Overview
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that develops when you have too much sugar, also called glucose, in your blood. Glucose is a type of sugar produced in your body when carbohydrates and other foods are digested. It provides energy to cells throughout the body.
Normally, blood sugar levels increase after you eat a meal. When blood sugar rises, cells in the pancreas release insulin, which causes the body to absorb sugar from the blood and lowers the blood sugar level to normal.
When you have type 2 diabetes, sugar stays in the blood rather than entering the body's cells to be used for energy. This results in high blood sugar. It happens when your body can't use insulin the right way.
Over time, high blood sugar can harm many parts of the body, such as your eyes, heart, blood vessels, nerves, and kidneys. High blood sugar can also increase your risk for other health problems.
What are the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes?
Some people who have type 2 diabetes may not have any symptoms early on. You may have the disease for many years before you have symptoms of high blood sugar.
Symptoms of high blood sugar may include:
- Feeling thirsty all the time.
- Needing to urinate often.
- Feeling hungrier than usual.
- Losing weight without trying and for no clear reason.
- Feeling tired all the time.
- Having blurry vision.
- Having infections, cuts and bruises that heal slowly.
The higher your blood sugar rises, the more likely you are to have symptoms. High blood sugar can also make you dehydrated if you're not drinking enough liquids. This can make you feel dizzy and weak, and it can lead to an emergency called a hyperosmolar state.
What are the causes of Type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes happens when your body can't use insulin the right way. This is called insulin resistance. Over time, your body cannot make enough insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that helps your body use sugar from your food as energy. Without insulin, this sugar cannot get into your cells to do its work. It stays in your blood instead. This can cause high blood sugar levels.
Certain risk factors increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Excess weight
- Little or no regular exercise
- Others in your family who have type 2 diabetes
- Unhealthy diet. Making healthy food choices is important to avoid diabetes.
Other things that may put you at risk for type 2 diabetes include:
- Age.
- The risk of getting prediabetes and type 2 diabetes increases with age.
- Race and ethnicity.
- African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders are at higher risk than whites for type 2 diabetes.
- A history of gestational diabetes.
- Women who have had gestational diabetes are at higher risk for getting type 2 diabetes later in life.
How is type 2 diabetes diagnosed?
If your doctor thinks that you may have diabetes, you will have blood tests to measure how much sugar is in your blood. A fasting blood sugar test, an oral glucose tolerance test, and a hemoglobin A1c test are used. Your doctor will also ask you questions about your medical history and do a physical exam for type 2 diabetes.
Your doctor will use the test results and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria to diagnose type 2 diabetes.
Two tests are used to confirm the diagnosis of diabetes.
Other possible tests
It may be hard to tell if you have type 2 or type 1 diabetes. If so, your doctor may do a C-peptide test or test for autoantibodies to help diagnose type 1 diabetes or a slowly developing form of type 1 diabetes called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). Some rare forms of diabetes are caused by a genetic problem. You may need genetic testing to diagnose them. This includes maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY). There are many types of MODY, depending on the gene that is affected.
How is type 2 diabetes treated?
Treatment for type 2 diabetes will change over time to meet your needs. But the focus of your treatment will usually be to keep your blood sugar levels in your target range. This will help prevent problems from type 2 diabetes such as eye, kidney, heart, blood vessel and nerve disease.
Treatment to manage type 2 diabetes includes:
- Making healthy food choices and being active.
- Losing weight if you need to.
- Seeing your doctor regularly.
- Keeping your blood sugar in your target range.
- Taking medication, if you need them.
- Quitting smoking, if you smoke.
- Keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol under control.
Medications
Some people with type 2 diabetes may need medicines to help their bodies make insulin or decrease insulin resistance. Some medicines slow down how quickly the body absorbs carbohydrates. Medications for treating type 2 diabetes may include metformin or insulin.
You may also take other medicines to control or prevent other health problems, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetic kidney disease.
Weight-loss surgery
Experts recommend weight-loss surgery for some people who have type 2 diabetes, depending on how well their blood sugar is controlled and their body mass index (BMI).
