You Needed to Know - You Have Type 2 Diabetes!

If you have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes I hope you know there has never been a better time than now to start working on and managing your diabetes. More is known today than even five years ago, about diet, medications and the various short and long term complications. You didn't have any obvious signs, but maybe you had some of the following symptoms:

• extreme fatigue
• unusual thirst
• passing large amounts of urine frequently
• extreme hunger
• frequent infections
• blurred vision
• numbness and/or tingling in your hands and feet
• slow healing of cuts

Your fasting blood sugar test showed your level was over 126 mg/dl (7mmol/l) and your sugar challenge (OGTT) confirmed diabetes with a level higher than 198mg/dl (11 mmol/l). This means that, for some reason, you have too much sugar floating around in your bloodstream
When your body continues to make insulin and sugar builds up in your blood stream, the condition called type 2 diabetes exists. You may have also heard it called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. Approximately ninety to ninety-five percent of people with diabetes have this type. Unfortunately, adults aren't the only ones dealing with type 2, now young children and teenagers are also developing this condition.




Statistics show that 5.5 per cent of the world's population have already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and many people of all ages are heading towards pre-diabetes and have no idea. Although research shows type 2 develops slowly over many years, the process starts when your body's cells are unable to use insulin properly. The process could be caused from one or more of the following:

• genetics, a tendency towards diabetes passed down from your parents or grandparents
• being overweight, particularly around the abdomen
• being physically inactive
• feeling stress for long periods
• having had gestational diabetes (GDM)

To work properly, your body needs a hormone called insulin to convert glucose, or sugar from your food, into energy. When your have diabetes, your body either ceases to produce insulin or cannot provide enough for it's needs. This means when you eat foods containing sugar, it can't be converted to energy, so it remains in your bloodstream. This is what gives you high blood sugar levels.
When you have type 2 diabetes, the aim is to maintain your blood sugars within the normal range as low blood sugars, or hypoglycemia, can cause unpleasant symptoms or, in some cases, fits and coma. This will not happen if you are treated by diet alone, but can occur if you are treated by pancreas stimulating medications or insulin.




High blood sugars, or hyperglycemia, can cause damage to small blood vessels in your eyes, kidneys and nerves in your feet. Ignoring your type 2 diabetes also puts you in a high risk category for heart disease and stroke.
Most diabetic specialist believe there are four steps to managing diabetes;

• monitoring your blood sugar levels
• exercising regularly
• planning your meals wisely
• medications and prescriptions

Controlling type 2 diabetes is very doable. With a positive attitude, some lifestyle changes and commitment to your health, you will reap many benefits.

It is difficult to accept the fact that you are diabetic and need to change your lifestyle. Starting with small and gradual changes will give you great health benefits. Get started, you can do it!
Reading all you can about type 2 diabetes will put you in a winning position. If you would like to learn more, click here now to download your free copy of my E-Book: Answers to Your Questions
Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your Type 2 Diabetes.