Type 2 diabetes: All you need to know...

 Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar level is too high. After you eat foods that contain carbohydrates, chemicals in your small intestine break them down into single sugar molecules called glucose. Next, the cell's lining your small intestine absorb the glucose, which passes into the bloodstream. When the blood reaches your pancreas, beta cells inside the pancreas detect the rising glucose levels. To reduce the glucose level, your beta cells release insulin into your bloodstream. As the blood circulates through your body, the insulin and glucose exit the bloodstream into your tissues to reach your body's cells. Most cells of the body have certain receptors on their surface that bind to the circulating insulin. 

Insulin acts like a key in a lock to open up the cell so that the circulating glucose can get inside the cell. Now, your cell can use glucose to produce the energy it needs to function properly. If you have type 2 diabetes, either your pancreas does not produce enough insulin or your body's cells resist its effects or both. If you have insulin resistance, your insulin cannot unlock the cells to let glucose in because of the locks, called receptors, are abnormal or missing. As a result, glucose is locked out of your cells. Consequently, the amount of glucose builds up in your bloodstream in a condition called hyperglycemia. To compensate for hyperglycemia, your pancreas produces more and more insulin. Your overworked beta cells try to keep up with the demand but gradually lose their ability to produce enough insulin. Due to hyperglycemia and the lack of insulin, you may experience the following classic symptoms of diabetes-- excessive hunger, excessive thirst, increased urine volume, and unexplained weight loss. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes that may appear over time include fatigue, recurrent infections, changes in vision, itching, and tingling or prickling sensations in your skin. Life-threatening complications of type 2 diabetes include diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome, and hypoglycemia. 

If you don't receive treatment for hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis can result. Because you no longer have enough insulin circulating in your blood, your cells can't get the glucose they need to produce energy. As a result, your body turns to fats and proteins as an alternative source of energy. During the fat breakdown process, certain byproducts, known as ketone bodies, accumulate in your blood, resulting in a condition called ketosis. If ketones build up to dangerously high levels in your bloodstream, you may develop diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, which can lead to coma and death. Another complication resulting from failure to treat hyperglycemia is called a hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome, or HHNS. As insulin deficiency continues, your blood glucose level increases. In response, your kidneys filter excess glucose out of the blood into the urine, along with large amounts of water. Unless you consume large amounts of water, your kidneys cannot keep up with the demand of removing the glucose from your bloodstream and diluting it sufficiently in the urine. As a result, your blood becomes much more concentrated than normal, a condition called hyperosmolarity. Hyperosmolarity pulls water out of your body tissues into your bloodstream, causing severe dehydration, which may lead to the hyperosmolar hypoglycemic nonketotic syndrome. Neurological symptoms, such as seizures and coma, can occur. 

If you take an excessive dose of diabetic medication, you may experience an acute complication called hypoglycemia or insulin shock. Excessive insulin or oral hypoglycemic medication causes too much glucose to go into cells, leaving an insufficient amount in your bloodstream. Certain organs, such as the brain, need a constant energy supply to function properly. Because the brain's primary source of energy is glucose, it is the first organ affected by lower glucose levels. When your brain cells, called neurons, are starved for glucose, they start to malfunction, causing symptoms such as nervousness, shakiness, and confusion. If your glucose level continues to drop, the electrical activity of your neurons diminishes significantly, resulting in seizures or diabetic coma. Over time, chronic poorly controlled type 2 diabetes can cause degenerative tissue damage, resulting in longterm complications such as atherosclerosis, blindness, neuropathy, and renal failure. 

To avoid the complications of type 2 diabetes, you can take steps to keep your glucose level within a normal range using a combination of blood glucose monitoring, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and medications as necessary. You will need to check the level of glucose in your blood frequently with a glucometer. To do this, you will prick your finger with a small needle called a lancet and place a drop of blood on the strip attached to the glucometer. Based on your blood glucose level, you may need to adjust your meals, physical activity, or medication dose. Eating a healthy diet will help to lower your glucose level when you eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, have meals and snacks about the same time every day, consume the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat, and minimize your intake of high sugar foods. Getting regular exercise--even just 30 minutes a day-- will lower your blood glucose level, decrease insulin resistance, and may lead to weight loss. You may need to take one or more diabetic medications to help lower blood glucose. Some of these medications increase insulin production in your pancreas. Others decrease insulin resistance in your skeletal muscles. 

