The most common symptom of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes is having high blood sugar levels. Although many people associate the condition with the former symptom, those whose blood sugar levels go lower than the minimum threshold is also regarded a major symptom of the disease.
What Is Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that occurs when the body has a problem with controlling blood glucose levels.
Insulin is a hormone that the pancreas produces for the body to use glucose from carbohydrates sourced from the food you eat or drink. This is how the body stores energy for future use. The hormone acts as an agent that regulates blood sugar levels from getting too low or too high which are conditions called hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, respectively.
The bodies of those who suffer from type 2 diabetes still produce insulin but muscles, fat tissue and liver cells do not absorb sufficient amounts of insulin enough to regulate your blood glucose levels. Thus, the pancreas produces more insulin to make up for the insufficiency.
Over time, however, the pancreas’ ability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin deteriorates and the organs fail to absorb enough energy for them to function properly. This condition is called insulin resistance or failure of the organs’ cells to respond properly to insulin. This is also the reason why type 2 diabetes patients take medication that helps add up to the lack of insulin in the body, according to EndocrinWeb.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, according to American Diabetes Association. If left untreated, it could lead to life-threatening health conditions such as stroke and heart disease.
Low Blood Sugar Levels
On the other hand, people who suffer from type 2 diabetes may also experience a significant drop of blood sugar to dangerous levels as well. The condition is known as hypoglycemia which occurs when you have low blood pressure. The threshold for this condition is having below 4 mmol/L blood glucose levels.
Hypoglycemia occurs when someone who suffers from type 2 diabetes fails to balance their medication with the food they drink and eat and lacks physical activity that regulates glucose levels in the body, explained Express.co.uk.
Symptoms
The most common symptom of hypoglycemia is a migraine. According to Migraine Trust, the brain needs a regulated supply of glucose for it to function properly. If your blood glucose levels drop below the threshold, your brain is the first organ adversely affected by the abnormality. Thus, you will experience headaches. Other symptoms include nausea, sweating, faintness and hypothermia. If left unchecked, prolonged blood pressure may even lead to coma or death.
Causes
Eating food that is high on sugar, fasting, skipping meals and rigorous dieting adversely affects your blood pressure. When this happens, you will most likely suffer from migraines and headaches which may also be associated with mild nausea.
Treatment
Eating food that is low in sugar content helps prevent these symptoms. In fact, people who are at higher risk of hypoglycemia are required to never miss breakfast or do-away with meals. Following a healthy and balanced diet, regular exercise and drinking sufficient amounts of water per day also alleviate the symptoms caused by type 2 diabetes.
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