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At crisis levels – this is how some experts describe the increase in the number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
New data released last week revealed that there were more than 200,000 new cases diagnosed in England and Wales in 2017 alone, the equivalent of a diagnosis. every three minutes.
"In an average general practice clinic, it's not uncommon for every second or third patient to have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes," says Dr. Campbell Murdoch, Somerset General Practitioner and Chief Medical Officer. global diabetes community online. .United Kingdom.
"We are experiencing a crisis, both for patients and for the health system, which is overwhelmed by this problem."
The shocking new data released last week revealed that there were more than 200,000 new cases diagnosed in England and Wales in 2017 alone.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that absorbs glucose (sugar) from the blood and enters the cells. When people become overweight, this process becomes less effective. It takes more and more insulin to get the job done.
In the end, the pancreas becomes submerged and begins to produce less insulin, leaving more glucose in circulation, resulting in type 2 diabetes.
Not all overweight people will develop type 2: genes play a role, just like bad. "A man with an excess of fat in the abdomen is more likely to develop type 2 than an equivalent woman," says Dr. Alex Miras, a senior lecturer and endocrinologist consultant at Imperial College London.
Alarming research published yesterday has shown why type 2 diabetes is not a diagnosis to be taken lightly.
A study of more than 300,000 patients found that people diagnosed younger lose more years of life than older people.
"Adolescents with type 2 adolescence lose more than a decade in life, those aged 40 to 50 lose about six years, while once in their 80s there is no longer any loss in life, "says Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow and lead author of the study, published in the journal Circulation.
Michael Short, 51, health care badistant at the NHS, lives in Wakefield, Yorkshire and was diagnosed in January
And from the average age, some people can develop type 2 with even modest weight gain, he says.
In contrast, young patients need significant weight gain because their pancreas is more effective and can extract more insulin. However, because of their extra weight, they may have high blood pressure and other risk factors for diabetes complications.
The risk of complications can be reduced in some cases with medication and significant weight loss (achieved through surgery or diet), as well as lifestyle changes.
An approach producing impressive results is a low carbohydrate diet, as revealed by the Mail in a big series starting this Saturday.
However, while some people have typical symptoms of type 2 diabetes, such as extreme tiredness, thirst or urination more than usual, others do not, so they will not know that something is wrong. .
We spoke to four people, all recently diagnosed a few weeks apart.
Their stories highlight one of the key drivers of the rising tide of type 2 diabetes – and make it a healthy read. . .
THE LOWER LINE? I was obese
Michael Short, 51, health care badistant at the NHS, lives in Wakefield, Yorkshire, with his wife, Jill, 57, a retired nurse. He was diagnosed on January 15th.
Starting last November, I really fought against the lack of energy: I came home from work and fell asleep.
Karen Hewitt, 59, NHS practice leader and mother of two, was diagnosed in February
My wife, Jill, told the GP that I was snoring violently and that he suspected early sleep apnea, where you momentarily stop breathing while you sleep, forcing you to wake up all night.
Like type 2 diabetes, it is common for you to be overweight. At the time, I weighed 17 pounds and, at a height of 6 feet, my body mbad index (BMI) was 33 – clbadified as "obese".
I was referred to a sleep specialist, but in the meantime my tiredness forced me to spend a day at work pbading through a molbades. I spent my sleep days.
While, until recently, my hobbies were walking and photographing wild animals, but I had more energy for them.
On New Year's Day, I reached a low point. I felt that I could not go to work and I was also very thirsty despite drinking a lot of water.
I saw a general practitioner on January 10th and a few days later, I had the blood test results that showed that my HbA1c [which measures average blood sugar levels over three months] was 61 – the threshold for diabetes is 48.
My job as an NHS health badistant showed how Type 2 could be serious, and I simply could not believe that it had happened. My weight gain had increased over the past five years, but I thought I could get out of it because I was young and standing all day at work. The diagnosis was a mbad awakening. I knew my diet was terrible. At the hospital, I always drank in the chocolates that parents bought from the staff and I drank up to 15 small bottles of soft cider a week, while I was not working the next day.
Doing shifts did not help because I was eating at irregular hours. And I ate a lot of carbohydrates – about seven slices of bread a day, as well as cookies and cakes.
