If I have type 2 diabetes will my life end?

Suffering from type 2 diabetes does not make you unique. Nearly 200 million people worldwide suffer from this type of diabetes. In this case it is one of those instances when number does not matter – the great number of sufferers of diabetes type 2 does not give any comfort.

Diabetes type 2 has reached an epidemic proportion within the last few decades. The sharp increases in cases of diabetes mellitus have been blamed of the modern lifestyle. Nowadays people live a more sedentary lifestyle; they drive everywhere and eat whatever they want to eat. Few even bother to do any form of physical activity. It is required that you do at least thirty minutes of exercise per day in order to remain healthy.

Actually whenever a diabetic have been diagnosed with diabetes is normally the first time they start doing what they were meant to be doing in the first place – take care of their health.

Diabetes simply means that the once automatic process of converting glucose from the food we eat into energy have switched from automatic mode to manual mode. As a result you have to monitor everything you eat on a daily basis. To remain healthy become a balancing act between the food we eat and the amount of activity (exercise) that we do per day. In severe cases medication is added to the mix.

Whenever you suffer from this chronic disease called diabetes mellitus it means that your body now lacks the ability to produce the amount of insulin needed to properly respond to the level of glucose in the blood. Other times there is enough insulin to fulfil requirement but your body cannot absorb it. This is because the cells of your body lack sensitivity to the insulin produced. The lack of insulin sensitivity in the cells is known as insulin resistance.

The hormone insulin enables the body to absorb glucose and turn it into energy.  As one author said, “insulin functions as a key that opens the doors of the cells to let glucose in.” If there aren’t enough keys or the keys do not fit the cells glucose will accumulate in the blood leading to various potential complications of diabetes.

These diabetic complications are very serious and should not be taken lightly. The problem with diabetes is that the longer it goes untreated and the longer the blood sugar remains high the greater the risk of developing diabetes type 2 complications. These chronic complications include blindness, kidney failure, angina and even amputation of limbs.

Don’t be scared. It is not diabetes that causes these problems but poorly controlled diabetes. If diabetes remain untreated, poorly managed or poorly controlled it could and will definitely end your life.

If you want to know if you may be suffering from diabetes type 2 read the article on the symptoms of type 2 diabetes so that you would be able to recognise the symptoms. Recognising the symptoms of diabetes is the first step to protecting your health and wellbbeing.

Everyone should educate themselves about this silent killer. You can get more information by reading about the different causes of diabetes types and how to avoid them if you can.