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Learn the Basics about Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in the United States. The American Diabetes Association estimates 18 million Americans have been diagnosed with the disease and another 6 million others have it, but have not been diagnosed.

Type 2 diabetes develops most often in adults over the age of forty, but can develop in young people, too. If not kept under control, diabetes can cause serious complications. People with type 2 diabetes are two to three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Diabetes is also the most common cause of kidney failure and blindness in adults under age sixty. Other potential complications include nerve damage, which may lead to pain and numbness in the hands and feet, and damage to blood vessels, which may result in amputation of limbs. Nerve damage can also affect many other bodily functions.

Coping Emotionally

It's never easy to hear from your doctor that you have a chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes. It's not uncommon to feel depressed after being told you have diabetes, and depression may have a negative effect on your health. When you're depressed, you may not feel motivated to take the best care of yourself. Consequently, you may not eat right or take medications as directed. These actions can cause blood sugars to rise even higher.

If you're like many people, you may at first go into denial about having type 2 diabetes. You may tell yourself things such as "This can't happen to me" or "My case will be different — I won't have problems like some other people do. After all, I don't really feel sick."

Denial is a common response to a diagnosis of diabetes. Perhaps initial denial allows our minds to accept the news more gradually. However, ongoing denial is a dangerous thing. It will prevent you from getting the care you need to manage the disease. Some people deny having the disease for years before taking action to control it; this lack of action over time significantly increases the risks for complications.

One way to break through denial is to talk with people you trust about having type 2 diabetes. Keeping it a secret feeds the denial. Discuss your thoughts and feelings openly. If you feel you would benefit from more emotional support, consider finding a therapist, a certified diabetes educator, or a support group. Once you accept the diagnosis, you'll be better prepared to start a treatment plan.

Defining Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused by the combination of the body's resistance to the effect of insulin (not using its own insulin efficiently) and the pancreas not producing enough insulin. As a result, there is an increase in the level of sugar, also known as glucose, in the blood. This causes a condition known as insulin resistance, which is at the root of type 2 diabetes. If you learn that you have high blood sugars, you may have been gradually becoming insulin resistant for several years.

In order to understand the concept of insulin resistance, let's review briefly how our food is digested and turned into energy. When food enters your body, it is broken down into small components, including glucose, an important sugar that comes from carbohydrates. Glucose is a major source of energy for the body. When you eat carbohydrates, your body detects a rise in glucose and signals the pancreas to produce insulin. Together, glucose and insulin enter the bloodstream. The insulin allows the glucose to enter the cells of the muscles and liver to be used for energy.

If your body is not producing enough insulin, or if your body is not using the insulin efficiently, the glucose doesn't reach the cells. This causes a rise in glucose. Your body will counter with increased insulin production and secretion, which also causes an increase in the levels of insulin in the blood. There are multiple causes of insulin resistance.

Causes of Insulin Resistance

Obesity. Many people become insulin resistant when they are 35 to 40 percent above their ideal body weight. The extra weight overloads tissues with excess fatty acids in the blood and promotes insulin resistance. Obesity is a leading cause of insulin resistance. Nearly three-fourths of the people with type 2 diabetes are overweight; however, thin people, especially the elderly, can also develop diabetes.

Genetics. Your family history is a key factor in insulin levels. Genetics help to determine whether or not you will develop insulin resistance.

Physical inactivity. When muscle is not used regularly, it is less efficient at receiving and using glucose in response to insulin.

Stress. When the body is under stress, it releases a hormone called cortisol. Too much of this hormone is thought to play a role in the development of insulin resistance. Cortisol can also stimulate appetite and weight gain.

Infection or illness. An illness or infection raises the level of stress hormones critical for the body's ability to recover from the illness. The stress hormones actually work against the effect of insulin and cause further insulin resistance. In addition, high blood sugars inhibit the ability of the white blood cells to kill bacteria and may result in a greater risk of infection.

Pregnancy. The fluctuation of hormones during pregnancy may increase insulin resistance. For those women with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes later on, blood sugars may rise during pregnancy and result in a form of diabetes called gestational diabetes.

Ethnicity. The chances of having insulin resistance and being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes increase if your heritage is African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, or Pacific Islander.

Symptoms of Diabetes

The symptoms of diabetes may develop so gradually that you don't readily notice them. Many people have diabetes for several years before it's diagnosed. You may have some of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, but you may not have all of them. The following list describes symptoms and why they occur.

Frequent urination and excessive thirst. When blood is filtered into the kidneys and blood sugars are high, you start excreting glucose into your urine. This causes the urine to pull more water out of your blood. As a result, you need to urinate more frequently. Frequent urination can cause dehydration, prompting you to feel excessive thirst.

Fatigue. When your body is not delivering glucose to the cells efficiently, your body is experiencing a form of starvation. It cannot use the energy from the food you eat. Energy production by many of the tissues in the body goes down. Consequently, you feel tired and lack energy.

Excessive hunger. When the body's cells are not receiving the glucose they need for energy, it can produce the sensation...