Diabetes is serious stuff, if it's not treated, it can lead to some pretty dangerous complications, including nerve and kidney damage. The good news is you can often avoid type 2 diabetes and its complications. You need sugar, or glucose, to keep your body running.
Normally when you eat, your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin, which moves the sugar from food out of your blood and into your cells, where it can either be used for energy, or stored. But if you have type 2 diabetes, this system doesn't work as well as it should, in part because your cells have a harder time responding to insulin. As a result, sugar builds up in your blood. Why is that a problem?
Well, that excess sugar can damage organs like your eyes and kidneys, and it can lead to complications like nerve damage and heart disease. Diabetes complications could leave you blind, lead to amputation of your toes or feet, and maybe even kill you.
You can help prevent diabetes complications by keeping good control over your blood sugar, but first you need to know that you have type 2 diabetes. Sometimes it can be hard to tell because you may not have any symptoms at first. Being very thirsty, tired, or having to go to the bathroom a lot may be pretty good clues that you might have developed diabetes. Blurry vision might also be a clue. Your doctor can confirm it with a blood test. Once you know that you have diabetes, it's your job to keep it under control.
You'll need to check your blood sugar at home and talk to your doctor about how to lower it with diet, exercise, and possibly medicine. To avoid serious complications, you'll need to see not just one doctor, but a team of health care professionals. That includes a podiatrist to check your feet, an ophthalmologist to check your eyes, and a dentist for cleanings and exams. Because type 2 diabetes increases your risk for heart disease, you'll also need to see your primary care doctor regularly to have your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides checked, and to make sure your kidneys are working as well as they should.
Like any other disease, it's better to avoid getting type 2 diabetes then to have to treat it. If you're at risk because you're overweight or over age 45, ask your doctor for a blood sugar test at your next check-up. If you have already developed diabetes, you can help avoid complications by staying on top of your health, checking your blood sugars, eating a healthy diet, exercising, and seeing all of your specialists on schedule.
Make your doctor a partner in your care. Call right away if you have any problems, like numbness or tingling in your legs or feet, blurry vision, extreme thirst, weakness, or fatigue. People with type 2 diabetes often have no symptoms at first. They may not have symptoms for many years. After many years, diabetes can lead to serious health problems, and as a result, many other symptoms. To confirm the diagnosis, one or more of the following tests must be done. If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you need to work closely with your provider.
See your provider as often as instructed. This may be every 3 months. The following exams and tests will help you and your provider monitor your diabetes and prevent problems. Your provider may want to check your vitamin B12 blood levels if you are taking the drug metformin. At first, the goal of treatment is to lower your high blood glucose level.
Long-term goals are to prevent complications. These are health problems that can result from having diabetes.
The most important way to treat and manage type 2 diabetes is by being active and eating healthy foods. Everyone with diabetes should receive proper education and support about the best ways to manage their diabetes. Ask your provider about seeing a certified diabetes care and education specialist and a dietitian. Learning diabetes management skills will help you live well with diabetes. These skills help prevent health problems and the need for medical care. Skills include:. It may take several months to learn these skills.
Keep learning about diabetes, its complications, and how to control and live well with the disease. Stay up-to-date on new research and treatments. Make sure you are getting information from trustworthy sources, such as your provider and diabetes educator. Checking your blood sugar level yourself and writing down the results tells you how well you are managing your diabetes.
Talk to your provider and diabetes educator about how often to check. To check your blood sugar level, you use a device called a glucose meter. Usually, you prick your finger with a small needle, called a lancet. This gives you a tiny drop of blood. You place the blood on a test strip and put the strip into the meter. The meter gives you a reading that tells you the level of your blood sugar. Your provider or diabetes educator will help set up a testing schedule for you.
According to the World Health Organization WHO , there are around million people are living with diabetes worldwide. Between and the number of people with diabetes quadrupled. The rise is partly attributed to increases in the number of people who are overweight — including an increase in obesity — and in a lack of physical activity. Estimates show that South East Asia and Western Pacific Regions, have the largest numbers of people with diabetes, accounting for approximately half the diabetics in the world.
Furthermore, diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the world. There are 1. The majority of these deaths happen in low and middle-income countries. Diabetes is a chronic condition where someone is unable to adequately regulate their blood glucose levels.
The body produces the hormone insulin which helps the body burn off sugars. Insufficient insulin or ineffective insulin causes diabetes. There are two main types — Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 can occur in any age group but is most commonly diagnosed in children. Lifestyle or weight are not usually factors but it affects insulin production. Type 1 diabetics usually control their diabetes with injections of insulin. This is the more widespread type. It tends to develop later in life, and obesity is often a factor.
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body is unable to make enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly known as insulin resistance. Diet, exercise or oral medication — or a combination of all three can control T ype 2 Diabetes. In fact, it is possible that Type 2 diabetes can be prevented: by 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days.
Moreover a healthy diet can seriously reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Some patients are diagnosed as being pre-diabetic, or having insulin resistance. Often lifestyle changes, modifying the diet, exercising and losing weight can change this diagnosis. Diabetes can also occur in pregnant ladies — gestational diabetes.
