Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes, with 1.5 million Americans diagnosed each year. This type of diabetes occurs when your blood sugar is too high because your body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use insulin well.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes
Early symptoms of diabetes include urinating often, being more thirsty and hungry than usual, being very tired, having blurry vision, and having cuts and bruises that are slow to heal.
Type 2 diabetes most often appears in middle age or older, although children can be diagnosed with type 2 as well.
Who is more at risk?
You are more likely to develop type 2 if:
- You are 45 or older.
- You have a family history of diabetes.
- You are overweight or obese.
- You are African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.
Other risk factors include high blood pressure, a history of gestational diabetes, low or no physical activity, a history of heart disease or stroke, depression, and PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).
How to manage type 2
You can manage your type 2 by managing your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol and by quitting smoking. Also, you will need to eat healthy meals and fewer calories, and exercise regularly. You may also need to take some medications to manage your diabetes, like pills or insulin. Often, healthy lifestyle changes can help you thrive with diabetes without having to take a lot of medication.
Blood tests for type 2
You could have type 2 diabetes and not even know it. That’s why it’s important to get a blood test, especially if you might be at risk. The blood tests used to test for diabetes are the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test, the A1C test, or the random plasma glucose (RPG) test.
The following chart will let you know what your test numbers mean (for non-pregnant testers).