The nursing badistant advised me to follow the Eatwell Plate approach: about 38% of the calories on your plate come from carbohydrates, 40% from fruits and vegetables, 12% from proteins, 8% from dairy products or substitutes and 1%. from oils or spreads.
And that's why you should take it seriously
Poorly controlled type 2 diabetes is badociated with a variety of serious complications, including blindness and amputations. Here we explain why.
THE HEART
According to the British Heart Foundation, high blood sugar levels can almost double the risk of heart attack or stroke, compared to a person who reads his health.
Indeed, it damages the inner walls of the arteries by interfering with the release of nitric oxide – a gas produced by all body cells – that keeps the blood vessels elastic and elastic, so that the blood flows freely through them.
With too little nitric oxide, the arteries become stiff and narrow, resulting in an increase in blood pressure, which can lead to inflammation. This, in turn, makes it more likely the formation of plaques, blocking blood supply to the heart or brain – and possibly leading to a heart attack or stroke.
THE EYES
Just as high blood sugar damages the main blood vessels around the heart, so does the tiny, back-of-the-eye that provide nutrients to the retina – the area responsible for converting the blood to the heart. light in signals sent to the brain.
High levels of sugar start to cause inflammation inside these tiny blood vessels, which can completely block or weaken them and cause them to leak, reducing blood flow to the retina.
The body's natural response to healing is to form scar tissue and grow new blood vessels. But these often grow at random and on the surface of the retina. Over time, the combination of scar tissue and new blood vessels causes severe vision loss. It causes about 1,200 cases of blindness each year in the UK.
THE FEET
Lower limb amputations due to type 2 diabetes are at record levels. In fact, always high blood sugar levels can damage the nerves. As a result, patients may experience an injury without knowing it.
High blood sugar also triggers a badtail of adverse reactions; the immune system, the detection of damage, dispatches excessive amounts of cells called cytokines to fix things. But this "rush" of too many cytokines also hurts the nerves.
The other problem is excess sugar reduces blood flow by damaging the walls of blood vessels. This means that wounds can be deprived of the oxygen they need to heal.
As a result, an undetected wound can infect or ulcerate, potentially leading to gangrene and amputation.
Diabetic foot ulcers affect about 15% of sufferers.
KIDNEYS
According to the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, kidney disease is probably one of the least known complications, but one in four adults will suffer from diabetes.
The main task of the kidneys is to filter the waste and the extra water in the blood; they also help control blood pressure and make essential hormones.
Very high blood sugar blocks the tiny filters in the blood vessels of the kidneys.
If the blood glucose is well managed, the damage can be controlled. Otherwise, the situation gradually worsens and some patients end up on dialysis.
PAT HAGAN
I followed this religiously, but after a few days, I felt worse. After eating a baked potato with breaded fish and peas, I felt dizzy and the TV screen seemed blurry.
I then heard about the low carbohydrate contribution. The NHS recognizes that this may be beneficial and has approved the Low Carb Program application, which is to minimize the major sources of carbohydrates, such as bread and rice.
In less than 24 hours, I had more energy. I felt clearer and the blurred vision was gone.
Nearly three months later, I lost 3rd place and recovered my mojo. My blood sugar is in the normal range (my last reading was 39), so I put my diabetes into remission. Like many people, I did not think enough of the risk that my weight would make me run. Overweight is not limited to your physical appearance; it can shorten your life.
I had the "pregnancy" of diabetes years ago
Karen Hewitt, age 59, NHS Convenor and mother of two, lives in Liverpool with her husband, David, 61, a baggage handler at airports. She was diagnosed on February 1st.
I am perfectly aware that being overweight is the main risk factor for type 2, but when, in 2015, a blood test revealed that my blood sugar level was just below the threshold diabetic, I put my head in the sand.
I had 12 pounds and I was 5 feet 5 inches, so my BMI was 29 – "overweight".
This test should have been an alarm bell, but I am ashamed to say that I did not take it seriously.
I struggled with my weight since I had children. I had also developed gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my daughter Rachel, now 33 years old, which is a risk factor for type 2 later in life. I love chocolate and red wine and I ate large portions. I had joined a gym in 2016, but the exercise had triggered sciatica and I had to give up.
In January, I started to feel tired and tired, with colds after another, so I went to my doctor. A blood test showed that my HbA1c level was 64. Despite previous warnings, I was shocked.
