Type 2 diabetes can sneak up on you and cause serious health issues before you are diagnosed. Once you are diagnosed, you may have to play catch-up to address health problems caused by your untreated diabetes. According to Glucose SOS, untreated diabetes can lead to heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, amputation, and eventually death, among other issues. Be sure to follow the instructions provided by your physician with particular attention to exercise, proper diet and blood sugar management.
Eyes
Uncontrolled diabetes can damage your eyes and limit your vision over time. This occurs because moisture gets into the eye lens when blood sugar levels are too high for too long. In addition, uncontrolled diabetes can weaken the blood vessel walls in your retina, leading to hemorrhages that can lead to blindness. The most important thing you can do to prevent diabetic eye disease is to have tight control of your blood sugar. Test as instructed by your doctor and make necessary adjustments to diet and activity, as well as taking your prescribed medications.
Kidney
Consistently high blood sugar levels can leave you at risk for bacterial growth in your urethra and may lead to chronic kidney infections. In addition, the blood vessels in your kidneys can become clogged and your kidneys will release proteins that should not be shed by your body. If you have albumin in your urine your kidneys may already be damaged. Finally, diabetic nerve damage can make it hard to know if you need to urinate, and excessive urine build-up in the bladder can put your kidneys at risk of damage and more infections.
Your Feet
Some people suffer from gout after developing Type 2 diabetes. While this condition can be very painful, a more insidious symptom of diabetes is neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy causes tingling or numbness in the hands and feet. This is particularly dangerous for diabetics in poor physical shape. Your feet may be hard to reach and impossible to observe. However, if you injure your foot and don’t notice the wound because you can’t feel your feet, your foot may become infected or ulcerate without your knowledge. Once you are diagnosed, you will likely be given an exercise regime. Be sure to incorporate stretching into your workout plan so you can ultimately stretch to a point where you can study the bottoms of your feet.
Many who suffer from Type 2 diabetes have no idea they have the condition until their health starts to break down. Once you are diagnosed, make sure you monitor your glucose as often as directed to get your fasting blood sugar down so your body can filter out the excess sugar in your blood.
It is important to know how to recognize serious health problems. Check out the signs of a stroke and what to do.
