Receiving a diabetes diagnosis can be concerning on its own, but it’s the complications that are commonly linked to the disease that are often the real cause for concern.
From vision loss to diabetic foot ulcers, diabetes casts a wide net that stretches from head to toe. And these are complications with which each of the 38.4 million Americans who have diabetes should be familiar.
Given that November is National Diabetes Month in the United States, the team at Bethel Family Medicine, led by Dr. Douglas R. Grogan and Dr. Jennifer Hall DiFalco, wants to review some common diabetes complications. Even better, we get into how to avoid these often serious and life-altering side effects of diabetes.
One of the most common issues that people with diabetes run into is peripheral neuropathy (PN), which is the medical term for nerve damage. More than half of people with diabetes develop PN, which typically occurs in the extremities, such as the lower legs and feet, as well as the hands and arms.
Initially, PN can lead to patches of numbness in your feet, as well as tingling. Over time, the nerve damage can progress, and you might experience pain, as well as muscle weakness.
Though the pain that comes with PN is concerning enough, nerve damage can also set the stage for more serious issues like diabetic foot ulcers. The reality is that these foot ulcers affect one-third of people with diabetes, and half of these ulcers become infected due to their inability to heal promptly. Ultimately, nearly 20% of these infections lead to amputation of part of the foot or the whole foot.
People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease, which includes stroke, as people who don’t have the disease. In many cases, the same lifestyle habits that lead to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis are the same ones that increase risks for heart disease, mainly high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The high levels of blood sugar associated with diabetes can damage sensitive blood vessels, such as those that serve your optic nerve. As a result, you might develop diabetic retinopathy.
As well, diabetes also increases your chances for other vision-robbing eye diseases, such as glaucoma and cataracts.
The excess of glucose in your blood can also affect your saliva — more sugar in your mouth can lead to gum disease.
Unregulated blood sugar levels can impact the blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to your kidneys. And when these blood vessels are compromised, it can lead to kidney damage, which affects one out of three adults with diabetes.
There are additional potential side effects of diabetes, but we feel the list above is sufficient for highlighting the importance of good management.
We routinely help patients to avoid the serious complications of diabetes through:
If you arm yourself with the tools you need to control glucose and commit to some lifestyle changes, there’s every chance that you can stay one step ahead of your health.
For a more personalized diabetes plan, we invite you to schedule an appointment at our office in Brockton, Massachusetts, today.