This time, I'm really motivated to do something because I know you can put diabetes in remission if you lose enough weight.
My doctor referred me to two group sessions on diabetes. In the meantime, I am taking metformin to reduce my blood sugar and have changed my diet. [to low carb]. I am also more of a dog walker and more active.
I've lost a stone in six weeks and my HbA1c rate has dropped to 57. When I'm 60 in November, I want them in the normal range.
LONG HOURS HAVE NOT KEEPED THE TIME OF THE EXERCISE
Darron Broadhurst, 51, a computer engineer, lives with his wife Sarah, a 40-year-old accountant, and their two teenage children in Worcester. He was diagnosed in mid-January.
I can not escape the fact that I'm a big guy – I have a 52 cm waistline. The last time I was weighed (six months ago), I was 23 years old. At 6 feet tall, my BMI is over 40 – "obese".
So when I was diagnosed with type 2 after a routine blood test, it was not a surprise. But it was scary. My mother had type 2, had kidney problems and had a mini-stroke. That scared me. I want to be there to see my children grow up.
I know that I need to lose weight but I am obsessed with food. I always stop at the supermarket to pick up more. I eat a full English breakfast twice a week, as well as cakes, biscuits and takeaways. I like whiskey a lot – I probably drink too much. I have a sedentary office job and a long commute (traveling 100 miles two days a week), so I'm too tired to think about doing any exercise. I also suffer from depression and when my mood is low, I eat comfortably. Then I become even more depressed and rub myself again.
I've already lost weight three times before, most recently in a slimming club prescribed by the NHS a few years ago, during my third loss. But when the funding ended, the weight came back. I can not afford to pay myself.
Andy Capon, 53, a factory worker from Faversham, Kent, was diagnosed on January 3rd.
Fortunately, doctors think my diabetes was diagnosed early, but now it's up to me to make big changes. I've already started by cutting my portions – my "complete English" is more than a poached egg on toast with baked beans. I loved walking a lot and I intend to start doing it more. I am also taking metformin medication.
In one way or another, I have to find the will to make very big lifestyle changes, otherwise diabetes will shorten my life.
BEER WAS MY DOWNHILL
Andy Capon, 53, factory worker in Faversham, Kent, is single. He was diagnosed on January 3rd.
When my doctor told me that I had type 2 diabetes, I knew practically nothing about it. So I googled it – and frightened myself to death. There was the threat of becoming blind, amputation. I had no idea that diabetes could be so serious.
The irony was that I would only go to see my general practitioner to talk about the withdrawal of antidepressants that I had been taking since 2016. I felt that I was in a much better place and it was a good thing. said, "OK, let's reduce your dose. But first, I will give you a blood test. The general practitioner thought he had caught diabetes early, though, and said it was reversible by diet and exercise.
Knowing what I know now, I'm not surprised to have developed type 2. I had an irresponsible lifestyle, but at the time I did not know at all what I was doing to my body.
My main problem was alcohol. I would not touch a drop during the week, but I love real beer and between finishing work on Friday and coming back on Monday, I would have too many pints. I would also eat pies, white bread and big curries. I did not do any exercise.
Darron Broadhurst, 51, a computer engineer, was diagnosed in mid-January.
But right after my diagnosis, I stopped drinking alcohol, took salads and not sandwiches for lunch and cut up junk food. I also joined a gym and I went there four times a week. I was 17th (I measure 5 feet 7 inches) when I was diagnosed, but by the end of February, I had gone down to 15 pounds. For the first time in 53 years, I felt good. I had more energy and people said that they had never seen me so well.
Then, I was diagnosed with a tumor the size of an inch in my bladder. Hearing the word "cancer" was horrible. I admit that I went to the pub that night, February 22, and that I got drunk. I stopped going to the gym and I started drinking again.
Two weeks ago, they removed the tumor and wait for me to know if I needed chemotherapy. But I found my way. For a week, I went back to the gym and I have no beer.
I can not do anything about cancer, but I can do something for my diabetes.
I know people with type 2 who take pills but do not do anything for their lifestyle. But I have this chance to fight diabetes through diet and exercise and I will not let it go.
For more information, visit diabete.org.uk or diabete.co.uk
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