Eye Damage
Kidney Damage
Nerve Damage
Heart Disease
What You Can Do
 

If you've been told you have type 2 diabetes, you may be worried about what lies ahead. Diabetes is a serious disease, but millions of people with diabetes live long, healthy, and full lives. You do, however, need to be aware of the serious medical complications that diabetes can cause. Although they are very serious, these problems may be either delayed, reduced, or even prevented. If you work closely with your healthcare team to manage your diabetes to the best of your ability, you can decrease your risk for serious complications.
 

What are the complications?

Diabetes may lead to several long-term problems:
 

Eye Damage:

Over time, diabetes can damage the blood vessels that supply blood to the eye. This condition, called diabetic retinopathy, is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults in the United States. Because diabetic retinopathy often has no early warning signs, the American Diabetes Association recommends getting a dilated eye exam on an annual basis. If you experience blurred vision, floaters and flashes in your sight, or a sudden loss of vision, consult with your health professional immediately.
 

In addition, compared to people without diabetes, people with diabetes are more likely to develop glaucoma, a disorder that causes pressure to build up in the eye. This can result in partial or complete loss of vision. Also, cataracts, or a clouding of the lens of the eye, are more common in persons with diabetes.
 

Kidney Damage:

Diabetes may also cause kidney damage, called nephropathy. In a healthy person, the kidneys help the body filter waste from the blood. However, high blood glucose levels may eventually cause tiny blood vessels in the kidneys to become blocked and leaky. As a result, the kidneys lose their ability to filter waste from the blood. Blocked blood vessels cause harmful waste to stay in the blood, while leaky vessels may cause the loss of many proteins and nutrients that should stay in the blood. In the United States, diabetes is responsible for 43% of serious kidney disease requiring dialysis.2

You could have serious kidney damage without being aware of it because there usually are no specific symptoms of kidney disease until major kidney damage has occurred. However, there are certain early signs or risk factors for you and your health professional to watch for:

- High blood pressure or a family history of high blood pressure.

- Protein in the urine.

- Burning or difficulty during urination
Certain tests can help to detect kidney damage at an early stage. There are also special treatments (including proper food choices and medications) that may help to delay kidney failure.
 

Nerve Damage:

Over time, diabetes may also cause nerve damage. As many as 70% of people with diabetes have some form of nerve damage, or diabetic neuropathy.3 This condition can affect internal organs and blood vessels, and it can also damage the nerves in your muscles, feet, and legs. Some symptoms of nerve damage include:

- Dizziness and unsteadiness .

- Nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea .

- Decreased sexual function.

- Muscle weakness in the legs.

- Tingling, burning, or numbness in the feet or hands.

- Pain in the feet or legs.

- Decreased pain sensation and loss of feeling in the feet.

In combination with poor circulation, severe nerve damage, when left untreated, can result in amputation. In fact, diabetes is a leading cause of foot amputations in this country.2 Checking your feet daily and wearing comfortable, well-fitting shoes and socks are important to keeping your feet healthy.
 

Heart Disease:

People with diabetes are at an increased risk for heart attack, problems related to poor circulation, and are 2 to 4 times more likely to have a stroke than are people without diabetes. In addition, poor circulation, in combination with nerve damage (neuropathy), frequently results in foot ulcers and other foot problems. The signs of heart disease are chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling tired and dizzy, and a rapid or irregular heartbeat. You may have none, one, or all of these signs of heart disease. Call your health professional and get any symptoms you may be experiencing checked out right away.
 

Because there are few warning signs associated with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and other types of heart disease, it is important to take every opportunity to lower your risk.

What can you do to lower the risk of complications of diabetes?

The best ways to lower your risk for diabetes complications are:

- Eat a balanced diet.

- Be physically active.

- Take medications as prescribed by your doctor.

- Stop smoking.

- Control your blood glucose, blood lipid, and blood pressure levels: You can control these levels with diet, physical activity, and medication if necessary.

- Get regular checkups and keep your scheduled appointments with your health professional: You may not know that you have a complication, but your health professional may be able to tell if there's a problem developing long before symptoms appear. Finding problems early is the best way to keep them from getting serious. Even if you are feeling fine, you should still visit your health professional regularly.

- Tell your health professional if you have one or more of the following signs or symptoms:

* Vision problems (blurriness, spots).

* Tiredness.

* Numbness or tingling feelings in hands or feet.

* Repeated infections or slow healing of wounds.
 

Chest pain
Although you should be careful not to blame every health problem on your diabetes, you need to be aware of the possible medical problems. If you think you are experiencing a diabetes-related health problem, don't ignore it and hope that it will get better on its own. Instead, talk to your health professional. You can take control and reduce your risk for all of these problems—don't let them take control of you!