Diabetes, especially Type 2, can go undiagnosed for years, even over a decade, because early symptoms are often mild, absent, or mistaken for aging, with some studies suggesting it can start over 20 years before diagnosis, while Type 1 usually appears quickly but can take months in adults. Delays happen because Type 2 is slow to show signs like thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and slow-healing cuts, allowing damage to build up before detection.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes often come on slowly. In fact, people can live with type 2 diabetes for years and not know it.
If you can't stay at your target blood sugar level with diet and exercise, your healthcare team may prescribe diabetes medicines that help lower glucose levels. Or you may start insulin therapy.
Life expectancy is known as the number of years a person is expected to live. At age 50, life expectancy is 6 years shorter for people with type 2 diabetes than for people without diabetes. By meeting type 2 diabetes treatment goals, life expectancy can increase by 3 years, or for some, as much as 10 years.
See a GP if:
Warning Signs and Symptoms
The “three-hour rule” for rapid-acting insulin (aka "Insulin Stacking") Rapid-acting insulin begins to work about 15 minutes after injection, peaks in about 1 hour, and continues to work for 2 to 4 hours. The three-hour rule prevents “insulin stacking” and a low blood glucose (BG) or hypoglycemia.
The average age of onset for type 2 diabetes. The onset of diabetes is most common in people ages 45 to 64. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It usually appears after the age of 45 but can occur at any age.
It's not your fault
You've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes because your body doesn't use insulin well. Because of that, it can't keep your blood sugar at normal levels. There are many factors that can lead to type 2 diabetes.
“The best way to reverse type 2 diabetes is to decrease your body's resistance to the actions of the insulin made by the pancreas,” she said. “For most people, this means trying to attain a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and minimizing sugars and excessive carbohydrates in your diet.”
Diabetes, as it advances, become even more difficult to manage. Whether you have prediabetes, have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or if your diabetes has been out of control for a long time, it's never too late to stop diabetes in its tracks. "A primary care physician can diagnose and manage diabetes.
A diabetes specialist is called an endocrinologist. Endocrinologists specialize in the glands of the endocrine (hormone) system.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. DR is when high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina (a part of your eye). Damaged blood vessels can swell and leak, causing blurry vision.
Three common signs of diabetes are increased thirst and frequent urination, extreme tiredness, and blurry vision or slow-healing sores, often stemming from high blood sugar levels affecting the body. These symptoms, sometimes called the "Three Ps" (polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia), can develop slowly in Type 2 diabetes or quickly in Type 1.
High blood sugar can damage blood vessels in the eyes, which can cause diabetic retinopathy and eventually blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in adults ages 20-74, according to the National Eye Institute. Uncontrolled diabetes also can lead to glaucoma and cataracts.
(2) studied the progression of pre-diabetes to overt disease and observed that 8.1% of subjects whose initial abnormal fasting glucose was 100–109 mg/dl and 24.3% of subjects whose initial abnormal fasting glucose was 110–125 mg/dl developed diabetes over an average of 29.0 months (1.34 and 5.56% per year, respectively ...
Conditions like hypothyroidism, metabolic syndrome, and Cushing's syndrome can provoke signs and symptoms that are similar to those of diabetes. These overlapping features include fatigue, weight gain, and insulin resistance.
How Long Does It Take to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes? It takes time to establish new habits and lifestyles. Some have been encouraged with significant results in 3 – 6 months, especially when sticking to low-calorie or low-carb diets. For others, it could take a year or longer.
Ten key warning signs of diabetes include increased thirst and urination, extreme hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing sores, unexplained weight loss, tingling/numbness in hands or feet, frequent infections, and sometimes dark skin patches (acanthosis nigricans), all indicating high blood sugar levels needing medical attention.
Losing weight can reverse type 2 diabetes, but is rarely achieved or recorded. Type 2 diabetes is generally perceived as progressive and incurable, but for many patients it can be reversed with sustained weight loss of around 15 kg, say experts in The BMJ today.
Physical symptoms: reduced activity, low energy, tiredness, decreased physical endurance, increased effort to do physical tasks, general weakness, heaviness, slowness or sluggishness, nonrestorative sleep, and sleepiness.
Blood sugar levels may rise due to hormones being released in response to stress. Although this has adaptive significance in a healthy patient, in the long run, it can cause insulin resistance and lead to diabetes.
According to its proponents, you use the pinch method by holding the thumb and index finger of one hand just above the wrist of the other hand and then exerting a little bit of pressure on the wrist. Doing this will supposedly cause the release of insulin and break down glucose.
Instead, divide carbs evenly between each meal to help keep blood sugar steady. Divide it up. While it's fine to eat three meals per day, many people find that eating smaller amounts four to six times per day helps them meet their body's needs and keep blood sugar more stable.
Insulin is a medicine that helps your body use glucose (sugar) for energy. You'll need to be prescribed insulin for type 2 diabetes if other diabetes medicines no longer work well enough to keep your blood glucose within a healthy range. Sometimes you may only need to take insulin for a short time.