Category: Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is chronic and among the most common health conditions affecting approx. 463 million adults around the world! In this condition, the levels of sugar or glucose rise abnormally in the bloodstream.

The glucose in your blood smoothly travels into the body cells with the help of a hormone known as “insulin.” Body cells use the glucose for energy necessary for performing a wide range of body functions.

In type 2 diabetes, the body cells don’t respond to the insulin hormone as effectively as needed. And in later stages of type 2 diabetes, your body is even unable to make enough insulin required for glucose movement. Uncontrolled diabetes type 2 can cause chronically elevated blood glucose levels, resulting in several symptoms and, sometimes, life-threatening complications.

As the number of diabetic patients is only increasing dramatically, it becomes very important to have basic information about the condition at least. This may be proved very handy to avoid serious and life-threatening symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Also, by educating people about type 2 diabetes, you can play an important role in increasing the chances of controlling it and saving a lot of lives.

This guide will address some very important and basic aspects of diabetes type 2, including symptoms, potential causes, risk factors, diagnosis, investigations, and treatment.

Signs and Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

As we have already learned, the body of a diabetic patient is unable to use insulin effectively for the necessary movement of glucose in the cells. This scenario forces your body to be dependent on other sources of energy in organs, muscles, and tissues. This starts working as a chain reaction and may reflect with a myriad of symptoms.

Type 2 diabetes usually takes some time to develop. And the symptoms may be mild and easy to treat in the beginning. The early symptoms of type 2 diabetes may include:

• constant hunger
• a lack of energy
• fatigue
• dry mouth
• itchy skin
• blurry vision
• weight loss
• excessive thirst
• frequent urination

If diabetes type 2 is not controlled in the early stages, the symptoms may become more severe with the progress of the disease. And that’s when diabetes becomes potentially life-threatening.

A high blood glucose level for a long time may cause some severe symptoms of type 2 diabetes, including:

• Yeast infection
• Foot pain
• Slow-healing cuts or sores
• Feelings of numbness in the extremities or neuropathy
• Dark patches around the skin, also known as “acanthosis nigricans.”

Potential Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

Before concluding the causes, let’s talk a bit more about the insulin hormone. Your pancreas produces insulin, and it is released into your body every time you eat. Insulin ensures the proper transportation of glucose from the bloodstream to body cells, where it is used for energy needed for various body functions.

If you have diabetes type 2, your body becomes insulin resistant. This means your body is not using the hormone effectively anymore. As a result, your pancreas is forced to do a bit of overwork to produce more insulin.

If your pancreas remains in overwork mode for a long time, the pancreatic cells start getting damages. Eventually, your pancreas stops producing insulin completely.

What happens when your pancreas doesn’t create insulin?

If the pancreas is unable to produce the required insulin, or your body is not using the insulin as effectively as it should, there is a continuous build-up of glucose in the bloodstream. This results in the starvation of body cells for energy. Unfortunately, the doctors are yet to find the specific reason for all these events.

However, a lot of diabetes experts believe the dysfunction, incorrect cell signaling, or regulation as culprits. And we may have some very strange causes of type 2 diabetes too!

• In some subjects, there is excessive production of glucose from the liver as well.
• Some people are genetically susceptible to the development of diabetes type 2.
• Genetic predisposition to obesity is almost obvious, which may be linked to an increased risk of insulin resistance.
• An environmental trigger may also be responsible for some people.

More likely, a combination of factors, including improper production and usage of insulin, poor diet, prolonged lack of physical activities, hormonal imbalances, pregnancy, family history, etc., is responsible for a surge in blood sugar level.

