When you hear that type 2 diabetes is a chronic and lifelong disease, you may get faint at heart at the thought of having either type two, pre-diabetes, gestational (if you’re pregnant), or type one, which is often called juvenile diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes is non-insulin dependent diabetes, because you do not need to take any insulin to get your life back on an even keel.  If you do believe you’re at risk for type 2 diabetes, then run a webmd health check.  Obesity, high blood pressure and a high blood glucose level may indicate that you have this disease and the diabetes risks factors that come along with it.

Diabetes Type 2 Information

If you get a diabetes type two assessment, you may need to take some type 2 diabetes medication, watch your health and diet, keep track of your blood glucose level, and be careful of your sugar and carb intake.  Become really aware of other risk factors for getting diabetes, and you won’t have to worry about complications like a diabetic coma.   Have your heart checked regularly and start to get into your type 2 diabetes regimen, including exercise.  You may have heard about diabetic ketoacidosis associated with diabetes.  This is a complication of diabetes and it entails the body not being able to use sugar (glucose) because of lack of, or insufficient insulin.

Fat is used instead and the byproduct of its breakdown and byproducts known as ketones build up.  Diabetes can be the result of too little insulin, insulin resistance, or both.  When food is digested glucose enters your bloodstream.  Your pancreas secretes insulin.  This hormone moves the source of energy, glucose, into your liver cells, fat and muscle.  Diabetics have high blood sugar.  Whether you have type ii diabetes, type 1, gestational or pre-diabetes, insulin is still needed to break down this glucose.

Type 2 Diabetes Facts

Diabetes type 2 is much commoner than diabetes type 1.  Some young people get it, but it’s mostly a disease for the over twenties crowd.  Many people who have this type of diabetes don’t even know they have it.  Obesity and lack of exercise are the main reasons people seem to get type 2, but these are not the only risk for the disease.  Other factors that enter into the big type 2 picture, are being over 45, having peripheral artery disease or other heart problems, having high cholesterol, polycystic ovary disease (women), and being from a few ethnic groups such as Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic (American Hispanics).

A few symptoms in your type 2 diabetes diagnosis could include excessive thirst, being tired all the time, blurry vision, weight loss (if you’re not trying), hunger, and going to the bathroom a lot because your kidney and its brother or sister are working overtime.  Because type 2 develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar never show evidence of any symptoms at all.

Some tests that can be used to diagnose diabetes are:  Urine analysis, fasting blood glucose level, hemoglobin Alc test, oral glucose tolerance test, random and non-fasting blood glucose level, and possibly a few others your doctor may have up their sleeve to help determine if you have diabetes, and to be able to start treatment asap.  Longterm treatment goals include reducing symptoms, prolonging life, and preventing the complications of diabetes (heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and amputation).

Control a few key factors and you can control diabetes.  Watch your skin as it’s a good indicator of what’s happening below it.  Diabetes can be controlled, as can a lot of other metabolic syndrome or other metabolic conditions, by careful testing at home of blood glucose levels, education, controlling your cholesterol and blood pressure levels,  foot care and exercise, medication (type 2 and 1), insulin or whether your a 1 diabetes type, weight control and meal planning, and a few other things which your doctor can talk about.

Although there is no cure for diabetes, you can be vigilant and keep it under control.  Get your diet going, exercise as much as you can, take prescribed medicines, control your blood sugar and prevent as many symptoms as you can.  Obese and morbidly obese people can get a gastric bypass or lap band surgery and this is a good tool to drastically reduce or eliminate symptoms (type 2).  This is more or less the last resort but it can be extremely useful.  After this type of surgery you still have to work at weight control, but it does help tremendously.

Don’t underestimate the value of a dietitian in helping you with meal plans and other things to do with food and drink.  There are also a ton of great recipes around on the Internet, and in books.  Plot out your weekly diet, get lots of exercise, take all prescribed meds and you’ll kick these type 2 diabetes symptoms into infinity and beyond.