Diabetes has been a strange mistress. She died suddenly 2 months ago. The coroners reoprt confirmef it was Ketoacodosis. She was fine on the Friday she and my brother went for a meal. Saturday she stayed on the sofa all day with a bit of a sore throat.
Nothing unusual there. He found her on the bed. I would like to know what caused her to have it. We encourage you and your son to continue to partner with his healthcare team on how to best manage his diabetes. If there is anything Medtronic can do or if your son would like to speak to one of our specialists about his options for a pump please let me know.
Hey Dee, how is your son doing now? Just your post is similar to my son. I hope he is doing better now. Text me if you would like to talk. They did a cat scan which showed two strokes previously but no current stroke. They said his brain had not swelled also. His memory is still cloudy and memory bad. My question: He sleeps nearly all the time and still complains of being tired, plus the confusion and bad memory.
Can someone give me your symptoms after a bad bout of Ketoacidosis and let me know if the symptoms seem normal. Just praying these symptoms leave. I experience DKA as well. I did not have vommitting but I had excessive thirst and stopped eating. I had not been diagnosed with diabetes. It was like one day I did not have diabetes and the next I did. I starting having balance problems and could not even say my name. It was like my name was written on my forehead but I could not get my name out.
I live by myself and the house cleaner was concerned and contacted my sister. When she arrived she found me half dressed because I could not figure out how to finish. Because I was unable to talk, she thought I was mad at her. She noticed the lamps I had knocked over and got concerned. Another thing that happened was I was falling into the wall and had broken two teeth.
My sister called an ambulance and when they attempted to get my BG the first time it twisters error. The second time it was over Next was the ER to attempt to sablize me. During that time I got hysterical and was going to leave the ER. My sister asked me where was I going and somehow that got through to me.
Three days in the ICU. The possibility of a pick line and then 6 more days in the med surf floor and then on to a rehab center for 21 more days.
Finally home and trying to recover. It was found out that I had a severe kidney infection. A couple weeks before this happened and I fell and broke my foot. I did not take that advice. If you are ever told this, do what they tell you to do.
Your life is at risk! My dr said I would not have lived till morning had I not gotten help. That is my story. If you see yourself here; get to your doctor. I have had multiple hospitalization and I inject myself 5 times a day.
Try not to allow yourself to live a life like this. I wish to thank you all for sharing these experiences.
I just lost my sister 49 yrs old and now I strongly suspect it was DKA that took her life. She was diagnosed with DKA about 6 weeks prior to her death and was treated in the ICU for about 7 days and sent home. She had cough and was being given antibiotics. Her sugar levels were under control via insulin. However, she vomited blood in the early hours last month and instantly passed away. She had seen her doctor just a day prior and there was nothing alarming as per the doctor.
My entire family and I are in a state of shock. Reading these experiences here rings a lot of bells in my mind as she had been displaying some of these symptoms regularly and we had reported the same to her doctor. I urge all who have DKA or have these symptoms to please take it seriously and follow a disciplined diet and medication.
Thanks, Kishin. I had no idea I was a diabetic. My a1c was When I finally decided to go to the Hospital it was almost to late. It was the end of August this year that I noticed the weight loss. Then it was my eye sight. I thought I needed new glasses. I was considering surgery for a hernia that would have happened around the time I went dka.
Next was the thirst. The vomiting started the night before we called the ambulance. I figured I had the flu. September 18th at 3am I had vomited times in 4 hours and just wanted to go back to sleep. I was being begged to go to the ER and refused.
Finally, we called an ambulance. I remember being asked the date and where I was and not having a clue. The symptoms I had in the weeks prior caused my INR to drop which is how thin my blood is.
The lower it is the thicker it is. Which is why I thought it was a blood clot. I spent 4 days in ICU and 2 weeks in the hospital. The bulk of which with a feeding tube.
My diagnosis was Pancreatitis and DKA. Now I work hard to manage it properly and am full of questions about diabetes.
In my 3 years as a diabetic type 1 i have had thd roughest years of my life just last year alone i was hospitalized over 30 times from it atleast half of which because i was actually in dka. Its the worst scariest experience you can have and im sorry you had to go through it.
My mom has been fighting for over a year now with back pain, stomach pain, weakness, confusion, no sleep, nausea, and massive weight loss. I cried when I put IcyHot on her back and felt her spine. My aunt, who is a nurse, found a high amount of ketones in her urine, causing us to look online to research what it could be, and ultimately finding a possible link to Diabetes Ketoacidoses.
I am trying to do as much research for her as I can. Thank you so much for sharing. I remember when I went through my diabetic ketoacidosis. I truly felt like I was going to die. I was so thirsty, my lips would stick together.
Everything hurt, a piece of hair touching my arm was painful, I had Charlie horses in both legs, my blood was so acidic, I could barely see or catch a breath. I thought I was going to die that day. Still, to this day a decade later whenever my sugar gets past I remember the rapid onset of all those things I mentioned. I will never forget it. I reach out to other T1Ds and share with them my experiences and offer to help them on their path to staying healthy.
