Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Diabetes is a disorder that is characterized by excessive excretion of urine. There are different forms of diabetes, but the most common one is diabetes mellitus. This is a disorder in which one's body function is unable to oxide carbohydrates due to an imbalance in insulin function. There are a number of symptoms of diabetes mellitus. One of them is the excessive glucose levels in plasma. An individual suffering from diabetes is also likely to experience symptoms such as hunger, thirst, glucosuria, polyuria, and lipemia. If this condition is not treated, it can result in fatal Ketoacidosis. There are other forms of Diabetes, which include diabetes insipidus and brittle diabetes. The former result from a deficiency of a hormone called antidiuretic hormone (ADH) or otherwise called vasopressin. Diabetes insipidus, which is characterized by excessive output of urine that is diluted renders the kidney unable to reabsorb water. On the other had Brittle diabetes, which is characterized, by unexplained oscillations between acidosis and hypoglycemia is a difficult condition to control (Aiello et al 2008).

Type 2 diabetes mellitus, which was formerly, referred to as noninsulin-dependent diabetes cause carbohydrates lipid that is abnormal and metabolic protein that is associated with insulin resistance and secretions of insulin that is impaired. Diabetes complications and progression is facilitated by insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that has not been well diagnosed and poses many challenges to family practitioners when it comes to its treatment. The last three years have seen the introduction of new oral agents which has expanded the range of possible combinations regiments which are available for treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, there have emerged new options to the treatment of the condition where pharmacological agents, as well as physicians, stress on the non pharmacological approaches of weight loss, modification of diet, and engaging in regular exercises. These pharmacological approaches ought to be based on patient characteristics, glucose level control, and consideration of costs. Moreover, before insulin therapy becomes necessary, different oral agents may be combined in order to control hyperglycemia. A Stepped care approach may be put into use because it provides cost efficient and a most rational approach to the management of the disease. Treating type 2 diabetes mellitus is an expensive exercise and pharmaco-economic analyses are needed to determine the cost effective treatment method. Before we embark on the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, it is paramount to analyze some of its causes.

Type 2 diabetes is caused mainly by a combination of both lifestyle and genetic factors. In the recent past, prenatal under nutrition (macro and micro nutrient) was identified as another probable cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus.  However, there are three main causal factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus. They include lifestyle, medical conditions and genetics. Firstly, a number of lifestyle factors are known to contribute a great deal to the development of type 2 diabetes. Research studies indicate that individuals who engage in high physical activities, do not smoke, observe a healthy diet, and consumed alcohol in a moderate way have a lower rate of suffering from diabetes. Studies also indicate that a healthy diet that is rich in fiber is recommended as opposed to meals that are rich in fat ratio. In this case, obesity has been found to contribute greatly to cases of type 2 diabetes. In the last decades, especially from 1960s onwards the world has experienced an increased rate in childhood obesity, which has led, to an increase in type 2 diabetes in children as well as adolescents. Medical experts, therefore, recommend the replacement of consumption of saturated fats and fatty acids with unsaturated fats. This is deemed as one way of decreasing the risk. Research also found out that there is a correlation between environmental toxins and type 2 diabetes mellitus in that the toxins may contribute to an increased concentration of urine.

Secondly, medical conditions such as obesity, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension are other potential factors that give rise to type 2 diabetes. Other medical causal factors include cancer, chronic pancreatitis, and drugs. High fat diets, aging, and passive life are also other additional factors which have been found to increase the risks of type 2 diabetes.  Moreover, hypogonadism, which is often, associated with cortisol excess, and deficiency in testosterone often associated with type 2 diabetes.  This is so despite the fact that the exact mechanism by which testosterone improves sensitivity if insulin has not yet been established.

Type 2 diabetes can also be as a result of genetic connection. The condition can be inherited from members of the family who carry type 2 diabetes in their genetic makeup. The family members are at a high risk of equally contacting the disease if it runs through the family. In a nutshell, there exists a stronger inheritance pattern of type 2 diabetes. Those with close relatives with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing the same. This trend increases with the number of relatives having the disease.

As we have seen, lifestyle, environmental factors, and genetics are the major causes of type 2 diabetes.  However, diet and weight play a major role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Genetic component has also been established as another major contributor towards development of the disease. This can be seen prove true by the epidemiological patterns in those who have moved to different environments compared to the same genetic pool which has not. These are just but a few factors that lead to the development of type 2 diabetes.

