I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) on 7 February 2017. My diagnosis didn’t come as a shock to me, the severity of the condition did. I am now on a mission to make people aware of what the disease is and how to combat it.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Diabetes, which is excessive glucose in your blood, leads to serious health problems if left untreated. Follow the American Diabetes Association screening guidelines to get tested for diabetes at the earliest possible time. Adopt some basic rules for living with diabetes and continuing your diabetes care to better control the disease. If you’re prescribed oral medications for diabetes, do your homework on dosage amounts and side effects.

Our bodies break down the foods we eat into glucose and other nutrients needed to fuel body functions, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract. The glucose level in the blood rises after a meal and triggers the pancreas to make the hormone insulin and release it into the bloodstream. But in people with diabetes, the body either can’t make or can’t respond to insulin properly.

If you have type 2 diabetes your body does not use insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance. At first, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. But, over time it isn’t able to keep up and can’t make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels.

References:
Diabetes for Dummies Cheat Sheet
Type 2 Diabetes: What is it?
American Diabetes Association – Type 2