Читать книгу Diabetes For Dummies - Рубин Алан Л. - Страница 19

Edythe Fokel, a 46-year-old woman, has gained about 10 pounds in the last year, so that her 5-foot 5-inch body now weighs about 155 pounds. Edythe doesn’t do much exercise. She has felt somewhat fatigued recently, but she blames her age and approaching menopause. She also blames the fact that she now gets up several times a night to urinate, which she didn’t used to do. She is disturbed because her vision is blurry and her job requires working on a computer. Finally, Edythe goes to her gynecologist after developing a rash and discharge in her vagina. When Edythe describes her symptoms, her gynecologist decides to do a blood glucose test. He refers her back to her primary physician when Edythe’s blood glucose level registers at 220 mg/dl (12.2 mmol/L).

Edythe’s primary doctor asks her whether other members of her family have had diabetes, and she replies that her mother and a sister are both being treated for it. The doctor also asks Edythe about any tingling in her feet, and she admits that she has noticed some tingling for the past few months but didn’t think it was important. The primary doctor repeats the random blood glucose test, which comes back at 260 mg/dl (14.4 mmol/L). He informs Edythe that she has type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

The signs and symptoms that Edythe manifests in this scenario, along with the results of the two blood glucose tests, provide a textbook picture of type 2 diabetes. (Type 2 diabetes used to be known as adult-onset diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes.) But be aware that people with type 2 diabetes may have few or none of these symptoms. Because of the varying symptoms, your doctor needs to check your blood glucose level on a regular basis. (I discuss how often you should do this test in Chapter 7.)

Most people with type 2 diabetes are over the age of 40, but I am seeing more and more cases in children and young adults. Your chances of getting type 2 diabetes increase as you get older. Type 2 diabetes is a disease of gradual onset rather than the severe emergency that can herald type 1 diabetes. Because the symptoms are so mild at first, you may not notice them. You may ignore these symptoms for years before they become bothersome enough to consult your doctor. No autoimmunity is involved in type 2 diabetes, so no antibodies are found. Doctors believe that no virus is involved in the onset of type 2 diabetes.