What is the main cause of type 2 diabetes?

Written by: Dr Yohan Samarasinghe
Published:
Edited by: Conor Lynch

Top Doctors recently spoke to revered internal medicine specialist and diabetologist, Dr Yohan Samarasinghe, who here in this article below, outlines the main causes and warning signs of type 2 diabetes.

What is the main cause of type 2 diabetes?

The main cause of type 2 diabetes is obesity. It is a very common problem throughout the world at the moment.

 

What are the most effective treatment options for type 2 diabetes?

Some novel therapies that I consider game-changers have become available in recent years. People with type 2 diabetes will typically be given the metformin drug, but some don’t react particularly well to this treatment due to kidney problems and gut responses.

 

There are other inhibitors that have been remarkable when it comes to not only treating type 2 diabetes but also weight loss. There are also injections available called GLP injections that help people lose weight and help bring their glucose down.

 

If left untreated, how detrimental to one’s health can type 2 diabetes be?

The complications can be divided into complications relating to the small blood vessels and the big blood vessels. These complications, in the majority of cases, tend to only occur after a long period of time. In the short term, people with type 2 diabetes don’t tend to become too unwell.

 

How is it diagnosed?

It is diagnosed by a specific blood test to determine how bloody one’s red blood cells have been in the past three months because that’s how long a red blood cell lasts. If people have symptoms such as problems with vision, having to urinate frequently, and constantly feeling thirsty and tired, a diagnosis can often be made.

 

What are the main type 2 diabetes warning signs?

The main symptoms include a general feeling of tiredness, blurred vision, needing to urinate a lot, and wanting to drink a lot. Often though, a lot of people won’t even notice their symptoms.

 

If you would like to be tested for type 2 diabetes, don’t forget you can schedule in an appointment with Dr Samarasinghe by visiting his Top Doctors profile today

By Dr Yohan Samarasinghe
Internal medicine

Dr Yohan Samarasinghe is a highly esteemed consultant in general internal medicine and clinical pharmacology, based in Frimley. He specialises in diabetes and hypertension from his private clinics at both the Frimley Park Hospital and Spire Clare Park Hospital, Surrey.

He grew up in South East London, and was educated at Dulwich College. After training at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School for his MBBS, he spent his junior years in London and the South East practising a variety of medical specialities. His registrar years in clinical pharmacology and general internal medicine were spent mostly at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. There he received valuable training in drug trials in the Kobler HIV Centre. He then went on to complete two and a half years of research for his MD at King’s College Hospital in the field of diabetes and was mentored by some of the best specialists in the field, like Michael Feher and Stephanie Amiel.

Having completed training, Dr Samarasinghe worked as a locum diabetes consultant at King’s and worked as a locum consultant in acute medicine at West Middlesex Hospital, in west London, before being appointed a permanent position as a consultant in acute medicine and diabetes at Frimley Park Hospital in 2009. Dr Samarasinghe is now the medical directorate lead for clinical governance at Frimley Park Hospital and chair of the drugs and therapeutics committee there.

Dr Samarasinghe has published numerous peer-reviewed publications in his areas of research, which include diabetes, insulin resistance and clinical pharmacology (drugs and their side effects). He is a member of a number of organisations, including the British Medical Association and Diabetes UK. Research interests include; diabetes, hypertension, problems with high lipids, including cholesterol and dyslipidaemias.

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