Diabetes on the Rise Part 7 Why it Pays to Manage Diabetes
Whether you have Type I or Type II Diabetes; you`re never really allowed to forget how fragile your body is. When you mismanage your Diabetes the results are staggering of the complications that can occur within almost every part of your being:
- Retinopathy which involves damage to the small blood vessels in the retina (eye area). This is a direct result from chronically high blood glucose levels in people with poorly controlled diabetes.
- Nephropathy is a chronic kidney disease resulting from diabetes. Blood vessels may become so damaged that the kidneys are unable to filter blood properly. Kidney failure may occur in some cases.
- Peripheral polyneuropathy is a disorder involving a number of nerves, a long-term complication of diabetes mellitus. Central nervous system, autonomic, and peripheral nerves may be affected. Neuropathic ulcers commonly develop on the feet also commonly called Diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) which affects about 8.3%.
- Coronary artery disease also known as CAD; caused by the buildup of plaque in the arteries to your heart. This may also be called hardening of the arteries.
In several of these blogs we`ve touched on the hemoglobin A1C level, and many of you may be scratching your heads going ``What is that?``Testing your sugar daily is not always enough. To find out if your levels have remained steady for X amount of time; is why your A1C levels count so much. The A1C testing measures your average blood glucose control for the past 2 to 3 months. For a person with Diabetes and high blood glucose levels, the A1C level is higher than normal. How high the A1C level rises depends on what the average blood glucose level was during the past weeks and months. Levels can range from normal (4.5% to 6%) to as high as 25% if diabetes is badly out of control for a long time.
Here are some of the possible consequences as a result of neglecting Diabetes:
- A patient is diagnosed with either Type I OR Type II Diabetes.
- A doctor recommends the necessary medicinal and lifestyle changes necessary to them.
- They incorporate the medicinal treatments but none of the lifestyle changes.
- Just TEN YEARS later an eye doctor tells them they have retinopathy that can/will lead to peripheral polyneuropathy
- A patient who develops retinopathy will most likely progress to complications of: diabetic foot (90%), CAD (88.1%), nephropathy (85%) and polyneuropathy (65.6%)
- Diabetic nephropathy is found in approximately 70% of patients with diabetic foot.
- For 58.7% of people diagnosed with CAD begin with a diagnoses of diabetic nephropathy.
- Diabetic nephropathy also appears in 41.5% of patients that have developed polyneuropathy.
- The presence of diabetic foot was associated with the risk for co-occurrence of all the remaining diabetic complications.
This blog series has gone to show just how much Diabetes can impact your life, but we also hope we`ve made you aware of some of the simplest methods to be as proactive with your diagnoses as you can be. Sometimes all it takes is just one change in your lifestyle, whether it be exercising more frequently, eating more fruits and vegetables or revamping your current medicinal treatment with your doctor to better suit your life. Even if we`ve reached one person and made a difference in their life and understanding of this increasingly common disease than this entire series was definitely worth it. Feel well everyone and thanks for reading!