Diabetes is a condition in which patients have elevated blood sugar. Patients with type 2 diabetes do not produce enough of a hormone called insulin, which pulls sugar out of the blood. This can be due to decreased insulin production and the body becoming resistant to the effects of insulin.
Symptoms
Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, often will experience increased thirst, feel fatigued and have trouble with slowly healing wounds. Patients can also experience weight loss and increased hunger as a result of sugar not being used efficiently. Some patients will also experience poor circulation and have problems with blurred vision.
Complications
There are a number of complications that type 2 diabetes can cause, according to the Mayo Clinic. Diabetes can cause patients to develop cardiovascular disease (such as atherosclerosis) as well as the destruction of small blood vessels, which can cause nerve damage by disrupting blood flow. This nerve damage can lead to patients developing frequent foot injuries due to a lack of sensation in the foot. Patients can also develop eye and kidney damage.
Causes
Although doctors do not know exactly what causes type 2 diabetes mellitus, there are a number of risk factors. According to Medline, overweight patients are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes because the elevated fat levels makes it hard for the body to use insulin efficiently. Patients who are older than 45, or who have high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. There also appears to be a hereditary component to type 2 diabetes.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes usually diagnosed by discovering that a patient has elevated blood sugar levels. This can be done using a blood glucose test, particularly a "fasting" blood glucose test in which the patient has not eaten for several hours. Another test is the oral glucose tolerance test, in which a patient's blood sugar is measured before and after ingestion of a standardized amount of glucose. The hemoglobin A1c test is also able to measure a patient's average glucose level over the previous three months.
Treatment
The first-line of treatment for type 2 diabetes is lifestyle changes, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Patients should eat a healthy diet that is low in sugars and other carbohydrates. Patients should also begin exercising regularly. Many patients also need to take medications, such as metformin and other drugs that either increase the amount of insulin that the pancreas produces or sensitizes the body to the effects of insulin.