Let’s focus a bit in detail on these factors

• Genes: According to various studies, different bits of DNA also affect the way your body produces insulin.
• Extra Body Weight: Being obese or overweight can also be responsible for insulin resistance, especially if the fat is predominantly in the mid-region.
• Metabolic Syndrome: Although it is not linked directly, people having insulin resistance often get a group of health conditions like extra waist fat, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, triglycerides, and high cholesterol.
• Excessive Glucose from the Liver: It may also be among the major causes of type 2 diabetes. When your body’s blood sugar level is lower than normal, your liver goes in a hyperactive mode and produces and sends extra glucose. Your blood sugar level increases when you eat, and your liver normally slows down and stores glucose for later use. But some people’s liver is unable to do so because of various health reasons. And, they continuously crank out for sugar.
• Broken Beta Cells: If the insulin-making cells send out an inaccurate amount of insulin and your blood sugar level gets deranged at the wrong time. And high blood sugar can badly affect these cells as well.
• Bad Communication Between Cells: Sometimes, cells don’t send the right signals or are unable to get the message rightly. When any of these conditions directly or indirectly affect the production or use of insulin, a chain reaction starts and may cause diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors

Certain factors are responsible for increasing the chances of you getting affected with diabetes type 2. The more you fall under these categories, the higher are the chances of getting diabetes type 2.

• Age – 45 or more
• Family History: Diabetes type 2 in one or both parents and siblings
• Ethnicity: Native American, African American, Asian American, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic or Latino.

Risk Factors Related to Medical History or Overall Health Condition May Include:

• Prediabetes
• Heart and blood vessel disease
• High blood pressure, even if it’s treated and under control
• Low HDL (“good”) cholesterol
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Depression
• Having a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
• Gestational diabetes while you were pregnant
• High triglycerides
• Being overweight or obese

Some other but uncommon type 2 diabetes risk factors are:

• Stress
• Smoking
• Getting very little or no physical exercise
• Sleeping too little or too much

Complications of Type 2 Diabetes

If not contained at the right time, diabetes type 2 may affect various organs in various ways, including:

• Heart and Blood Vessels: You are more than four times at higher risk of getting a heart problem or stroke. There are also high possibilities of you having chest pain (angina) and blocked blood vessels (atherosclerosis).
• Kidneys: Prolonged diabetes may also cause damage to the kidney(s), even kidney failure.
• Eyes: High blood sugar may be responsible for damaging blood vessels in the posterior of the eyes (retinopathy). It may result in blindness, especially if not given quick and proper medical attention.
• Nerves: Blocked or damaged nerves may result in a wide range of problems, including numbness of hands or feet, inaccurate digestion, and insufficient sexual response.
• Skin: Skin problems are among the common complications of type 2 diabetes. You may get a wide range of skin problems due to insufficient circulation of blood. Wound healing also gets hampered due to this.

Investigations and Diagnosis of Diabetes Type 2

Your doctor may perform blood tests to test the signs of diabetes type 2. Doctors usually perform two tests to confirm the diagnosis. One test is also enough in case if you have moderate to severe symptoms with sudden onset.

• A1c: It’s an analysis of average blood glucose level over the last two to three months.
• Fasting Plasma Glucose: The “fasting blood sugar test” checks the blood sugar level on an empty stomach. Your doctor will ask you to avoid eating or drinking anything except water for at least 8 hours before the test.
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT): This test studies the blood glucose level before and two hours after drinking something sweet to check your body’s response after getting sugar from your diet.

Diabetes Type 2 Treatment

Management of diabetes type 2 is more important than the treatment. And a combination of medications, lifestyle, and diet adjustments can be very, very effective to ensure a very healthy and active life.

• Weight Loss: Getting rid of extra pounds may help. Losing 5% of your total body weight is good. And it will be ideal if you can lose at least 7% of your body weight. That means someone with a total body weight of 180 pounds can effectively control their blood sugar levels by losing about 13 pounds. Weight loss seems very overwhelming, but a lot of people have done it with great success and can give you some surprising results.
• Healthy Eating: There’s no particular diet for diabetes type 2. You can get some assistance from a registered dietitian to know about a healthy and suitable diet depending on your blood glucose level and other health conditions. Doctors and dieticians usually Focus on a diet with:

• Lower calories
• Cutting down the intake of refined carbohydrates, especially from sweets, even refined sugar.
• Loading your diet with more fruits and vegetables.
• Exercises: Physical exercises can have surprising results in your efforts to reduce your blood glucose levels. Daily physical exercises of 20 to 60 minutes per day won’t only reduce the glucose in sugar but also help you healthily manage your body weight.

Exercises like walking, jogging, cycling, weightlifting, strength training, yoga, etc., can effectively complement diabetes type 2 treatment.

