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Return to Index Step 1: What is Diabetes?Step 2: Who Gets Type 2 Diabetes?Step 3: How Do You Know if You Have Diabetes?Step 4: You're in Charge! Designing a Treatment Plan Step 5: Monitor Your Blood Sugar Step 6: Lose Weight and Follow the Right Diet Step 7: Exercise Step 8: Drugs and Insulin Step 9: Treat Low Blood Sugar Step 10: Avoid Long-Term Complications Key Points Glossary

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Diabetes type 2: Key points

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Glucose is a type of sugar that comes from the food we eat and circulates in the blood.

Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose enter the body's cells, where the sugar is used for fuel.

People with type 2 diabetes are resistant to the insulin that is produced in their body. As the resistance increases, glucose is no longer pushed from the blood into the cells. The body can't get the fuel it needs and the level of glucose in the blood becomes too high.

Factors that increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes include obesity, an unhealthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and a family history of the disease.

Type 2 diabetes generally develops unnoticed for years, and symptoms (like frequent urination, excessive thirst, and hunger) may or may not appear. Often, diabetes is diagnosed during a routine medical check-up from a blood test when no symptoms are present.

Diabetes can be successfully treated. With proper management, people with diabetes can live full, healthy lives. However, if left undiagnosed and untreated, type 2 diabetes, over time, can cause serious medical consequences.

Weight loss, dietary change, and increased exercise are the initial steps necessary to manage diabetes.

Diabetes pills and/or insulin may be used to manage and control blood sugar levels if diet and exercise alone are not enough.

Other important components of diabetes management include blood glucose monitoring and meal planning.

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can occur for those taking diabetes pills or insulin. Learning the proper treatment is essential to treat these episodes if they occur.

Long-term complications of diabetes include heart disease, stroke, foot problems, eye problems and kidney disease. Keeping blood glucose under good control can significantly reduce the risk and severity of these medical problems.

People with diabetes should get regular checkups including hemoglobin tests every 6 months as long as their condition is going well. The result of this test should be below 7%. If people are not meeting their goals, or if therapy has changed, people should get tested quarterly.

Cholesterol levels should be checked periodically. LDL-cholesterol levels should be under 100mg/dl.

Review Date: 6/17/2008
Reviewed By: Elizabeth H. Holt, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Previously reviewed by Alan Greene, M.D., FAAP, Department of Pediatrics, Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine; Chief of Future Health, A.D.A.M., Inc. (5/1/2006)

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