Overview
Is this topic right for you?
This topic provides information for adults who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the previous 6 weeks. If this topic does not answer your questions, see:

Type 2 Diabetes, if you want to learn about type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes: Living With the Disease, if you have had type 2 diabetes for more than a month.
Type 2 Diabetes in Children, if your child has type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes: Living With Complications, if you have eye, kidney, heart, nerve, or blood vessel disease caused by diabetes.

What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that develops when your body's tissues do not respond properly to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps sugar (glucose) enter cells, where it is used for energy. If the body's tissues become resistant to insulin or the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, your body's tissues cannot take in sugar normally, causing blood sugar to rise.

Because your tissues cannot respond properly to insulin, your blood sugar has risen gradually over several years to unsafe levels. Over time, persistent high blood sugar levels may damage blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, increasing your risk of eye, heart, blood vessel, nerve, and kidney disease.

Type 2 diabetes can develop at any age. It usually develops in adults, which is why it was formerly called adult-onset diabetes. However, type 2 diabetes is increasingly diagnosed in children and teens. Because it could sometimes be treated without using insulin, it also was known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

Between 90% and 95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Most of the rest have type 1; a few have other forms of the disease, such as gestational diabetes and secondary diabetes.

What causes type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, which occurs when the body's cells and tissues do not respond properly to insulin. Your weight, level of physical activity, and family history affect how your body responds to insulin. People who are overweight, get little or no exercise, or have diabetes in their family have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

What are the symptoms?
Many people develop common symptoms of diabetes, such as increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, and blurred vision. Many people do not have symptoms until their blood sugar rises to 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or higher. (Diabetes is diagnosed if your fasting plasma glucose is 126 mg/dL or higher on two occasions.) If you did not have any of these symptoms, it is probably because your blood sugar level rose slowly over several years.

How is type 2 diabetes diagnosed?
A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is based on a medical history, a physical examination, and the results of blood sugar tests. Most likely you discovered that you have diabetes when you saw a health professional for a regular medical checkup, an appointment for another illness or condition, or a complication caused by diabetes.

How is it treated?
If you have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you may only need to eat a balanced diet that spreads carbohydrates throughout the day and exercise regularly to treat your diabetes. These measures may sound simple, but they are very important in keeping your blood sugar levels within a safe range.

If diet and exercise are not keeping your blood sugar at normal levels, your health professional may also prescribe one or more oral medications. These medications:

Stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin;
Decrease the tissues' resistance to insulin; or
Slow the absorption of carbohydrate, the nutrient that most affects the rise of blood sugar.
If you take oral medications, diet and exercise will still be important parts of your diabetes treatment. Some people with type 2 diabetes may also need insulin injections to keep their blood sugar under control.

You may need to take other steps to prevent complications. People with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely than people who don't have diabetes to die from heart and blood vessel diseases. 1 If you are 30 or older, talk to your health professional about taking a low-dose, or baby, aspirin daily to help prevent heart attack, stroke, or other large blood vessel disease (macrovascular disease).

What kind of daily care do I need?
Health professionals will help you follow a diet that spreads carbohydrates throughout the day, encourage you to get regular exercise, and show you how to monitor your blood sugar level at home. You also will learn about oral medication with or without insulin if you need these treatments. Learning these skills will take time, but soon they will become part of your daily routine.

You can live a long, healthy life if you keep blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible.