Development of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a disorder of your body’s ability to convert food into energy (metabolism). To understand type 2 diabetes, it is helpful to first understand how this process occurs.
When you eat, food is broken down into its individual components, one of which is glucose. Glucose is a simple sugar that is the body’s main source of energy. After digestion, glucose enters your bloodstream, where it is available for cells to take in and use or to store for later use.
In order for glucose to enter the cells and be used for energy, a hormone called insulin must also be present. Insulin is produced in the pancreas by special cells called islet cells.
In people with type 2 diabetes, too little insulin is produced and the body’s cells do not respond efficiently to the insulin that is produced. In either case, glucose cannot enter the cells. This causes a buildup of sugar in the blood, known as hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Hyperglycemia is the hallmark symptom of type 2 diabetes.
How Is Type 2 Diabetes Different From Type 1 Diabetes?
You may have heard of another type of diabetes called type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is similar to type 2 diabetes in some respects. However, they are different in many ways, particularly in who develops each type of diabetes and how they are treated.
Unlike people with type 2 diabetes, those with type 1 diabetes produce little or no insulin. This happens because the islet cells of the pancreas are destroyed. People with type 1 diabetes require insulin to live, which is why it was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes.
Most people who develop type 1 diabetes do so when they are children or teenagers. In fact, this type of diabetes used to be known as juvenile diabetes. In contrast, most people who develop type 2 diabetes normally do so after the age of 40, which is why it is sometimes referred to as adult-onset diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes still have insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. However, some people with type 2 diabetes produce too little insulin on their own, and often need to take insulin to maintain control of their blood sugar levels. Despite the need for insulin among some type 2 diabetes patients, it is sometimes referred to as non-insulin-dependent diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes account for the majority — about 90% to 95% — of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5% to 10% of cases.
Treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus
There are several different medication options that can be added to your management program. Each works in a different way, acting to help the following conditions of type 2 diabetes:
- Insulin resistance. In other words, helping the sugar move from the bloodstream into the body’s cells.
- Helping to lower fasting sugar levels by slowing glucose production by the liver.
- Slowing the rapid absorption of sugar from the intestines.
- Increasing the amount of insulin in the blood stream.
What medications help treat type 2 diabetes?
In addition to diet and exercise, a doctor may prescribe diabetes medication. Remember, that the medication will not take the place of eating right and exercise, and it won’t cure diabetes, but it can help keep someone at the right blood sugar level.
There are four main types of oral medications for type 2 diabetes. These are pills that are not insulin, and they help control your blood sugar. Some of these pills can be used alone or in combination with others:
- Sulfonylureas help the body release more insulin.
- Biguanides treat the root causes of type 2 diabetes – they make better use of your body’s natural insulin, lower sugar production, and reduce sugar absorption.
- Thiazolidinediones make the insulin the body is producing work better.
- Alpha-Glucosidase inhibitors delay the digestion of sugars and starches.
Don’t worry about remembering the long medication names listed above, a doctor will know what treatment and medication therapy to prescribe.