Type 2 diabetes

Reviewed by Professor Ian Campbell, consultant physician and Dr Soon Song, consultant physician

Ways to help yourself

Keep an eye on your weight and blood pressure. If you're overweight, try to lose weight.

Do all you can to keep your arteries and circulation healthy. If you smoke, now would be a good time to quit.

Pay attention to the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

Eat a healthy balanced diet with fibre, carbohydrates and not too much fat.

Keep an eye on your disease - especially signs of either high or low glucose levels.

Learn how to measure your glucose levels and do it as regularly as your doctor advises.

If you need insulin injections, learn how to adminster them yourself.

See your doctor on a regular basis for your health checks.

See your doctor early on if you become unwell, because this might cause extra problems with your diabetes.

Physical activity
Regular exercise reduces the problem of insulin resistance, and so tackles the root cause of Type 2 diabetes.

If you need to take insulin, you may need to adjust your insulin dose according to the amount of exercise you do. Too much insulin and exercise may lower your blood sugar level and lead to hypoglycaemia.

Possible complications

Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) can lead to poor circulation in the legs, stroke and heart attack.

Diabetic kidney disease.

Diabetic retinopathy .

Diabetic neuropathy .

Ulcers and infections of the feet.

Susceptibility to infections, eg urinary tract infections.

In the long term
Type 2 diabetes can usually be controlled with the right diet and tablets.

If you keep a close eye on the disease and your blood glucose levels, you can greatly minimise the risk of further complications.

As the disease progresses, many people need insulin injections.

Because diabetes increases the likelihood of complications such as hardening of the arteries and heart disease, it's important to try and reduce your risk.

Controlling blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels with drugs known as statins significantly improves the long-term outlook for everyone with diabetes.

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