Some treatments increase insulin sensitivity in certain tissues. Others promote a slight decrease in the absorption of glucose in your digestive system. If your type 2 diabetes can not be controlled with diet, exercise, and oral medications, your doctor may prescribe insulin and train you to inject it just under your skin. By treating and controlling your blood glucose level, you may prevent the occurrence of complications from type 2 diabetes. 


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If you are having these signs and symptoms you can be diabetic !!!

Have you ever been worried that you or someone you may know, has type 2 diabetes?

  

Well in this article we're gonna look at what signs to look out for and what to do about it so in today's article we're going to talk about the process of blood sugars and the insulin response so we can get a better understanding of the entire process and then we're going to talk about the signs of diabetes and we're going to do it in this order so when we eat foods like carbohydrate it's broken down into glucose which is then absorbed into our bloodstream which increases our blood sugar levels your body knows that high blood sugar levels are dangerous so it produces and secretes insulin from the pancreas and this insulin goes into the bloodstream and takes out excess sugar from our blood and stores it in the liver, in the muscle and in the fat cells and I hope that made sense so that was the normal process which allows blood sugars to maintain a normal level.

But the problem in type 2 diabetes is that your cells become desensitized to insulin which in the medical world we call that insulin resistance so the normal process we just spoke about isn't happening and this is because insulin is constantly elevated in our body and it's because of many different reasons one of which is eating too many sugary foods now that we understand the basics of type 2 diabetes let's look at the sign the signs that should be triggering you to speak to your GP now take these seriously as early diagnosis and treatment can prevent many future complications. 

So let's begin the first sign is increased urination much more so than normal because your sugar levels are so high not all of it can be reabsorbed and some glucose ends up in your urine which ends up drawing more water next is increased thirst and this works hand-in-hand with the increased urination so you're weeing more and your body needs more water and it all comes down to osmosis and the sugar in your urine we won't go into that because you haven't got all day blurred vision which is a loss of sharpness in one or both eyes so when our blood sugar levels are too high it causes swelling of our lens now imagine if my camera lens was swollen the image would also be blurry and if this persists over time it can actually cause something called diabetic retinopathy and it's actually very problematic and if it's undiagnosed and untreated it can cause blindness the next sign is something called diabetic neuropathy which is nerve-related and it happens most commonly in the hands, feet, arms or legs and the symptoms that you get are tingling and numbness feeling and sometimes even pain a reduced ability to heal wounds quickly so why does this happen? 

Well again it all comes down to the increased blood sugar levels and this leads to poorer circulation so less blood with oxygen and nutrients can reach the site that's damaged to promote healing it's so cold and lastly occurring fungal thrush infections in the genital region, the mouth and certain areas of the skin now.

It's won't be diabetes always but remember that early diagnosis and treatment can prevent many future complications I hope you found this information useful and please help spread the word to friends and family by liking, sharing.

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DIABETES IN PREGNANCY

Hi today we are joing to discuss about diabetes in pregnancy.

Diabetes, it's certainly not a problem that's unique to pregnancy, but it's something weal ways have to discuss when we're talking about pregnancy because it can really complicate that picture quite a bit.

 

So firstly, diabetes and pregnancy split up into two different categories. There's the category of women who had diabetes before becoming pregnant, and that's called pre-gestational diabetes. So that category is referred to as pre-gestational diabetes. Pre for before, gestational for pregnancy, so before pregnancy diabetes. And then there are the women who become diabetic during their pregnancy, which is called gestational diabetes. So that's the second category,gestational diabetes. And 90% of cases, so that's nine of every 10 cases of diabetes in pregnancy falls into this category of gestational diabetes. And then the other 10% are pre-gestational diabetics. 

So there's something about pregnancy that makes women more susceptibleto developing diabetes and we'll discuss exactlywhat that is in just a bit. But firstly, why do weeven split up diabetes into these two different groups? Well, if a woman haspre-gestational diabetes, that means that her blood sugars may have been poorly controlled at the time that the baby was conceived. Or even during the first eight weeks of the pregnancy, during a period called organogenesis. So the first eight weeks of pregnancy is a period called organogenesis, when the fetus' organs are made. And those high levels of glucose during that really pivotal time can lead to a miscarriage or it can lead to significant anomalies within the fetus. However, with gestational diabetes, that problem with glucose control develops during the pregnancy, in some ways because of the pregnancy. And usually the glucose control isn't impaired until the second trimester, so after the point of conception and after the point of organogenesis. So miscarriage and fetal anomalies don't tend to be a problem with gestational diabetes. 

