Type 2 Diabetes: How do you recognize it?

When you are diagnosed with Diabetes type 2 your body no longer responds properly to insulin,  the hormone that regulates blood sugar. The insulin is invisible, as it were, and cannot do its job. As a result, too much sugar remains in your blood. First the body makes extra insulin, but over time less and less.

Early signs of Type Two Diabetes

With the knowledge that type 2 is a result of high levels of sugar in the blood, it is still hard  to identify it because the symptoms are very mild at the early stage of development. The symptoms are progressive, and if noticed on time, medication could reduce the chances of complications. What are the most recognizable signs?

1. Recurring Urinating

Normally, you pee around 4 to 7 times a day. Someone who shows signs of diabetes will often urinate more than these average times a day. This is because with diabetes your  blood sugar is high, and the kidneys whose function is the reabsorption of blood sugar, are unable to handle this sufficiently. The result is that your body makes more urine and therefore you need to urinate more. 

2. Constant Thirst

The excess amount of sugars in your body are being discharged as urine. To make urine the body needs fluids. The raised levels of urine production will make your body lose water and your body gets dehydrated. This will make your body ask for fluids which causes you to get more thirsty. 

3. Hunger

Your body uses the energy it acquires from glucose. Body cells require insulin to take in the blood sugar. If your body is insulin resistant or deficient, the cells do not receive the glucose, and your energy levels drop. This causes your body to feel hungry even when you just ate. 

4. Fatigue

Since your cells are not getting glucose and therefore you get no energy, you will feel exhausted and more tiresome than usual.

5. Yeast Infection and skin irritation

The excess sugar in the form of glucose in your body will provide food for yeast. This infection can happen in various moist and warm parts of your body like; the mouth, the area of the sex organs, under your arms and between your toes and fingers. That and loss of fluids will make your skin itchy and irritable.

6. Poor Sight

The changing quantities of fluids in the body and excess sugar can cause damage to your eye and the blood vessels in the eye, causing blurry sight. If untreated, diabetes can result in lasting eyesight loss.

7. Slow healing of cuts and wounds

The flow of blood in your body is impaired as the quantities of sugar in the blood go up. This level of sugar damages the blood vessels and weakens the blood flow. In case of a cut or wound, the impaired blood flow causes slow healing that could take up to months. It also raises the risk of contaminations.

8. Pain and numbness on your limbs

The impairing of blood flow and the destruction of nerves causes neuropathy. It is a condition where you feel pain and numbness in your limbs. A tingling sensation in the limbs can also a be a symptom of diabetes .

Type 2 risk factors

Though anyone is susceptible to get type 2 diabetes, some things increase the chances of acquiring it. Individuals who fall under these categories have a greater chance of getting this condition;

• Obesity as it is added oily tissue that gives cells more insulin resistance.
• Family history of the disease
• Over the age of 45 years as you have more weight accumulation and tissue loss.
• Unhealthy eating lifestyle with increased levels of carbohydrates and sugar-rich foods.
• Medical history of heart disease, prediabetes, or stroke
• Inactivity
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Race and Ethnicity 
• High Blood pressure over140/90mm Hg.
• History of gestational diabetes

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Early diagnoses and what to do

Early diagnosis of diabetes is important as it avoids severe consequences. Without early treatment, you are likely to develop complications like:

• Neuropathy or nerve damage that could lead to paralysis of the limbs and erectile dysfunction in men.
• Heart complications or cardiovascular disease that could lead to heart seizures, chest discomforts, and contraction of arteries.
• Kidney disease (nephropathy) that may need an operation or kidney dialysis.
• Eye degeneration (retinopathy) that could possibly lead to loss of vision.
• Foot complications that could lead to amputation.
• Skin Ailments such as bacterial and fungi poisonings.

When you notice any of the indications of this condition, it is important to immediately contact your doctor and get it checked especially, if you are part of a high risk group. Early treatment and care can make your life better and control any complications

I have Diabetes, what can I do about it?

A change in your diet can really help  the situation. Changing your food- and eating habits to, for example, a keto diet could be an option. With a keto diet you take in more fats which replace carbohydrates as energy reservoirs for the body. Fewer carbohydrates in your diet mean less blood sugar(glucose in your blood).

A change in your diet can really help  the situation. Changing your food- and eating habits to, for example, a keto diet could be an option. With a keto diet you take in more fats which replace carbohydrates as energy reservoirs for the body. Fewer carbohydrates in your diet mean less blood sugar(glucose in your blood).