• Keep a note of your blood sugar levels: These days, it is very easy to self-check the blood sugar levels with the help of advanced glucose monitoring devices. You can ask your doctor whether you should continuously check your blood glucose levels or not.

Different Medications for Type 2 Diabetes

You may have to take some medications if you are unable to keep the blood glucose levels in check even after taking insulin and certain lifestyle changes. Depending on your overall health condition, your doctor may prescribe one or more of these medications:

• Metformin (Fortamet, Glumetza, Riomet, Glucophage): It is among the preferred medication for diabetes type 2. It limits the amount of glucose produced by your liver and improves the body’s insulin response.
• Sulfonylureas: This group of medications improves the natural production of insulin.
• Meglitinides: Works to improve the production of insulin from the body but gives faster results than sulfonylureas.
• DPP4 Inhibitors: These medicines, including Inaglipitin, Onglyza, and Januvia, are also good at reducing blood glucose levels but may cause inflammation of the pancreas and joints pain.

Prevention of Diabetes Type 2

Preventing diabetes type 2 is easier than a lot of people think. You don’t have to do much either! That old mantra of living a healthy and active lifestyle is enough to keep diabetes type 2 at bay. But you have to do it on a daily basis without giving up. Follow these easy and practicable tips to protect yourself from diabetes type 2.

• Lose weight if you are overweight. This becomes a must if you are obese. (See the difference between overweight and obese)
• Have a healthy diet with loads of fruits, vegetables, salads, grains, and nuts, etc.
• Do at least thirty minutes of brisk walking every day. It would be great if you can complement it with some other exercises.
• Avoid smoking and alcoholism: If you are habitual of smoking or drinking, quit before you face the consequences. Talking to a doctor can be very helpful.

Unfortunately, diabetes type 2 has become a very common health problem and is affecting more and more people every year. Having some important and basic information related to diabetes type 2 can be proved immensely helpful for prevention as well as treatment. Hopefully, we have helped you with a lot of important information related to diabetes type 2, and you are now well prepared to prevent it rather than following a restricted life after getting it.

Type 1 diabetes has become one of the most common chronic diseases characterized by the destruction of insulin-forming cells in the pancreas and the body’s inability to make insulin.

Insulin is a very important hormone that aids your body’s cells in the proper usage of glucose for energy. Your body receives glucose from different food sources. And insulin ensures proper passage of glucose from the blood into the body’s cells.

Your muscle tissues and liver store the glucose left after proper usage from the cells. The extra glucose are also called “blood sugar” and are restored in glycogen. When your body is overly exhausted and requires more energy, the stored blood sugar is broken down and released in the bloodstream.

In the state of diabetes type 1, your body is unable to process the glucose correctly due to insufficient insulin. The glucose you get from your food can’t breakdown on its own. And this results in excessive circulation of glucose in the blood, and that’s why termed as “high blood sugar”. High blood sugar may cause a wide range of short-term and long-term problems. In this write-up, we will deal with various important aspects of diabetes type 1 to be informed and when you get symptoms of diabetes type 1. It will help you to get proper and timely treatment. Let’s read out to find more.

Diabetes Type 1 Symptoms

The patient may get some subtle signs and symptoms, but they may get severe if not managed properly on time. Some common symptoms include:

• Extreme thirst
• Increased hunger (especially after eating)
• Dry mouth
• Upset stomach and vomiting
• Frequent urination
• blurred vision
• Frequent infections of your skin, vagina, or urinary tract
• Crankiness or mood changes
• Bedwetting is a child who’s been dry at night
• Unexplained and sudden weight loss, even though you’re eating and feel hungry
• Fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Heavy, laboured breathing (your doctor may call this Kussmaul respiration)

Signs of diabetes type 1 that usually call for a medical emergency

• Rapid breathing
• The fruity smell from breath
• Confusion and shaking
• Abdominal pain
• Loss of consciousness

Causes of Type 1 Diabetes

Unfortunately, the exact cause of diabetes type 1 is still unknown. But here is a theory backed by a lot of doctors, especially diabetes experts.