But that's not to say that gestational diabetes doesn't harm the fetus. Rather, diabetes as a whole, so regardless of the category, can cause preterm labor. It can cause problems with the growth of the fetus. It can even lead to stillbirth. And one of the complications that we tend to think about a lot, that tends to be talked about a lot, is fetal macrosomia. So fetal macrosomia. So let me explain that a little bit. Alright, so if mom has diabetes, the basic gist of it allis that her glucose levels tend to run on the high side. And glucose can cross the placenta, into the bloodstream of the fetus. That's like one of the main purposes of the placenta, to allow glucose to enter the baby's bloodstream as an energy supply. So then when mom has high glucose levels in her blood, then the fetus has high glucose levels in its blood. And that drives the release of insulin in the fetus, because that's the body's primary response to glucose, to release insulin. Insulin is kind of the key that allows cells to open up their doors and take up glucose and use it. And so that insulin that's released in the fetus allows glucose to be taken up. And insulin does a few other things. It also stimulates fat storage in the body, right? And it also binds to receptors on different organs, such as the heart and the liver, and it causes them to grow. It causes the organs to actually grow in size. And so the end result of it all, the end result of the high glucose levels in the mom, leading to high glucose levels in the baby, leading to high insulin levels in the baby, is that the baby grows to a larger size than normal, which is called fetal macrosomia. Macro for large and soma for body. So larger body. Now another thing that I want to mention is that in pre-gestational diabetes, so again, diabetes before the point of pregnancy, the impaired glucose control is more long-standing. 

So these women are more likely to have diabetic complications such as kidney damage or vascular problems, so blood vessel related problems, and damage to the retina. And pregnancy can aggravate these complications, so it can it make worse. So it's really important to monitor these conditions throughout the pregnancy. Now, I want to stop dancing around the issue of why women can become diabetic during pregnancy. A lot of it has to do with the hormones that are released during pregnancy. So hormones such as HPL, that's not one that many people have heard of, right? It stand for human placental, human placental lactogen. Alright, so that's HPL. Another hormone is cortisol. So the body's main stress hormone. Another one that you may have heard of before is growth hormone, that's released in a large quantity during pregnancy. And then finally, progesterone. Progesterone, which is exceptionally important for the maintenance of a healthy pregnancy. So these hormones are released during pregnancy and they have lots of important roles. And among their many, many roles, these hormones increase mom's production of glucose during pregnancy to make sure that the fetus has enough of the glucose, enough of its primary fuel source. And that leads to high glucose levels within the mom's blood. And you might be thinking,"Well, that's no problem, "because the glucose will cause insulin to be released "and that insulin will cause mom's cells "to take up the glucose and problem solved. "You don't have high glucose levels in the blood any more." Well, unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way, because these same hormones make the mom's body resistant to insulin. So that the cells don't respond to insulin and don't take up as much glucose from the blood. And this is done for a purpose. It's actually done so that you can reduce mom's utilization of the glucose so that more of the glucose is available for the fetus. And that's why you can end up with high blood glucose levels and diabetes in pregnancy. Or if you had diabetes before you became pregnant, it can become worse during pregnancy. So, given that diabetes can cause all of these complications for mom and baby during pregnancy, it goes without saying that we do our absolute best to screen for it during pregnancy. So for women who have a normal risk of having diabetes, we do a routine screen. So for all women, all average women, we do a routine screen around 26 to 28 weeks into the pregnancy. And that screening testis usually in the form of a glucose tolerance test.

So the screening test is often called the glucose tolerance test, where the woman is given a very specific amount of glucose and her blood glucose levels are measured at one, two, or three hours after consuming that very specific amount of glucose. And if her blood glucose levels are above the normal range, then she's found to be diabetic. And if a woman is diagnosed with diabetes during her pregnancy, we do our best to control it with diet. And if that doesn't work, then insulin is kind of our second line of treatment. And it's also important to know that gestational diabetes, so again, diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, kind of as a process of pregnancy, increases the risk of a woman having overt diabetes after the pregnancy is over. So it's really important to follow up with all these women after they deliver. Kind of the set point, six weeks after they deliver to test them for diabetes. Okay, so that is gestational diabetes in a nut shell. 

INSULIN RESISTANCE: SYMPTOMS,CAUSES, TREATMENT

Hi today we are going to discuss about a insulin resistance , what are its effect and how to overcome it. So let start:-

What Is Insulin Resistance?

The role of insulin is to allow cells of the body to take in glucose to be used as fuel or stored as body fat.It also means that glucose is more likely to build up in the blood and this can lead to too high blood sugar levels..

Producing too much insulin is known as hyperinsulinemia.

