Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition that can harm everything from your kidneys and heart to your vision. It also contributes to nerve damage in the extremities, where you have trouble determining if the soles of your feet, for example, might have sustained a scratch or cut. If these go unnoticed, infection can set in, with the potential to lead to amputation or become life-threatening.
Unfortunately, diabetes affects over 38 million Americans, and between 90 and 95% of them live with type 2 diabetes — the others cope with type 1 diabetes, which is typically diagnosed in childhood or adolescence.
Once you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, however, many wonder if the lifestyle changes they make will cause their diabetes to disappear. As with many questions in life, the answer isn’t “black and white.”
Dr. Gurprit Sekohn and the Nu Wave Medical Center team are dedicated to helping patients manage their diabetes so they can live their best, most robust lives. There are significant things to manage, but as a team, we can help you feel empowered and become healthier.
Type 2 diabetes develops when your body has trouble using insulin — a hormone produced by your pancreas (and also made by and stored in your liver) — to shuttle sugar into cells, allowing them to create usable fuel for your body.
Your body needs fuel to function, and the glucose you get from your food is your main energy source. When your body’s ability to use glucose is compromised, it accumulates in your bloodstream, leading to high levels.
In response to rising glucose levels, your pancreas releases more insulin. Over time, the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas can’t keep up with the glucose levels. Then, you may notice symptoms like:
Type 2 diabetes risk factors include having a family history of the condition, being overweight or obese, living a sedentary lifestyle, and having had gestational diabetes when you were pregnant if you’re a woman. Your risk increases with age as well, particularly after age 35.
Having prediabetes also increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as it’s diabetes’ precursor. With prediabetes, your blood sugar levels are elevated, but not enough for them to fall under the type 2 diabetes categorization.
Finally, ethnicity plays a role. You’re more likely to be diagnosed if you’re Black, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic than if you’re white.
The answer to this question is a bit tricky, but ultimately there’s good news.
Technically, there isn’t a cure for type 2 diabetes, but you can take steps to reverse it, or be in remission (meaning your sugar levels are within the normal range without medication). By adopting certain lifestyle habits, you can normalize your blood sugar levels so you don’t need to take diabetes medication.
Losing weight is one of the most important things you can do for managing diabetes, and hopefully reversing it. People who were able to reverse their diabetes typically lost 30 more pounds than those who weren’t as successful.
Doctors used to believe that once certain cells that helped regulate sugar levels were damaged and died, there was no reviving them. We’ve learned, though, that some of these cells can function again after weight loss.
Exercise is the ideal complement to dietary changes to help you lose weight when you’re looking to enter remission from type 2 diabetes. Some research has shown that individuals who engaged in about 2 ½ hours of activity per week and walked 10,000 steps per day, slashed 500-750 calories per day from their food intake, and observed their medication recommendations had more success with getting to almost-normal blood sugar levels without medication.
Dr. Sekhon offers medically assisted weight loss services, which can be pivotal to reversing your diabetes. Along with customized eating plans, she’s there to encourage and support you throughout your journey.
Even though diabetes symptoms can return despite making the changes to go into remission, you can normalize your glucose levels for years, which allows you to avoid the life-altering complications that accompany diabetes.
Take charge of your diabetes with the help of Dr. Sekhon. Call our Panama City Beach office at 850-493-6948 to make an appointment at Nu Wave Medical Center to learn more and receive the most advanced treatment.
