Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease that affects the way the body processes glucose. Glucose, which can also be referred to as sugar is the fuel of the body. Without it, the body wouldn’t function. The classic symptoms of this disease include increased thirst, also known as polydipsia, increased urination, and polyphagia, also known as increased hunger. Other common symptoms that might be presented by patients include hyperglycemia, which means an elevated blood sugar, low amount of body insulin, tiredness, wounds that don’t heal easily and so on. Apart from this, patients can also suffer from some long-term complications, especially if the disease isn’t well managed. Some of these symptoms include renal failure, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, retinopathies, and so on. This disease occurs majorly as a result of two factors. These are excess weight, and a lack of exercise. It could also occur as a result of genetics. Some people are more predisposed to develop diabetes than others. This disease could also occur due to pregnancy. Physicians diagnose diabetes mellitus by carrying out tests such as the fasting plasma glucose, oral glucose tolerance, and glycated hemoglobin tests. The first step in the management of this disease is lifestyle modification. Patients are encouraged to become more active and change their diet to something healthier. However, it doesn’t work; patients are given antidiabetic medications such as biguanides, sulphonylurea, insulin and so on. In severe cases, bariatric surgery can also be done, especially in morbidly obese diabetic patients. Exosomes have also proved to be useful in the treatment of this disease.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2?
Some of the signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus type 2 include the following;
- Polydipsia: This is a condition in which the patient experiences an increased thirst for water. This occurs as a result of the accumulation of sugar in the bloodstream. This leads to the pulling of fluid from the tissues, which eventually causes the patient to experience thirst. Patients develop a thirst and tend to drink water frequently.
- Polyphagia: This is a condition in which a diabetic patient develops an increased hunger. This occurs as a result of the low amount of insulin in the blood, which leads to a low level of energy in the organs and other body tissues, which also causes hunger.
- Loss of weight: Although diabetic consume a lot of food, due to their increased hunger, they still present with weight loss. This occurs due to the inability of the body to metabolize sugar. This would force the body to utilize alternative fuels, such as body fat deposits and so on.
- Tiredness: The low level of glucose in the body causes the patient to experience fatigue. The patient might also become irritable.
- Visual problems: Diabetic retinopathy is one of the long-term complications of the disease. Patients might find it difficult to focus. This happens because of the osmotic movement of fluid from the lens.
- Wounds that don’t heal easily: Diabetic patients usually have a problem with the wound healing process. In addition, they also become more susceptible to infections.
Things You Can Do Every day To Improve Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
Below are some the things to do to improve this disease.
- Eat healthily: This is the first step in the management of the disease. It’s important for the patient to reduce his/her intake of food that are rich in fat, sugar, salt and so on. Other food materials that should be consumed in low quantity include vegetables, grains. It’s important to keep a good weight. This helps to keep the sugar level in check and also to prevent cardiovascular diseases. It’s best to get a dietician to come up with a food plan, that would be ideal for the patient.
- Exercise: This is crucial in the management of this disease. Patients should try to exercise more. This helps to reduce body Some of the common physical exercises that patients can engage in include jogging, walking, swimming and so on. Physical exercise boosts the energy of the patient.
- Use your medications at the right time and dosage: It’s important to use your prescribed medications and at the right time constantly. Examples of antidiabetics include metformin, sulphonylureas, and so on.
Complications of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
The complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus can be divided into two. These are acute and chronic complications.
- Acute complication: The complications of the type 2 diabetes mellitus are a hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, fatigue. This usually occurs shortly after the onset of the disease.
- Chronic complications: The long-term complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus include retinopathies, vascular problems, nephropathy, and neuropathy. Patients usually have the hand and glove signs; they would feel a tingling sensation in both the hands and the feet. When this is prolonged, the sensation in the limbs might start to dwindle. Also, patients who get pregnant while having type 2 diabetes mellitus might have overweight babies. Lastly, there have been cases of sexual dysfunction attributed to this metabolic disease, especially in men.
How Is Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Managed Currently?
Type 2 diabetes mellitus has not cured, but can only be managed. Below are some of the ways it’s managed currently;
- Lifestyle: Just as a lifestyle is an important factor in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, it also plays a crucial role in management. The first thing your physician would tell you to do is to modify your diet and engage yourself in more physical exercises. People suffering from this metabolic disease must cut down their consumption of carbohydrates, and other sugary food materials. Since obesity and overweight have a direct connection to the metabolic disease, the best thing to do is to join a gym or engage more in activities such as walking, jogging, swimming, cycling and so on
- Drugs: This is the second line of action, should diet and lifestyle modifications fail to work. Biguanides, an example of which is metformin is usually the first medication to be considered. Others include sulfonylurea etc.
References
Pipeleers, D., Robert, T., De Mesmaeker, I. and Ling, Z. (2016). Concise Review: Markers for Assessing Human Stem Cell-Derived Implants as β-Cell Replacement in Type 1 Diabetes. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, 5(10), pp.1338-1344.
Scoville, D. and Jetten, A. (2016). Studying pancreas development and diabetes using human pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Investigation, 3, pp.80-80.
