Type 2 Diabetes – Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

There are multiple lifelong health conditions that require continuous treatment and therapy. Type 2 diabetes is one such medical condition. It is generally associated with high blood sugar levels. However, it is one of the many types of diabetes that cause similar inconveniences.

Curious about the details of this disease?

Go through our explanation on the symptoms, causes, and treatments of this health condition to help yourself or a friend.

Let’s begin!

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic health condition in which individuals experience high blood glucose levels. Also called diabetes mellitus type 2, this medical condition results from the body cells’ inability to respond normally to the hormone insulin. 

Insulin is a peptide hormone secreted in the pancreas. It is responsible for glycogenesis, i.e., the conversion of glucose to glycogen. In this process, insulin helps the body to utilise its sugar intake by converting it into energy. With improper functioning of insulin, a body’s glucose content remains unused, leading to high blood sugar levels.

In advanced stages, a patient’s body may even stop producing adequate insulin. If left untreated, type 2 diabetes symptoms can worsen and lead to serious complications.

Initial diabetes type 2 symptoms can be very mild, to the point where they aren’t distinguishable. However, if you suspect that you might be affected, here is a list of early symptoms to look out for.

• Progressing weight loss
• Frequent urination
• Feeling tired and lacking energy
• The feeling of dryness in the mouth 
• Increased thirst
• Excessive hunger
• Blurry vision

In its advanced stages, some of the following symptoms may become increasingly prominent.

• An itchy and tingling sensation in hands and feet
• Neuropathy or a feeling of numbness
• Injuries take longer to heal
• Periodic yeast infections
• Foot pain
• Acanthosis nigricans or dark patches of skin around your neck or armpit

Most patients tend to overlook the common symptoms of type 2 diabetes, due to their mild nature. However, if you encounter two or more of the more serious symptoms mentioned above, consult a medical practitioner. Seeking medical aid can help you prevent adverse outcomes of this chronic condition. At the same time, tackling these symptoms can be a lot easier upon understanding their causes.

As already discussed, type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to respond to insulin as it should. If you are beginning to become diabetic, your body cells will first try to produce more insulin to maintain glucose levels. When it eventually fails to do so, the glucose levels begin to build up in your bloodstream. 

The reason why your body might fail to utilise insulin-like healthy individuals can be a result of several factors. These include:

• Genetic predisposition: Genes play a primary role in deciding how likely an individual is to develop type 2 diabetes. For example, if your family has a history of developing diabetes mellitus, you already have a high probability of becoming prone to this disease.
• Miscommunication between body cells: All bodies function based on the neurological messages transferred between different cells. There can be times when these cells fail to produce or pick up the correct signals. This can affect the way your body utilises blood glucose content. A prolonged miscommunication between cells can lead to a chronic condition like diabetes. 
• Dysfunctional pancreatic beta cells: The beta cells of your pancreas are responsible for secreting the hormone insulin. The wrong amount of insulin production at improper times can disrupt blood glucose levels. Also, prolonged instances of high blood sugar levels can, in turn, damage these cells further.

These are some of the common causes of diabetes type 2. However, the actual cause affecting a particular patient to develop this condition can only be determined by a proper diagnosis.

Healthcare professionals can opt for any of the following methods for type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Have a look!

• Fasting blood sugar test: This test determines a patient’s blood sugar level when they have an empty stomach. Doctors generally ask patients to get this test done early in the morning before breakfast. This way, your body gets at least 8 hours of total fasting while sleeping. You cannot eat or drink anything but water during this period before the test.
• Oral glucose tolerance test: This test measures your blood sugar levels prior to and 2 hours after digesting a sweet drink. This way, doctors can determine your body’s mechanism while handling sugar.
• A1c: Another of the various type 2 diabetes diagnostic tests, this diagnosis figures out an average of your blood glucose levels over the past 2-3 months.

If you have been displaying multiple symptoms of type 2 diabetes, and the condition has already progressed far, any of the above tests will be enough to confirm the condition.

However, if you are still unsure of your health condition, you must check the risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes. This way, you can know which factors can make you more prone to this health condition.

There are several pre-existing health conditions that can make for significant risks of type 2 diabetes. These are as follows:

• Obesity: Being overweight is synonymous with obesity, and this condition puts individuals at increased risk of developing diabetes. 
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): Women with this condition, characterised by obesity, excessive hair growth, and irregular menstruation, are prone to diabetes mellitus.
• Gestational diabetes: This is a medical condition in which an individual’s blood glucose levels shoot up during pregnancy. This condition generally disappears after giving birth. However, if you have experienced this condition, you might be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
• Mental health condition: Both depression and diabetes are results of hormonal imbalance and are interdependent conditions. Having one automatically increases the chances of developing the other.
• Heart conditions: Low HDL levels, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and any other condition of heart and blood vessels are risk factors.

Besides the above factors, habits like smoking, excess or scanty sleep, too much stress, and a sedentary lifestyle can increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

The life expectancy of a patient with type 2 diabetes varies greatly, depending on several factors. There is no hard and fast time limit for which such an individual can expect to live. It largely depends on an affected individual’s age of diagnosis, lifestyle, and medical interventions.

For example, an individual with a sedentary lifestyle and smoking habit will have a shorter life expectancy. On the other hand, a diabetic patient leading an active and healthy life can expect to live longer.

Additionally, confirmed diagnosis at a younger age, say 15, is likely to take away more years of this individual’s life, say 12 approximately. On the other hand, an older individual, say aged 65, will lose fewer years, say 2, to a diabetes diagnosis.

Although people of all ages can develop this health condition due to many factors, a specific age group is more prone to this. This group comprises people aged over 45 years. Individuals belonging to this age group should take the initiatives to avoid this health condition to the maximum possible. These initiatives include maintaining a healthy diet and involving yourself in more activity.

In case you are diagnosed with this condition even after taking preventive measures, you can curb its severity with effective type 2 diabetes treatment.

The best treatment for type 2 diabetes comes in the form of effective lifestyle changes. These include:

• Regular exercise
• Losing weight
• Maintaining a healthy diet

Besides, diabetic patients need to stay on continuous medical treatment. Some of the common medications include:

• Insulin shots
• DPP-4 inhibitors
• SGLT2 inhibitors
• Metformin
• Meglitinides
• Sulfonylureas
• Thiazolidinediones
• GLP-1 receptor agonists

In spite of making the required lifestyle changes and taking proper medications, your blood sugar levels might fluctuate over time. This is why doctors advise keeping up with regular tests to monitor periodical blood glucose levels. Accordingly, they can modify treatment procedures for patients and advise necessary steps. Regular testing can also help patients stay up-to-date and avoid complications of type 2 diabetes.