So scary when your body suddenly stops working and goes into a rapid decline like that. I am so grateful for the education I have now, for the staff at the hospital, for NY amazing T1D team of doctors, and educators. I am so thankful for the improved technology, I am thankful to be able to communicate and talk with other T1Ds. I am grateful to be alive! My mom is diabetic, and got sick while on a work trip out of state.
She takes great care of herself, which is why her body returned to normal so quickly following DKA. Anyone else experience this, and have ways that helped you to get back to feeling normal… or at least comfortable? Great question, Nichole. They can make the best recommendation based on her individual needs. My mom is in hospital with ketoacidosis. She is 80 years old and complained of frequent urination and thirst. She also vomited and had diarrhea.
At she was still not feeling well and was refusing to go to hospital. Her partner called ambulance at when her condition worsened. At hospital they had to administer CPR and put her on life support for 2 days.
I wish I knew more about the ketones testing at home. Please go to hospital immediately if you have extreme thirst and are peeing a lot. Omg yall have no idea how happy I am to find this post. My boyfriend is currently in the hospital for this. His blood sugar was when he got there and I am so worried. I am praying for a quick recovery honestly its depressing me. But finding this post and knowing that hopefully he will recover has made me feel so much better.
Thank you for posting this. It is very similar to my DKA story from January 25, I was supposed to be Type 2. DKA was something that happened to those Type 1 folks. I was aware of the symptoms, but my mind became so confused as the result of my high sugar , I made a series of dangerous decisions. It will pass. I was vomiting up bile and blood also. I decided to go to sleep. My family was not aware of the full extent of my illness; I was too weak to check my blood sugar levels.
I was NOT one of the lucky ones….. By the time I arrived at the ER 45 minutes later , I was in a full coma, extreme hypothermia core Everything that occurred over the next two days are reported by my family and the medical staff; I was completely unconscious. I was dead. Also, there is a likelihood that I have been misdiagnosed.
I will be having the antibody test next month to verify what type I am. I went from completely stable to completely insulin dependent due to my fight with DKA. I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes around and really have never had it under control. I finally raised my kids 3 — on my own a few years ago and settled into a secure job with health insurance and started trying to get my diabetes under control. For at least 10 years I have had these attacks — sometimes every month — sometimes a few times a year — now they are every few weeks.
I start with a severe pain right under my ribs in the middle, then violent vomiting and diarrhea until I am empty then the pain goes away.
Now it happens with a loud train whistle in my ears, sweating, shaking, blurry vision, vomiting, can barely stay conscious and there is no way I can stand up and walk — I hit walls and fall down — and I have a hard time catching my breath. After about an hour or two of vomiting I am weak and fall asleep. I knew they were wrong. It happened at work a few months ago — very embarrassing — laying on the bathroom floor — trying to clean up vomit and not pass out. I have recently had an upper GI and colonoscopy — normal results.
When the attacks happen I really would rather be dead — they are terrible. I am so depressed and know that there is no solution. It sure does sound kinda like DKA to me. I was diagnosed T2 in March , at 69 years old. Then in March my blood sugars started to rise. I was just getting weaker and weaker until finally on May 10 I drove myself to the ER which is only a couple of minutes from my home. I did not know how far out of it I was until I came out of it.
Scared my family to death. The nurses told me I was lucky to get there when I did. I know everyone is different, but any tips would be appreciated. Both are scary and I feel trapped by this disease. Thank you in advance. I am a 53 year old female that was diagnosed with diabetes after giving birth to my son at the age of July of , I drove myself to work and after being at work for an hour, started not to feel well.
I checked my blood sugar and it was I had a co-work take me to an urgent care facility. I got up to leave the urgent care and got very dizzy. Left urgent care and went to the ER. Once I arrived at the ER, they noticed that my blood pressure was beginning to drop again.
My blood sugar was I gave myself a correction. Two hours go by and 2 bags of IV and my blood pressure continued to drop. I end up having a pick line put in my neck to give meds directly to my heart to get my blood pressure back up, more IV and an insulin drip. I was in ICU for 3 days and released from the hospital after 5 days.
This was my first time ever experiencing anything like this. I went through this last May. Food poisoning followed by DKA. The ER doctors did not care about the food poisoning, just started with fluids ands insulin drip. I guess the cause did not matter at that point. They did try to tell me it was human error, that I must have had a kink in the tubing that caused insulin not to be properly administered.
If you do know, there are steps you can take to stay healthy. Diabetes management is key. Make sure you stick to a healthy diet —lots of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes without a lot of refined carbs or sugar. Equally important is taking your insulin on schedule and monitoring your blood sugar carefully if you get sick.
If you have any of these symptoms and suspect you might have diabetic ketoacidosis, get to a doctor right away. Can Diabetes Kill You? By Amanda Gardner Updated December 11,
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