Type 2 Diabetes

What is type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic medical condition in which the levels of sugar, or glucose, build up in your bloodstream. Typically, the hormone insulin helps move glucose from your blood to your cells, where it’s used for energy. But with type 2 diabetes, your body’s cells aren’t able to respond to insulin as well as they should. In later stages of the condition, your body may also not produce enough insulin. Uncontrolled type 2 diabetes can lead to chronically high blood glucose levels, which can cause several symptoms and potentially lead to serious complications.

What are the myths about diabetes?

• The term blood glucose is often replaced with blood sugar. A dietary modification that exempts sugar or sugary foods is not enough to treat diabetes. Carbohydrate based meals like fufu, banku or kenkey are also broken down to blood glucose.
  Dieticians or nutrition officers can at hospitals /clinics can easily devise a plan with local meals.
• Tasting for sweetness in urine is an unhealthy, unnecessary method of self-diagnosing diabetes. This sign is often a late complication. Random/Fasting Blood Sugar tests can detect high levels of blood glucose even though there are mild symptoms.

What are the symptoms of type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes can develop slowly. The symptoms may be mild and easy to dismiss at first. The early symptoms may include:

• Constant hunger
• A lack of energy
• Fatigue
• Excessive thirst
• Frequent urination
• Blurry vision
• Pain, tingling, or numbness in your hands or feet

As the disease progresses, the symptoms become more severe and can cause some potentially dangerous complications. If your blood glucose levels have been high for a long time, the complications can include:

• Eye problems (diabetic retinopathy)
• Feelings of numbness in your extremities, or neuropathy
• Kidney disease (nephropathy)
• Gum disease
• Heart attack or stroke

What are the causes of type 2 diabetes?

If you have type 2 diabetes, your body becomes resistant to insulin. Your body is no longer using the hormone efficiently. This forces your pancreas to work harder to make more insulin. Over time, this can damage cells in your pancreas. Eventually, your pancreas may not be able to produce any insulin. While lifestyle choices are typically what trigger type 2 diabetes, you may be more likely to be diagnosed with it if:

• There’s a genetic predisposition to developing type 2 diabetes in your family
• There’s a genetic predisposition to developing obesity in your family, which can increase the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes
• You are at least 45 years old
• You are Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or of Alaska Native descent
• Living with excess weight. When you’re living with excess weight, you most likely have more fatty tissue, which can make your cells more resistant to insulin.
• Living a more sedentary lifestyle. Regular physical activity helps your cells respond better to insulin.
• Eating a lot of highly processed foods. Highly processed foods can have a lot of hidden sugar and refined carbs.

What is the treatment of type of type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes can be managed, and in some cases, reversed. Lifestyle changes your doctor will most likely advise to help treat your type 2 diabetes include:

• Eating foods rich in fiber and healthy carbohydrates — eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help keep your blood glucose levels steady
• Eating at regular intervals
• Learning to listen to your body and learn to stop eating when you’re full
• Manage your weight and keep your heart healthy, which typically means keeping refined carbohydrates (white flour, white rice, packaged meals), sweets, and animal fats to a minimum
• Get about half an hour of physical activity daily to help keep your heart healthy — exercise can help to control blood glucose, too.

Medications

• Metformin. This can lower your blood glucose levels and improve how your body responds to insulin. It’s the first-line treatment for most people with type 2 diabetes.
• Sulfonylureas. These are oral medications that help your body make more insulin.
• Meglitinides. These are fast-acting, short-duration medications that stimulate your pancreas to release more insulin.
• Thiazolidinediones. These make your body more sensitive to insulin.
• Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. These are milder medications that help reduce blood glucose levels.
• Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists. These slow digestion and improve blood glucose levels.
• Sodium-glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors. These help your kidneys remove sugar in your body through urine.

It may cause more harm than good to stop antidiabetic medications and start herbal treatment without consulting a doctor. Management of Diabetes is often lifelong, involving doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians and the person living with diabetes.