If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, there are a number of things you can do to manage so that you can live as normal a life as possible.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition. This means that it can be with you for the rest of your life.
It is caused when the insulin produced in your pancreas is not working as effectively as it should. Insulin is the hormone that tightly controls the level of glucose in the blood stream and helps convert that glucose into energy in the cells.
The symptoms of type 2 diabetes include increased and frequent urination, especially at night (polyuria). With increased urination is what could be described as unusual or excessive thirst. Again, this can often happen during the night (polydipsia).
Unexplained weight loss, hunger as well as fatigue are also symptoms of diabetes, as is blurred vision.
Frequent or recurring infections, cuts and bruises that are slow to heal, or boils and itching skin are also associated with the disease.
Tingling and numbness in the hands and feet can be indicative of type 2 diabetes, especially in the latter stages of the disease as a result of so-called Âdiabetic neuropathy.
Type 2 diabetes can be treated in various ways, but the options include lifestyle intervention and medication.
If you have a weight problem, losing a few kilograms is a priority. In fact, just losing 5% to 10% of your body weight will have a dramatic result on your overall health.
You need to be careful about what you eat.
Certain foods such as sugary and fatty foods and salt must be avoided. Foods with a low glycaemic index should be the cornerstone of your diet. This means cutting back on refined carbohydrates and eating more carbohydrates with a low glycaemic load, in other words those that release their sugar content slowly so as not to cause sugar spikes: an apple rather than a chocolate as a snack.
Exercise is another must-do. And you should be doing at least 45 minutes of moderate exercise a day.
If your glucose level is still high, oral medication will be prescribed. If oral medication is still insufficient, insulin injections may be considered. The trend is to introduce insulin sooner rather than later if adequate glycaemic control is not reached relatively quickly.
Insulin injections are easy to administer and are almost painless. With the correct type and dose of insulin, most diabetics can attain excellent glucose control. You will need to keep tabs on your own blood-glucose level by means of a simple testing kit that includes a blood-glucose meter and testing strips.
Though treating type 2 diabetes has to be part of your everyday life, it doesn’t have to be onerous. However, left untreated, or not managed as it should be, this is a serious disease that can lead to a number of complications, including blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage, which are caused by the elevated sugar in your blood harming your small blood vessels. Diabetes is an important factor in accelerating the hardening and narrowing of the arteries, which causes atherosclerosis and can lead to strokes, coronary heart disease and other large blood vessel diseases.
Poor circulation and the loss of toes and limbs are common complications.
With type 2 diabetes, it is crucially important that you stick to the treatment your doctor prescribes for you.
Diabetes treatment will be the topic of Bonitas House Call on November 12 at 9am on SABC2
This article originally appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper as a sponsored feature