Insulin hormone ensures proper glucose movement into different tissues around the body and used by them as fuel. Diabetes type 1 damages the beta cells and disrupts the process completely. Due to the lack or absence of insulin, the movement of glucose is completely deranged. Instead, there is a build-up of glucose in the blood, and your body cells start starving for glucose.

Complications of Diabetes Type 1

Unlike most other health problems, diabetes type 1 is linked with various other complications. If not controlled on time, a person with diabetes type 1 may suffer from a combination of health problems, including:

• Dehydration: When the blood sugar level is elevated, you start peeing more. And that’s how your body tries to remove extra sugar from the blood for some time. A good amount of water gets out of your body through urine, causing excessive dehydration.
• Weight Loss: The unnecessary removal of glucose through your urine also takes enough calories with it. And that’s why people with high blood sugar notice sudden, unexpected weight loss. Continuous and prolonged dehydration is also responsible for type 1 diabetes-induced weight loss.
• Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA): If your body is unable to get the required glucose as fuel. It starts breaking down the fat cells instead. The unwanted breakdown of fat cells creates chemicals known as “ketones”. In response, your liver starts releasing the stored sugar for help. But your body is unable to use it due to absence or lack of insulin. And hence, the sugar builds up in your blood with the acidic ketones. This combination of dehydration, excessive glucose, and build-up of ketones is known as “ketoacidosis”, and can sometimes be lethal if not treated timely.
• Damage to Your Body: Excessive glucose in your blood may also harm your body over time. It can affect the small blood vessels, nerves, heart, eyes, and kidneys etc. It may also result in hardening of arteries known as “atherosclerosis, ” resulting in strokes, and even heart attacks.
• Cardiovascular Disease: It is among the major complications of diabetes type 1, especially if not given proper and timely attention. In fact, both types of diabetes increase the risk of high blood pressure, blood clots, and cholesterol. All these complications may lead to chest pain, stroke, heart attack, and even heart failure.
• Skin Problems: Both types of diabetes are also responsible for a higher risk of getting a bacterial or fungal infection. Diabetic patients get affected by blisters and rashes very easily.
• Gum Diseases: The combination of poor blood flow to mouth, excessive plaque, and a lack of saliva may be responsible for various gum problems.
• Problems Related to Pregnancy: Women having type 1 diabetes are at high risk of pregnancy problems, including premature delivery, birth defects, and stillbirth etc.
• Retinopathy: Retinopathy is an eye-related problem and affects more than 70% of people with 12 to 15 years of diabetes type 1. It’s not common before puberty. Keeping good control of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides is very important to maintain good eyesight in type 1 diabetes.
• Damage to Kidney: Nephropathy is a condition affecting about 20 to 30% of people having type 1 diabetes. The chances of nephropathy increase if diabetes is not controlled properly on time. Nephropathy is usually seen after 15 to 25 years of onset of diabetes. Chronic and uncontrolled diabetes type 1 may also lead to some serious conditions like kidney failure.
• Poor Blood Flow and Nerve Damage: Hardened arteries and damaged nerves are responsible for improper blood supply, especially to feet. This increases the chances of injuries and hampers the process of wound healing. In such a scenario, the person may also end up losing a limb, maybe both! Some other and unexpected problems like nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting may also affect the patient with damaged nerves.

Type 1 Diabetes Risk Factors

Risk factors related to type 1 diabetes are not yet understood properly. However, experts have identified some potential factors.

Diabetes type 1 is not common, as it affects only 5% of overall diabetic patients.

It affects both sexes equally.

Some Other Important Type 1 Diabetes Risk Factors

• Family History: Family history may play an important role in some cases of diabetes type 1. If you have one or both parent(s) or sibling(s) with type 1 diabetes, you should be on high alert, and take proper care of yourself.

Some specific genes are believed to be linked with a familial transfer of diabetes type 1. However, not everyone with these “specific genes” is at risk. According to many researchers and doctors, some unknown trigger may be responsible for diabetes type 1 in some groups of people, and not others.

• Race: Interestingly and coincidentally, white people are at higher risk of getting type 1 diabetes when compared to brown or black people.
• Other Environmental Factors:

Surprisingly, rarely, but some viruses are also responsible for triggering type 1 diabetes. However, we are not yet assured about the specific type of viruses.

