Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a chronic condition that typically develops in adulthood, makes the cells in your body resistant to insulin, a hormone that helps sugar (glucose) enter the body and produce energy. This resistance causes sugar to accumulate in the blood.

You are at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes if you:

• Have a family history of Type 2 diabetes.
• Have an unhealthy lifestyle, including poor eating habits, inactivity, poor sleep and chronic stress.
• Are obese or overweight.
• Have a history of gestational diabetes (diabetes recognized during pregnancy).
• Are African American, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American or of Pacific island ethnicity.

Healthy eating habits and exercise, along with other weight loss efforts, can help prevent Type 2 diabetes or the progression of prediabetes to diabetes. These habits also can  play a significant part in managing Type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms, Diagnosis and Outlook

Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes can include:

• Blurred vision
• Frequent urination
• Increased thirst
• Pain, numbness, tingling in hands or feet
• Non-healing wounds
• Recurrent infections
• Tiredness

Type 2 diabetes needs to be managed properly to avoid complications. Often, lifestyle changes and weight loss can reverse the impact of Type 2 diabetes. Complications associated with uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes include heart disease, heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, amputation of toes, feet or leg, kidney disease, vision loss, nerve damage in legs and arms and erectile dysfunction.

Diabetes Prevention Program

Penn State Health is now offering a Diabetes Prevention class. Call 717-531-8288 for participation eligibility.

Why Choose Penn State Health for Care

Expert Care

Type 2 diabetes can affect many different organs in your body, so it is important to have a team of doctors dedicated to creating a personalized treatment plan for you. Penn State Health Endocrinology offers a team approach to diabetes management involving experts and experienced physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified diabetes educators and dietitians.  Our diabetes team works with specialists from other departments, including surgical weight loss, cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology and podiatry to provide you with an individualized treatment plan tailored you and your family.

Comprehensive Treatment Options

At Penn State Health, we provide comprehensive treatment options to help manage your diabetes and any complications, and we offer new, advanced treatments as they become available, including:

• Consultations with our diabetes care team
• Clinical monitoring for complications
• Insulin treatment (oral therapy, injections and pumps)
• Non-insulin injectable medications
• Glucose monitoring (meter and continuous glucose monitoring device)
• Integrated insulin pump and CGM therapy
• Education classes
• Diabetes nutrition
• Exercise and lifestyle recommendations
• Referral collaboration with Healthy Weight Program for Kids and Teens

Diabetes Education

Through our diabetes education program, our certified diabetes educators offer individual or group training for insulin use, whether you choose injections or an insulin pump. Our team will teach you how to manage and use your CGM device or your automated insulin deliver system (artificial pancreas). Our certified dietitians offer individual and group sessions for dietary management of diabetes, basic carbohydrate counting and advanced carbohydrate counting. Our education program will help you live a healthier life.

Remote Monitoring of Your Diabetes

Our goal is help you manage your diabetes well so it doesn’t disrupt your daily life. We teach you how to manage your insulin levels, and we offer remote monitoring so you can share the information from your insulin pump or your CGM device with our team of physicians and advanced practitioner providers. We can review the data and offer guidance and changes to your insulin without the need for an office visit. Through our patient portal, you have 24-hour access to your diabetes care team.

Research

Our expert clinical research team includes dedicated research nurses, clinical trial coordinators and data analysts and gives you the opportunity to participate in the latest clinical trials. Learn more about new Penn State Health clinical trials at StudyFinder [link to: https://studyfinder.psu.edu].

Support Groups

Support groups provide an opportunity to share your feelings and connect with other patients and caregivers who are experiencing similar struggles.

Learn more about support groups offered