Insulin resistance is the name given to when cells of the body don’t respond properly to the hormone insulin.When the body becomes resistant to insulin, it tries to cope by producing more insulin. People with insulin resistance are often producing too more insulin than healthy people

Insulin resistance is the driving factor that leads to type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and prediabetes. Insulin resistance is closely associated with obesity; however, it is possible to be insulin resistant without being overweight or obese.

Modern research has shown that insulin resistance can be combatted by treatment methods that reduce how much insulin the body is producing or taking via insulin injections or insulin pumps.

Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

You can't tell that you have insulin resistance by how you feel. You'll need to get a blood test that checks your blood sugar levels.

Likewise, you won’t know if you have most of the other conditions that are part of insulin resistance syndrome (high blood pressure, low "good" cholesterol levels, and high triglycerides) without seeing your doctor.

Some signs of insulin resistance include:

Initially, insulin resistance presents no symptoms. The symptoms only start to appear once it leads to secondary effects such as higher blood sugar levels. When this happens, the symptoms may include:

§  Lethargy (tiredness)

§  Hunger

§  Difficulty concentrating (brain fog)

Other signs that often appear in people with insulin resistance include:

§  Weight gain around the middle (belly fat)

§  High blood pressure

§  High cholesterol levels

If insulin resistance develops into prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, the symptoms will include increased blood glucose levels and more of the classic symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

CAUSES OF INSULIN RESISTANCE

Whilst the exact cause of insulin resistance is still not fully understood, it is well-known which factors can lead to insulin resistance developing.

Insulin resistance can commonly develop if one or more of the following factors apply:

§  If you are overweight or obese

§  Having a high-calorie diet, high-carbohydrate or high-sugar diet

§  Sedentary lifestyle – taking little physical activity

§  Taking high doses of steroids over an extended period of time

§  Having chronic stress

§  Having Cushing’s disease or polycystic ovary disease

In terms of what is happening inside the body that causes insulin resistance, researchers have observed that insulin resistance occurs in people that have:

§  High levels of insulin circulating in their blood

§  Excessive fat stored in the liver and pancreas

§  High levels of inflammation

Diagnosis and Tests for Insulin Resistance

Your doctor will use these things to diagnose insulin resistance:

• Questions. She’ll want to know about your family's medical history.
• Physical exam. She’ll weigh you and check your blood pressure.
• Blood tests. You might get:

o   Fasting plasma glucose test. This test measures your blood sugar after you haven’t eaten for at least 8 hours.

o   Oral glucose tolerance test. First, you'll take the fasting glucose test. Then you'll drink a sugary solution. Two hours after that, you'll take another blood test.

o   Hemoglobin A1c test . This blood test shows your average blood sugar level for the past 2 to 3 months. Doctors use it to diagnose prediabetes or diabetes. If you have diabetes, it helps show whether it's under control. You may need to take the test again to confirm the results.

How Insulin Resistance Progresses to Type 2 Diabetes

When you have insulin resistance, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. For a while, this will work and your blood sugar levels will stay normal.

Over time, though, your pancreas won’t be able to keep up. If you don’t make changes in the way you eat and exercise, your blood sugar levels will rise until you have prediabetes. Your doctor will look for these blood test results:

• Fasting plasma glucose test: 100-125

• Oral glucose tolerance test: 140-199 after the second test

• A1c results of 5.7% to 6.4%

If you aren’t able to manage prediabetes, you’ll be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when your test levels reach:

• Fasting plasma glucose test: 126 or higher

• Oral glucose tolerance test: 200 or higher after the second test

• A1c results of 6.5% or above

Insulin Resistance Treatment and Prevention

You can take steps to reverse insulin resistance and prevent type 2 diabetes:

• Exercise. Go for at least 30 minutes a day of moderate activity (like brisk walking) 5 or more days a week. If you're not active now, work up to that.
• Get to a healthy weight . If you're not sure what you should weigh or how to reach a weight loss goal, ask your doctor. You may also want to talk with a nutritionist and a certified personal trainer.
• Eat a healthy diet. Think fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, legumes, and other lean protein.
• Take medications. Your doctor may prescribe a medication called metformin (Fortamet, Glucophage, Glumetza, Riomet) to help keep your blood sugar in check.

Complications of Insulin Resistance

If metabolic syndrome goes untreated, it could lead to:

• Severe high blood sugar
• Severe low blood sugar
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Kidney disease
• Eye problems
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s disease

If left with any doubt you can comment in comment section below.

6 Complication that you may face due to diabetes.

Hi today we are going to discuss about some of the complications that a diabetic may face in his life.

