05 Jan
Type 2 diabetic is a lifelong disease that keeps the body from using insulin the way it should. Patients having type 2 diabetes are said to have insulin resistance.
Middle-aged people are likely to get this kind of diabetes hence it is also known as adult-onset diabetes. However, type 2 diabetic can also harm the kids and teens, because of childhood obesity. This is the most common type of diabetes.
Dark rashes around the neck and armpits known as acanthosis nigricans are the common signs of insulin resistance.
Patients with Type 2 diabetic make insulin but their body doesn’t use it as it should.
Normally, a combination of things causes type 2 diabetes which includes:
Genes
Medical researchers have found a little amount of DNA that makes body insulin.
Extra weight
Being extra weight or obese can cause insulin resistance, especially if a person has extra pounds around the middle part of the body.
Metabolic syndrome
People with insulin conflict have a group of conditions including high blood sugar, extra fat around the waist, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol and triglycerides.
Excess glucose from the liver
Our liver makes and sends out glucose when the blood sugar is low. After eating, our blood sugar goes up and the liver usually slows down and stores its glucose for later. But, some people’s livers don’t.
Poor communication between cells
Sometimes, the cells don’t send the right signals or don’t pick up messages correctly. When this communication fails on using insulin and glucose, a chain reaction can lead to Type 2 diabetes.
Broken beta cells
If the insulin-making cells send out the wrong amount of insulin at the wrong time, our blood sugar throws off. High blood sugar can have the power to damage these cells, too.
The treatment of Type 2 diabetic includes the combination of medication and change of lifestyle.
Changing Lifestyle
I order to keep control of the blood sugar, the patients should be able to reach the targeted the blood sugar levels with the diet and exercise alone.
Losing weight
Dropping certain pounds may help a patient to control blood sugar level in the people with Type 2 diabetic. Losing 5% to 10% weight of the body is considered good, losing 7% and keeping it off seems to be ideal. It can be said that the people weighting 180 pounds can change their blood sugar level by losing 13 pounds. Losing weight is obviously overwhelming, but control in food portion and development of healthy food habits are a good place to start.
Healthy diet
There is no particular diet for patients with Type 2 diabetic. It is highly recommended to consult with a registered dietitian to insight the patients about the proper amount of carbs intake and help the patients to make a meal plan to stick with. Type 2 patients are highly encouraged to focus on the following food habit:
Exercise
Try to get involved in physical activity for 30 to 60 minutes every day. Physical activity such as walking, cycling, biking, swimming or doing anything else that increases the heart rate. It is good to pair those with strength training, like yoga or weightlifting. If a patient is taking a medication that lowers blood sugar then they might need to take a snack before a workout.
Watching blood sugar level
Depending on the treatment that a patient is going on, especially if they are on insulin, their doctor will ask you if they need to test their blood sugar levels and how often to test it.
Even after changing the lifestyle, if the patient fails to get to their targeted blood sugar levels, they may end up needing medication. Common medication for Type 2 diabetics includes:
Metformin (Fortamet, Glucophage, Glumetza, Riomet): This is a first and foremost medication given to treat people with Type 2 diabetics. This helps to lower the amount of glucose that the liver creates and helps the body to respond better to the insulin it does make.
Sulfonylureas: Drugs containing Sulfonylureas helps the body to generate more insulin. These type of drug includes glimepiride (Amaryl), glipizide (Glucotrol, Metaglip), and glyburide (DiaBeta, Micronase).
Meglitinides: Like as Sulfonylureas, this type of drugs also helps the body make more insulin but are more effective than Sulfonylureas. The patient might take nateglinide (Starlix) or repaglinide (Prandin).
Thiazolidinediones: Again like metformin, this type of drug make the body more sensitive to insulin. Patients could get pioglitazone (Actos) or rosiglitazone (Avandia), however, they also have risks of raising a heart problem as a result, they are not the first choice for treatment.
DPP-4 inhibitors: Drugs under DPP-4 inhibitors includes linagliptin (Tradjenta), saxagliptin (Onglyza), and sitagliptin (Januvia) which helps lower the blood sugar level, but, they can also be the cause of joint pain and could inflame the pancreas.
GLP-1 receptor agonists: This medication is given with a needle to slow down the digestion and lower blood sugar levels. Some common drugs that are exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), liraglutide (Victoza), and semaglutide (Ozempic).
SGLT2 inhibitors: Drugs under this medication type helps the kidneys to filter out more glucose. The patient might get canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), or empagliflozin (Jardiance).
Insulin: People with Type 2 diabetics might need to take a long-lasting shots at night, such as insulin detemir (Levemir) or insulin glargine (Lantus).
Adapting to a healthy lifestyle can help people to decrease the risk of diabetes.
Lose weight: Dropping 7% to 10% of body weight can eliminate the risk of Type 2 diabetes in half.
Get active: A half an hour minutes of fast walking a day will cut off the risk by almost a third.
Eat right: Avoiding the highly processed carbs, sugary drinks, and trans and saturated fats will be the contribution to minimize the Type 2 diabetics. Also, limiting red and processed meats intake.
Quit smoking: People using tobacco tends to lose weight because of increasing the metabolic rate, decreasing caloric absorption (reduction in appetite). So when a patient quits smoking s/he may end up gaining weight. Working with the doctor to keep from gaining weight just to make sure they don’t create one problem by solving another.
Over the course of time high blood sugar on the body can damage and cause a problem with:
Heart and blood vessels: Patients with Type 2 diabetic are up to 5X more likely to suffer from heart disease and get a stroke. They are also at a high risk of getting their blood vessels blocked (atherosclerosis) and chest pain (angina).
Kidneys: If the patients have damaged kidneys or have kidney failure, they could immediately need dialysis or a kidney transplant or replacement.
Eyes: High blood sugar has the capacity to harm the tiny blood vessels on the back of the eyes (retinopathy). The patient may end up being blind if not treated.
Nerves: This can create trouble with digestion, the feeling on the feet, and the sexual response.
Skin: Just because the blood does not circulate as well, the wounds heal slower than it should and become infected.
Pregnancy: Women with Type 2 diabetics are more likely to face a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or a baby with a birth defect.
Sleep: People with Type 2 diabetic might develop apnea, a condition where one’s breathing stops and starts while they sleep.
Hearing: The patients are more likely to face hearing problems, but it has not been cleared why,
Brain: High blood sugars level can harm a person’s brain and might put them at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Some of the best ways to avoid the above complications are given below:
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