Diabetes & Health Hub
Complications of diabetes
All you need to know about diabetes including its signs, causes, risk factors, complications and tips to manage the condition.
All you need to know about diabetes including its signs, causes, risk factors, complications and tips to manage the condition.
Over time, type 1 diabetes complications can affect major organs in your body, including heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys. Maintaining a normal blood sugar level can dramatically reduce the risk of many complications.
Eventually, diabetes complications may be disabling or even life-threatening.
Treatment
Treatment for type 1 diabetes includes:
The goal is to keep your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible to delay or prevent complications.
Generally, the goal is to keep your daytime blood sugar levels before meals between 80 and 130 mg/dL (4.44 to 7.2 mmol/L) and your after-meal numbers no higher than 180 mg/dL (10 mmol/L) two hours after eating.
Insulin and other medications
Anyone who has type 1 diabetes needs lifelong insulin therapy.
There are many types of insulin including:
Insulin administration
Insulin can’t be taken orally to lower blood sugar because stomach enzymes will break down the insulin, preventing its action. You’ll need to receive it either through injections or an insulin pump.
Other medications
Additional medications also may be prescribed for people with type 1 diabetes, such as:
CHECK, CHECK AND CHECK BLOOD GLUCOSE!
THE MORE YOU CHECK. THE MORE YOU KNOW.THE BETTER YOUR CONTROL
Healthy eating and monitoring carbohydrates
There’s no such thing as a diabetes diet. However, it’s important to centre your diet on nutritious, low-fat, high-fibre foods such as:
Your dietitian will recommend that you eat fewer animal products and refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and sweets. This healthy-eating plan is recommended even for people without diabetes.
You’ll need to learn how to count the amount of carbohydrates in the foods you eat so that you can give yourself enough insulin to properly metabolize those carbohydrates. A registered dietitian can help you create a meal plan that fits your needs.
Physical activity
Everyone needs regular aerobic exercise, and people who have type 1 diabetes are no exception. First, get your doctor’s OK to exercise. Then choose activities you enjoy, such as walking or swimming, and make them part of your daily routine.
Remember that physical activity lowers blood sugar. If you begin a new activity, check your blood sugar level more often than usual until you know how that activity affects your blood sugar levels. You might need to adjust your meal plan or insulin doses to compensate for the increased activity.
Type 2 diabetes can be easy to ignore, especially in the early stages when you are feeling fine. But diabetes affects many major organs, including your heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys.
Controlling your blood sugar levels can help prevent these complications.
Although long-term complications of diabetes develop gradually, they can eventually be disabling or even life-threatening. Some of the potential complications of diabetes include:
Heart and blood vessel disease
Diabetes dramatically increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and narrowing of blood vessels (atherosclerosis).
Nerve damage (neuropathy)
Excess sugar can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward. Eventually, you may lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. Damage to the nerves that control digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation. For men, erectile dysfunction may be an issue.
Kidney damage
Diabetes can sometimes lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Eye damage
Diabetes increases the risk of serious eye diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma, and may damage the blood vessels of the retina, potentially leading to blindness.
Slow healing
Left untreated, cuts and blisters can become serious infections, which may heal poorly. Severe damage might require toe, foot or leg amputation.
Skin conditions
Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.
Sleep apnoea
Obstructive sleep apnoea is common in people with type 2 diabetes. Obesity may be the main contributing factor to both conditions. Treating sleep apnoea may lower your blood pressure and make you feel more rested, but it’s not clear whether it helps improve blood sugar control.
Prevention
Healthy lifestyle choices can help prevent type 2 diabetes, and that’s true even if you have diabetes in your family.
If you’ve already received a diagnosis of diabetes, you can use healthy lifestyle choices to help prevent complications.
If you have prediabetes, lifestyle changes can slow or stop the progression to diabetes.
A healthy lifestyle includes:
Eating healthy foods
Choose foods lower in fat and calories and higher in fibre. Focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Being active
Aim for a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity — or 15 to 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — on most days. Take a brisk daily walk, ride a bike, or swim laps. If you can’t fit in a long, single workout, spread shorter periods of exercise throughout the day.
Losing weight
If you’re overweight, losing 5 to 10 per cent of your body weight can reduce the risk of diabetes. To keep your weight in a healthy range, focus on permanent changes to your eating and exercise habits. Motivate yourself by remembering the benefits of losing weight, such as a healthier heart, more energy and improved self-esteem.
Avoiding being sedentary for long periods
Sitting still for long periods can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. Try to get up every 30 minutes and move around for at least a few minutes.
Treatment
The first line of treatment for type 2 diabetes
Diet
Weight control
Physical activity
Sometimes medication is an option as well. Metformin, an oral diabetes medication, may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. But even if you take medication, healthy lifestyle choices remain essential for preventing or managing diabetes.
Please ask your doctor for a leaflet on the different types of medication for diabetes.
Insulin injections are needed in some cases of type 2 diabetes, often this is after years of treatment with tablets as it is a progressive disease. Having insulin treatment therefore does not reflect on a person’s ability to control their diabetes, rather the disease itself. In some instances a patient may need insulin temporarily to control very high blood sugar.
What other treatments might a person need?
Other treatments include:
Reducing bloodpressure if it is high
Lowering cholesterol levels if they are high
Help to stop smoking
And also using other measures to reduce the risk of complications
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