But you may wonder why I am discussing it. Simply reason being so that you can avoid them in future.

So lets start now :-

Diabetes is a condition that generally requires some significant management — whether it’s checking your blood sugar or keeping up with doctor’s appointments.

On top of managing the condition itself, you also have to contend with the risk of complications related to diabetes. For example, living with diabetes means you’re at increased risk of complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and foot problems.

Good self-care is key to managing the condition effectively and reducing your risk of complications. Here are six common complications of type 2 diabetes and steps you can take to lower your risk.

1. Heart disease

People with diabetes are at increased risk of heart disease. In general, heart disease is the leading cause of death Trusted Source in the United States, but people who live with  diabetes are at even greater risk than people who don’t have the condition.

Paying attention to the main risk factors for heart disease, and addressing them, may help decrease the risk. The CDC reports that the main risk factors include:

• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• physical inactivity
• not eating a healthy diet
• smoking
• being overweight or obese
• drinking too much alcohol

If left unchecked, these risk factors can greatly increase your chance of experiencing heart disease. The best way to reduce your risk is to set personal health goals and achieve them, such as exercising regularly and eating a well-balanced, healthy diet.

Medication can be used to treat conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Your doctor can discuss these options with you.

2. Stroke

People with diabetes are 1.5 times more likely to have a stroke than people who don’t have the condition. If you’re living with diabetes, you can familiarize yourself with the warning signs of a stroke. These include:

• numbness on one side of your body
• dizziness
• confusion
• headaches
• difficulty speaking
• vision problems

If you experience any of these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. The sooner a stroke is detected and treated, the less damage it may do to your brain.

Working with your doctor on an effective treatment plan for diabetes can help lower your risk of stroke. Lifestyle habits such as exercising regularly and eating healthfully can also make a difference.

3. Kidney disease

Kidney disease is another complication that can affect people with diabetes. This is because of the connection between blood sugar, also called blood glucose, and the kidneys. When blood glucose levels are too high, the kidneys struggle to filter blood and the blood vessels within the kidneys are damaged.

Symptoms of kidney disease include fluid buildup, weakness, nausea, loss of sleep, and trouble concentrating. These symptoms often don’t occur until kidney function is significantly impaired, which makes kidney disease difficult to detect.

Managing your blood sugar levels is a key part of lowering your risk of kidney disease. High blood pressure also increases the risk of kidney problems. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor can talk to you about options to lower it. It’s also important that you see your doctor to get tested for kidney-related problems on a regular basis.

4. High blood pressure

According to the ADA, 2 out of 3 people with type 2 diabetes report either having high blood pressure or taking medication to lower it. If left untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, vision problems, and kidney disease.

Seeing your doctor regularly can help you stay on top of both managing type 2 diabetes and monitoring your blood pressure. Your blood pressure should be checked during every healthcare visit. You can take steps to lower your blood pressure by maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight if needed.

In general, healthy lifestyle habits can help lower blood pressure. Try to eat a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, and take time to relax. It’s also helpful to include whole grains in your meals, follow a low-sodium diet, and avoid tobacco and alcohol.

5. Eye damage

People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing eye problems like glaucoma and cataracts. Another complication that can affect the eyes is called retinopathy. This condition occurs when high levels of sugar in the blood cause damage to the retina’s blood vessels. If left untreated, retinopathy in its most severe form can cause complete loss of vision.

New treatment options for retinopathy can prevent blindness in most cases, but it’s better to take steps to prevent the condition altogether. Working with your doctor to monitor and manage your blood sugar levels can lower your risk for this condition.

6. Foot problems

Diabetes can increase your risk of a number of complications that affect the feet. Most diabetes-related foot issues are caused by nerve damage, sometimes referred to as neuropathy.

Neuropathy causes unpleasant sensations in the feet, such as tingling, burning, and stinging. Neuropathy can also decrease your ability to feel sensations like pain, heat, and cold. In turn, this raises a person’s risk of injuries that can lead to infection. In advanced cases, neuropathy may change the shape of the feet and toes, requiring special shoes or insoles.

If you’re experiencing any sensations that could be neuropathy, let your doctor know right away. Addressing neuropathy early can help prevent further complications later on.

Keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range can reduce your risk of neuropathy. It may also help to exercise regularly and wear comfortable shoes. If you’re a smoker, consider quitting as soon as possible, and ask your doctor about smoking cessation therapies, medications, and programs that can help.

In this blog i have basically all major complication that a diabetic patient may face.

So manage your blood sugar to avoid all these complication.