Adult-onset diabetes

Type 2 diabetes.

• Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which cells cannot use blood sugar (glucose) efficiently for energy. This happens when the cells become insensitive to insulin and the blood sugar gradually gets too high.
• There are two types of diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2. In type 2, the pancreas still makes insulin, but the cells cannot use it very efficiently. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cannot make insulin due to auto-immune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells.
• Type 2 can be caused by:
  • Being overweight
  • Eating a lot of foods or drinks with sugar and simple carbohydrates
  • Artificial sweeteners (sugar free sodas, sugar free foods) intake
  • Lack of activity (sedentary behavior)
  • Lack of exercise
  • Stress and stress hormones
  • Genetics
• Risk factors include:
  • Having family members with diabetes
  • Being overweight
  • Being sedentary including watching more than 2 hours of TV per day
  • Drinking soda
  • Consuming too much sugar and processed food
• The signs and symptoms of this type of diabetes are sometimes subtle. The major symptom is often being overweight. Other symptoms and signs include:
  • Excess thirst
  • Urinating a lot
  • Gaining or losing weight unintentionally
  • Dark skin under armpits, chin, or groin
  • Fatigue
  • Unusual odor to urine
  • Blurry vision
• Often there are no specific symptoms of the condition and it goes undiagnosed until routine blood tests are ordered.
• A blood sugar level more than 125 when fasting or more than 200 randomly is a diagnosis for diabetes.
• Treatment is with diet and lifestyle changes that include eating less sugary foods and fewer foods that are high in simple carbohydrates (sugar, bread, and pasta).
• Sometimes a person will need to take drugs, for example, metformin (Glucophage).
• People with both types of diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar levels often to avoid high (hyperglycemia) and low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia).
• Complications include heart and kidney disease, neuropathy, sexual and/or urinary problems, foot problems, and eye problems.
• This health condition can be prevented by following a low-glycemic load diet, staying physically active, and getting regular medical screenings.
• The prognosis for a person with this health condition is estimated to be a life expectancy of 10 years less than a person without diabetes. However, good blood sugar control and taking steps to prevent complications are shortening this gap, and people with the condition are living longer than ever before. It can be reversed with diligent attention to changing lifestyle behaviors.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes. It is a chronic condition in which blood glucose (sugar) can no longer be regulated. There are two reasons for this. First, the cells of the body become resistant to insulin (insulin resistant). Insulin works like a key to let glucose (blood sugar) move out of the blood and into the cells where it is used as fuel for energy. When the cells become insulin resistant, moving sugar into the cells requires more and more insulin, and too much sugar stays in the blood. Over time, if the cells require more and more insulin, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin to keep up and begins to fail.

This type of diabetes develops gradually, over years, so the signs and symptoms can seem subtle, and you might think it is something you “just have to live with.” If you are overweight or obese, this is the major symptom, but not everyone will be overweight. In fact, weight loss can be a symptom.

Other symptoms and signs include:

1. Fatigue
2. Frequent urination
3. Excess thirst
4. Blurry or cloudy vision
5. Wounds that won’t heal
6. Tingling or numbness in the feet
7. Erectile dysfunction (ED)
8. Dark skin under the armpits and around the groin