As part of diabetes week Emma Simpson, Diabetes Specialist Dietician has been giving top tip and advice about type 2 diabetes.

There are approximately 23,000 people living with diabetes in north Cumbria; the vast majority of those have type 2 Diabetes. You are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes:

  • as you get older;
  • if you have a family history;
  • if you’re overweight;
  • or do little physical activity.

The symptoms of diabetes are:

  • excessive thirst
  • passing lots of urine
  • excessive tiredness
  • finding it difficult to fight of infections and illnesses
  • sometimes weight loss

Most people who diagnosed with type 2 have no symptoms at all.

If you are experiencing symptoms like these, then it is important to seek advice from your GP. These signs can be a sign of uncontrolled blood glucose levels and we know that uncontrolled blood glucose levels can lead to complications of diabetes, such as:

  • problems with eyes;
  • problems with your kidneys;
  • problems with your feet;
  • puts you at an increased risk of heart attack and strokes.

Diabetes complications can be avoided by actively managing blood glucose levels. One of the most effective ways of managing blood glucose levels is by losing some weight. Research shows that losing 10% of your body weight can significantly improve your blood glucose levels.

It’s not easy living with diabetes and your GP practice is there to support and monitor your condition. They can also refer you to diabetes structured education programme (which should hopefully be up and running shortly). These programmes help you to learn more about diabetes and help you to make healthier lifestyle changes.

The GP service can also refer you onto the diabetes specialist team if needed.