Type 2 Diabetes
How To Treat Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic and progressive
disease which cannot be cured. It can only be treated so that the
patient remains healthy and lives a long life. Type 2 diabetes is
diagnosed after the blood tests given below are conducted on the patient
having Type 2 diabetes symptoms (frequent urination mostly at night,
sudden weight loss when not on a diet, slow healing of wounds,
especially in the feet and ankle area, blurred vision, lack of sensation
on the skin and itching of the hands and feet, increased thirst during
the night, erectile dysfunction and increasing fatigue without any
reason.)
a) Fasting plasma glucose test: which is done to measure blood
sugar after fasting for 8 hours before the test and it can pretty
accurately tell if the person has diabetes or not.
b) Oral glucose tolerance test: which measures the blood sugar
level after not eating for 8 hours and after 2 hours of having taken a
glucose rich drink. It can also tell the doctor if a patient has
diabetes or not.
c) Random plasma glucose test: This test can be done anytime as it
does not depend on fasting and can also tell whether a person has
diabetes or not.
Treatment for Type 2 diabetes is two pronged:
1) Reducing mortality and failure of functional organs by removing excess
glucose from the bloodstream.
2) Preserving the lifestyle of the patient.
The first function of preserving the life and functional organs can be
achieved through close blood glucose level controls and the reduction in
diabetic complications which occurs with type 1 diabetes.
The
second function can also be achieved by having a competent and
knowledgeable support and care team of diabetic health workers for your
aid.
Type 2 is initially treated by adjustment in diet and
exercise, and by weight loss, especially in obese or overweight
patients. Any amount of weight loss can substantially restore insulin
sensitivity which helps in prolonging the life of the
patient.
When the above treatment
doesn't seem to work then Oral Antidiabetic drugs like:
1) Sulphonylureas
2) Biguanides (metformin)
3) Thiazolidinediones
4) ?-glucosidase inhibitors (acarbose, miglitol)
5) Meglitinides (nateglinide, repaglinide and their analogues)
Exenatide are prescribed by the physician in various amounts
depending upon the severity of the diabetic attack. Moreover, if all
these treatment options fail, an insulin therapy may be prescribed to
control the blood sugar level and thus the patient may progress from
only oral to a combination of oral and insulin based treatment.