Diabetes: A 21st Century Scourge - The Ravages of Diabetes Continued

Uncontrolled blood sugar levels is the calling card of Type II diabetes that eventually leads to circulatory issues that are life changing. Foot ulcers, peripheral nerve damage and the accompanying pain, and blindness can result when blood vessels are weakened by the inflammatory action of unregulated blood sugar. Nightmarish as those conditions may be the complications of diabetes can worsen overtime leading to renal failure, heart attacks and stroke.

Diabetic Nephropathy

Silently and slowly high blood glucose levels damages the kidneys of diabetics and pre-diabetics which takes its toll. The kidneys help filter the blood and flush the body of unwanted toxins. Overtime high sugar levels cause the thickening and scarring of nephrons. The process eventually leads to renal (kidney) failure. To make matters worse it can take anywhere from 5 – 10 years before the symptoms of acute kidney damage are experienced. Some of the symptoms include nausea with vomiting, swelling of the legs, headaches, chronic fatigue, and poor appetite. Kidney damage is a leading cause of death in diabetics. As it is kidney function can be a direct correlation to the quality of a person’s life.

Strokes

High blood glucose levels create all sorts of negative domino effects in the body. One part of the domino effect is the scarring and deterioration of blood vessels that occur. The body attempts to repair these blood vessels that are constantly under attack. In doing so the material used to make the repairs “builds up” in the blood vessels creating blockages. Sometimes these blockages occur in arteries and blood vessels that supply blood to brain. When the blockages are severe enough a stroke soon follows. The result of the stroke could lead to paralysis, speech loss, inability to coordinate movement or even death. Smaller strokes could lead to dementia or senility.

Heart Attacks

Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases seem to go hand in hand. Primarily because of the circulatory issues created by having diabetes in the first place. From there it becomes much easier for cardiovascular disease to gain a foothold especially if poor lifestyle habits and predisposition to these diseases exist. Diabetics experience heart attacks more frequently than non-diabetics. Diabetics are also twice as likely to die following a heart attack as non-diabetics.

Diabetes: A 21st Century Scourge - The Ravages of Diabetes

So far we have discussed some of the causes of diabetes mellitus (aka Type II diabetes). Now it is time to look at what diabetes does or can do to the body if reversal or proper mitigation is not undertaken (*Note: I did not use the word “management” purposefully which will be discussed later). Diabetes has a methodical way of slowly shutting down very important body processes. At first it is a silent thief roaming the body undetected causing painless harm. Later the harm becomes great enough to cause discomfort, outright pain or worse. The silent portion of the process can take years and could remain undiscovered for much of that time. The resulting complications are life changing.

Our Poor Eyes

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness affecting 4.1 million adults in the U.S. The blindness is caused primarily by a condition called diabetic retinopathy. One of the most devastating aspects of diabetes is how it affects blood flow and circulation. As blood flow to the retinas decrease due to diabetes the body attempts to compensate by creating new blood vessels. Unfortunately these blood vessels tend to be weak and they rupture. Bleeding in the retina obstructs vision and the laser treatments used to stop the bleeding often destroys portions of the retina. Retinal hemorrhaging and treatments for it can separately or in combination cause permanent blindness.  

On Pins and Needles

Circulatory issues figure prominently with Type II diabetes. It can cause blindness and it can also cause another condition called neuropathy. Neuropathy occurs as blood vessels that supply the peripheral nervous system begin to weaken. The peripheral nerves, starved of nourishment, begin to degenerate creating pain. At first it could feel like being pricked by pins and needles as numbness begin to set in. A downward spiral ensues with ever decreasing circulation causing ever increasing pain.

Ulcers and Infections

Foot ulcers, because of poor or insufficient blood supply, can become a common problem. Blood vessels have the tendency to become clogged in diabetics especially in the extremities robbing them of nourishment and proper attention from the immune system. No nourishment causes tissues to degenerate causing ulcers. In addition, simple cuts or bruises can result in life threatening infections. Both conditions can lead to the onset of gangrene and require amputation of the infected limb. There are approximately 185,000 amputations per year in the U.S. with more than half of those (54%) attributed to vascular diseases (either diabetes or peripheral arterial disease). Diabetics are cautioned to take good care of their feet paying close attention to them. Most practitioners would advise diabetics to never go barefoot and to keep their feet warm, dry and clean.