What is Type 2 Diabetes? Its Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

What is Type 2 Diabetes? Its Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Diabetes is a chronic disease that leads to high levels of blood glucose. Recent research suggests that there are over 7 million diabetic people in Turkey and in the near future this figure will be over 10 million. The development of diabetes disease is expandover quite a long time. In some cases, there could be nearly 10 years between initial and advanced stage of disease. This gives early diagnosis chanceto people who know the signs of the disease. Many people have blood glucose (sugar) level above the normal range but below the level of diabetes. This condition is often called pre-diabetes and it increases the risk of developing diabetes.

Today, there is the maintenance treatment of diabetes. In addition, people can carry on smoothly with their lives by changing lifestyles. Early diagnosis of diabetes is very important because the disease tends to worsen if not treated in the early stages; leads to disability and death. Today, the most important cause of blindness in adults is diabetes. Therefore learning people following signs of symptoms of the diet is vital: (if you have Type 2 diabetes symptoms such as thirst, unusually frequent urination and exhaustion, you should see your doctor.(See the list below for more type 2 diabetes symptoms).

What are the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?

There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2: Type 2 diabetes occur when the body does not properly work to produce enough insulin or when the body’s cells do not react to insulin. This is known as insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce any insulin. Approximately 90% of adults in Turkey have type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes generally develops in adolescence before 40 years of age where type 2 diabetes usually develops later in life.

Type 2 diabetes risks

The reasons of increase in Type 2 diabetes adults are as below:

  • Increased levels of obesity
  • Lack of exercise
  • The increase in unhealthy eating
  • Aged population

Even if you feel healthy blood glucose levels may be above normal levels (prediabetes) and can carry the risk of getting the disease. Therefore, it is very important to take preventive measures to protect yourself from diabeteswith the necessary lifestyle changes such as eating healthy, losing weight (if overweight) and exercising.

Diabetes can lead to serious long-term health problems. It is the most common cause of blindness and eye disorders in working age humans. It is also responsible for many cases of renal failure and lower limb amputations. Diabetes people carry cardiovascular disease and stroke risk five times more than people with diabetes mellitus.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms

Diabetes can lead to many symptoms. Here are the main symptoms of diabetes:

  • Frequent urination, especially at night
  • Excessive thirst
  • Over fatigue
  • Unexplained weight loss and myolysis
  • Itchy genitals or monolia disease
  • Slow healing of cuts and wounds
  • Low visual acuity

Type 2 diabetes symptoms may not be obvious because the disease usually develops slowly over the years. It may become evident in routine medical supervision. Call your doctor if you notice any of the symptoms above. You can also use type 2 diabetes self-assessment test on this page to find out your risk.

The causes of Type 2 diabetes

Insulin is produced by the pancreas, which is a wide gland, is located behind the stomach.

Insulin controls the amount of glucose in your blood. It carries the glucose to the cells and glucose is converted into energy in the cells. In Type 2 diabetes, adequateinsulin cannot be produced to maintain normal blood glucose levels (insulin deficiency) or your body can not use produced insulin efficiently.

Treatment of type 2 diabetes

There is no treatment that heals diabetes. However, the treatment aims to keep blood glucose levels as normal as possible, this will control your symptoms and minimize your health problems that will develop later. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, diabetes treatment team you may be referred to diabetes treatment team for treatment or surgery GPs can provide first-line treatment of diabetes.

In some cases, it may be possible to control your diabetes symptoms with lifestyle changes such as healthy diet and exercising regularly. However, since type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease, you may need to take drugs to keep your blood sugar within normal limits. At first, you can use tablets but you can switch to insulin injection therapy at a later stage.