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Diabetes & Endocrinology


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DIABETES MELLITUS

TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. When you eat, your body turns your food into glucose (sugar) to use as fuel. In healthy people, a hormone called insulin helps the glucose get into the cells. But in people with type 2 diabetes, something goes wrong. Sometimes, a person does not make enough insulin. Sometimes,cells ignore the insulin.

Is It Curable?

In people with type 2 diabetes, glucose (sugar) builds up in the blood. But with good treatment, your blood sugar levels may go down to normal again. A normal sugar level does not mean you are cured. Instead, a normal blood sugar levels shows that your treatment plan is working and that you are doing a good job of taking care of yourself.

Taking Care Of Your Diabetes

The goal of treatment is to lower your blood sugar and improve your body's use of insulin with:

1Meal planning

2Exercise

3Weight loss

Meal planning. When you eat, your body digests and changes food into sugar. Your blood sugar goes up. A good meal plan slows this rise. The meal plan for a person with diabetes is the same as anyone else. It should be

1 Low in fat

2 Has moderate amounts of protein

3 Contains starches, like those in beans, vegetables and grains (such as breads, cereals, noodles and rice).

You and your dietitian will work out a meal plan just for you.

Exercise. Being active helps your cells take in blood sugar. So exercise plays a major role in your treatment plan. Tell your doctor about the kinds of exercise you do now. Your health care provider will help you fit them to your new lifestyle. If you don't exercise, you should want to become more active. It would be great if you could be active on most days of the week for a total of 30 minutes, which can be broken down into short sessions. If you're not used to exercising start slow. Even a 5-minute walk can get you moving.

Weight loss. Losing weight is another big part of your diabetes treatment. It will help your body use insulin better. The best way to lose weight is to exercise and follow a healthy meal plan. Your doctor or endocrinologist will tell you how much weight you should lose. and how quickly.

Blood sugar checks. You now know that eating healthy, losing weight, and keeping fit help keep blood sugar levels normal. You can check your blood sugar levels at home to keep track of how you're doing. To check your blood sugar, you need a drop of blood from your finger. You place the drop on a special test strip. A device called a glucose meter tells how much glucose the drop of blood contains. Your doctor will tell you how often to test your blood. Write down each result, along with the time and date. You will soon learn how well your treatment plan is working, and you will learn how exercise and food affects you.

A Back-Up Plan

Sometimes, healthful habits like eating well, losing weight and exercising are not enough. In that case, your doctor may have ask you to take:

1 Diabetes pills, or

2 Insulin shots, or

3 A combination of pills and insulin shots

Diabetes pills. There are many types of diabetes pills. Your doctor will tell you what kind of pills to take and how often. Taking pills does not replace healthful habits. You still need to pay attention to diet and exercise.

Insulin shots. Insulin helps your cells take in blood sugar.

Your doctor will try you on pills first. But sometimes pills don't work. Or they work at first and then stop. When this happens, your doctor may have you take both pills and insulin or maybe just insulin alone. Your doctor will tell you what kind of insulin to take, how much and when.