing some insulin. There are various kinds. Metformin is the one that is prescribed most frequently. For optimal blood glucose control, your physician may prescribe multiple oral diabetic medications concurrently.
• Injectable GLP-1 and dual GLP-1/GIP agonists are primarily used to help individuals with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels. There are GLP-1 agonists that can be used to treat obesity.
• Insulin: Blood sugar levels are immediately lowered by synthetic insulin. Insulin comes in various forms, including long-acting and short-acting varieties. You can use an insulin pump, inhaled insulin, or syringes or pens for injections.
• Additional drugs: To treat coexisting disorders like high blood pressure and excessive cholesterol, you may take additional drugs.

Can diabetes type 2 be cured?

Since type 2 diabetes is a chronic (long-term) illness, it will require lifelong management. T2D has no known treatment. However, you may control it so that your blood sugar levels remain within a safe range by making lifestyle modifications, taking medication, and monitoring your blood sugar levels. Your blood sugar levels will rise again if you don't manage it or manage it insufficiently.