February 2024 health and wellbeing bulletin
Find out more on health and wellbeing in the February bulletin
The new name for Lets Get will shortly move to Healthy Dudley and will also have a brand new website to boot! More information will follow soon!
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body either does not produce enough insulin, or much more commonly, when the body develops a resistance to using insulin, called insulin resistance. With insulin resistance, enough insulin is produced, but the body is unable to use it. This leads to more insulin being produced to compensate and maintain normal glucose levels.
This situation may continue for some time, but eventually this compensation mechanism starts to become overwhelmed, especially if the condition is not treated, leading to high levels of insulin and also high levels of glucose in the blood. These high glucose levels are detectable and may cause symptoms. Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed if the fasting level of blood glucose is 7.0 mmol/l or more, or the non-fasting level is 11.1 mmol/l or more; or your glycolyzed haemoglobin, HbA1c is 48 mmol/mol or more. A result of 42 – 47mmol/mol would mean that you will be identified as at ‘risk of developing diabetes’ and you will be offered help by your GP to reduce this, plus an annual check up. The test is always completed twice to confirm the diagnosis, so expect a second test.
The symptoms to look out for are any of the following which may have changed from your usual pattern, or are unusual for you:
Visit your GP as soon as possible if you experience the main symptoms of diabetes, which include:
Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days.
Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general.
Do you know what factors can effect the likelihood of you developing Diabetes? Answer the 9 question quiz to learn the effects and highlight any relevant risk factors.
Check out what is happening in your borough.