In the United States of America Diabetes Mellitus affects a large percentage of the population. Approximately 16 million people incur high expenditures on health care. Almost ninety percent of this population is suffer from type 2 diabetes, and they often require insulin or oral agents for glucose control. It has also been established that patients with diabetes face high- mortality rates than those without it. Diabetes is also the leading cause in of renal failure, blindness, and foot and leg amputations in adults. Budgeted resources and managed care have presented clinicians with challenges in providing comprehensive health care to patients suffering from diabetes.

The metabolic disease with characteristic hyperglycemia is associated with defects in insulin action or insulin secretion. Type 2 diabetes presents a spectrum of metabolic abnormalities, which have prominent insulin resistance, as well as insulin deficiency. However, diabetes is not limited to carbohydrates metabolism. Protein and Lipid metabolism plays an important role in the progression of the disease. The progression of the disease is caused by a number of metabolic events, which occur over, a period of years. These metabolic events are ought to be controlled in order to stop the progression of disease. The controlling entails slowing down or stopped. As I had mentioned earlier despite the high prevalence of diabetes, the condition is largely under diagnosed. It is established that an estimated 8 million people in the United States of America are not aware of that they have diabetes. There is evidence that seven years before the clinical diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, retinopathy begins to develop. Patients with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus are at a high risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease. They are also likely to suffer from obesity or hypertension.

New approaches have been taken in an effort to find treatment for diabetes. This includes development of new drugs that target curing diabetes mellitus. Similarly, there are nutrition solutions to diabetics (American Diabetes Association, 2007). In this section, I am going to analyze some of the medical treatment as well as nutritional treatment to the condition. In this section, I am going to give analyses of the medical as well as nutritional approach towards treating type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Treatment for type 2 diabetes patients involves effective control of blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipids in order to minimize facing the risks of long- term consequences that are associated with diabetes. Clinical practice guidelines released by various agencies, which include both, national and international (Clark, 2008). The modern approaches towards curing diabetes primarily rely upon diet and lifestyle management, which in most cases is combined with regular, ongoing monitoring of the level of blood glucose. The management of diet in this case allows the control and awareness of the type of nutrients that enter the digestive system. This allows indirectly a significant control over the changes in the level of blood glucose. Monitoring of blood glucose allows one to verify this, and a closer control is vital because some diabetes symptoms are not easily noticeable to patients diabetes are not easy for without the actual measurement.  The changes in dietary lifestyles will also impact the glucose cycle.

It is, therefore, paramount for the existence of  a strong relationship between the patient  and the primary health care provider to exist. This is because healthcare provider, internist, or general practitioner acts as an essential tool in managing diabetes successfully. In most cases, it is the primary care doctor that makes the initial diagnosis of the disease and provides the basic tools to help patients start on the management program. After diagnosis, a diabetes patient ought to have regular appointments with the primary physician care and a certified diabetes educator as it will prove very helpful. On diagnosis of the condition, a primary care physician and a specialist will conduct full physical as well as medical examination on the patient (Melchior, Jaber, and Metformin, 2006). These examinations will include measurement of height and weight, measurement, examination of the thyroid, blood test for fasting blood sugar, Alc, and cholesterol, examination of circulatory abnormalities, family history of stroke and cardiovascular diseases, prior infections and medical conditions among other tests.

Diabetes as a condition can be very complicated, and the physician ought to feed the patient with much information as possible to help him/her establish a management plan that is effective. Although close monitoring of patients might be hectic for physicians owing to an overload resulting from the many patients that regularly visit their clinics, they manage to establish a modified treatment plan of the disease. It is also paramount for patients to work together with patients because this optimizes the healthcare team to successfully manage diabetes over the long term.

In conclusion, this essay sought to discuss the nutritional treatment of type 2 diabetes. In an effort to do so, it has discussed the different forms of the condition, its causal factors, as well as the treatment. The latter has proposed strict observation of diet with lots of exercises. It is paramount to note that, with proper diet and much active life, an individual significantly cuts down the risks of type 2 diabetes. We can, therefore, conclude by asserting that besides taking drugs for medication, dietary option can also be used in preventing the development of type 2 diabetes.