If the tests show that one has diabetes, extensive knowledge about this illness can help people cope and manage their lives. They can also help those who don’t have it yet to be more careful and to avoid the illness by following a controlled diet and an exercise program.
However, apart from having extensive knowledge of the disease such as its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, I believe it also pays to know if there would be related complications. This is to prepare the diabetes sufferer emotionally and physically about the possibilities of coping, not just with diabetes but other complications like love ones, other family members, friends, and colleagues.
Researchers and medical experts have found that there are certain factors that
contribute to a person acquiring diabetes like age, heredity, and ethnicity. But despite the risk factors, the associated complications would still be the same.
The list below gives a more extended view of the complications diabetes sufferers must pay attention to:
This is the most common complication among diabetes sufferers because the filtering components of the kidneys are being damaged.
Once the kidney filtering units have been damaged, important proteins in the blood are being allowed to pass along with urine into the bladder. Therefore, after prolonged periods of this condition, the kidneys will eventually stop removing the waste products present in the blood and become unhealthy.
One good thing is that not all diabetics experience End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESRD) which can be life-threatening. To avoid this complication, one must stop smoking cigarettes and always keep the blood pressure under control at all times.
Medical experts say that people who have diabetes have greater risks of having heart diseases and stroke because the fatty deposits brought by radical changes in the body can block the arteries. Due to the smaller amount of insulin in the body compared to normal people, diabetics have a higher incidence of blood clotting and can also lead to high blood pressure or hypertension. In fact, these complications are the lead causes of death among diabetics all over the world.
There relates to several eye problems that diabetic people may end up having as a result of the chronic disease.
In the worst case these eye problems like diabetic retinopathy (damaged vessels of the eye’s retina), cataract, cloudiness in the lens of the eyes, glaucoma and increased fluid pressure inside the eye that damages the optic nerve. When these problems are not caught in time and not monitored properly can lead to total loss of vision and/or blindness.
This is a type of nerve damage that occurs when one has diabetes. High blood sugar can injure nerve fibers throughout your body, but diabetic neuropathy most often damages nerves in your legs and feet.
Depending on the affected nerves, symptoms of diabetic neuropathy can range from pain and numbness in your extremities to problems with your digestive system, urinary tract, blood vessels and heart. For some people, these symptoms are mild; for others, diabetic neuropathy can be painful, disabling and even fatal.
Diabetics who are still smoking, drinking heavily and those who have poor management with their glucose are more prone to developing neuropathy compared to those diabetics who are not into these bad habits.
This a condition in which the muscles in the stomach don't function normally.
Ordinarily, strong muscular contractions propel food through your digestive tract, but in gastroparesis, the muscles in the wall of your stomach work poorly or not at all. This prevents your stomach from emptying properly. Gastroparesis can interfere with digestion, cause nausea and vomiting, and cause problems with blood sugar levels and nutrition.
There is no cure for gastroparesis. Making changes to your diet may help you cope with gastroparesis signs and symptoms, but that's not always enough. Medications may offer some relief, but some can cause serious side effects.
Researchers and medical experts have found that 20% to 30% type 1 diabetic sufferers are more prone to this complication because the “vagus nerve” is damaged due to the high sugar content in the blood.
Although it is also diagnosed among those who have "type 2 diabetes" the cases are comparatively lower.