Similarly, people living in cold climates are at higher risk of getting type 1 diabetes. Doctors usually notice high cases of diabetes in winter in comparison to the summer.

Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes

Doctors usually recommend a series of medical investigations for a correct diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Some tests are usually performed quickly, while some require lengthy preparation or observations.

The development of type 1 diabetes is generally quick. The diagnosis is confirmed when there are one or more of the following criteria:

• Fasting blood sugar > 126 mg/dL on two separate tests
• Random blood sugar > 200 mg/dL, with other symptoms of diabetes type 1
• Hemoglobin A1c > 6.5 on two separate tests

Doctors follow the same criteria for diagnosing type 2 diabetes as well. In fact, due to very close similarities in symptoms, diabetes type 1 is misdiagnosed with diabetes type 2.

And misdiagnosis usually goes unnoticed until the doctor observes worsening of symptoms and some new or severe complications even after starting treatment.

When there is a severe rise in blood sugar level, causing diabetic ketoacidosis, the patient starts feeling severely ill. And that’s often the reason people end up getting admitted in a hospital or doctor’s office. That’s when the doctors get a better chance of making a correct diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

If the diagnosis is confirmed, your body is surely unable to produce insulin on its own. And hence, you require artificially-prepared insulin to aid your body for correct usage of sugar in the blood. Although, doctors are still working on the proper cure for diabetes, a combination of insulin, medications, and lifestyle changes has been proved very handy to control the blood sugar level and a lot of major symptoms of type 1 diabetes.

Insulin

Doctors advise for the daily compulsory intake of insulin to diabetes type 1 patients. Both insulin injection and pump are advised depending on the physical condition and age of the patient.

The insulin pump has been used commonly in recent years. It is easier to use, and one can inject it through the port of skin. It is much better than the insulin injection and can also be helpful to calculate the blood sugar levels.

Your doctor can only decide the amount of insulin your body needs every day. Regular study of the blood-sugar level is very helpful to determine the amount of required insulin for diabetes type 1 patient.

There are different varieties of insulin, and your doctor may even have you try multiple varieties to check out which one is more suitable for you.

Some Common Medications

• Metformin

Metformin is one of the most common diabetes medicines used orally. It was a go-to option for diabetes type 2 patients for many years but has recently been used for type 1 diabetes as well. However, some people may develop an unexpected resistance of insulin, which means, insulin is not effective to reduce blood-sugar levels anymore.

Metformin is effective in reducing blood sugar levels by reducing the production of sugar in the liver. Your doctor may also advise you to take both, insulin as well as metformin for better results.

• Vaccines

It might sound very surprising, but tuberculosis vaccine has shown some promise to effectively treat type 1 diabetes. However, the study was performed on a very small scale and requires more observation. And that’s why, it is not marketed as a type 1 diabetes treatment, and is undergoing further testing.

• Diet and Exercises

Proper diet and exercises with regular intake of insulin and prescribed medication can be very effective to keep blood sugar level in check. You can meet a certified diabetes educator cum dietitian to ask for a healthy and effective diet for diabetes type 1.

Several exercises are also effective to reduce the levels of sugar in the blood. A patient with type 1 diabetes should involve in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercises every week. Cycling, walking, dancing, playing team sports, jogging etc. are some of the most suitable and result-oriented exercises.

However, you should ask your doctor or a diabetes expert if you can perform on or more of these exercises. Follow the proper instructions, along with precautions to get better results.

NOTE: Don’t take insulin, metformin or any other medication until and unless a licensed medical practitioner prescribes you. Sometimes, you may develop symptoms of diabetes type 1 even if you don’t have it!

Final Words

Diabetes type 1 is not very common, as it affects only 5% of all diabetics. And, it can be controlled easily if you are willing to be supportive of your doctor. Yes, there is still no full-proved cure, but a combination of insulin, medications, and lifestyle changes can help you lead a very healthy and active life. Hopefully, we have helped you with a lot of important facts related to diabetes type 1 and busted all the myths related to it.

DISCLAIMER: This writing piece is only for information purposes, not for self-diagnosis or self-treatment of diabetes type 1. We strongly recommend our readers to get in touch with a medical professional before concluding anything.