Diabetes Complications

Nerve Damage

Kidney Damage

Eye Damage

Nerve Damage

The damage diabetes causes to nerves is called diabetic neuropathy. There are several types. They vary in what part of the body the damaged nerves are in.

What happens.: High glucose levels damage nerves. They no longer carry messages properly.
The symptoms.: Symptoms vary with the kind of neuropathy you have. Symptoms can include:

Prickling, tingling, burning, or jabbing feelings
Loss of feeling
Weak muscles
Fainting
Vomiting
Bladder infections
Diarrhea
Sexual problems

Prevention.: To prevent nerve damage:

Keep your glucose levels well controlled.
Don't smoke
Drink little or no alcohol
Eat healthy meals that are rich in vitamins and minerals
Exercise regularly

Treatment.: Improving blood glucose control can help nerve damage. Nerve pain can be treated with antidepressant drugs, exercises, or special skin creams. Surgery can sometimes help. Other treatments are available when stomach, gut, or bladder nerves are affected.

Kidney Damage

Diabetes can lead to the kidney disease called diabetic nephropathy.

What happens.: The job of the kidneys is to filter wastes from the blood. Sometimes, diabetes causes the kidneys to lose their ability to filter properly. As a result, protein that the body needs is lost in the urine, and wastes that the body doesn't need build up in the blood.
The symptoms.: Kidney disease causes no symptoms until the kidneys are badly damages. So your doctor should test your urine for protein each year. You may also have blood tests done.
Prevention.: To prevent kidney damage:

Keep your glucose levels well controlled.
Keep your blood pressure down.
Maintain healthful meal planning.

Treatment.
Kidney damage cannot be reversed. So it is important to prevent it. There are two treatments for when kidneys no longer work. In dialysis, a machine cleans the blood. With kidney transplant, the person gets a new kidney from someone else.

Eye Damage

Diabetes can lead to an eye disease called diabetic retinopathy.

What happens.: The retina is the lining at the back of the eye that senses light. It acts like the film in a camera. In nonproliferative retinopathy, the milder form, blood vessels leak blood and fluid into the eye. In the more severe-but rarer-form, proliferative retinopathy, new blood vessels sprout and grow out of control. They can bleed or cause scarring, which pulls on the retina.
The symptoms.: Retinopathy may not cause any symptoms. So you should see an eye doctor each year after you are 30 years old (or, if you're younger than 30, each year after you've had diabetes for 5 years). You should get a special exam with eye drops to look for retinopathy. You should also see your eye doctor if:

Your vision is blurry.
You see double.
You see spots or floaters.
One or both eyes hurt.
You feel pressure in your eye.
You lose the ability to see things at the side.
You have trouble reading.
Prevention. To head off eye damage:
Keep your glucose levels well controlled.

Treatment.: The earlier you can catch retinopathy, the better the treatments work. The two main treatments are:

Photocoagulation, in which a laser seals of leaky blood vessels.
Vitrectomy, a surgery that removes blood and scar tissue from the eye.
Heart And Blood Vessel Damage

Diabetes makes you more likely to get hardening of the arteries or have a stroke. You can also have peripheral vascular disease, in which not enough blood reaches the areas farthest from your heart.

What happens.: When you have diabetes, your body chemistry changes. As a result, your blood may clot too easily. Your blood vessels may narrow. And fat may build up in your blood vessels faster.
The symptoms.: If you have poor circulation, you may have many infections, your skin may itch, or your legs may become shiny and lose their hair. Your calves may hurt when you exercise. If you are a man, you may have trouble having an erection. Your doctor can do tests for these problems. If your blood pressure or cholesterol level is high, it signals that you are at risk of heart or blood vessel damage.
Prevention.: You can lower your risk of heart and blood vessel disease. These steps make your body chemistry more normal. And they keep your blood vessels more open.

Keep your glucose levels well controlled.
Don't smoke.
Maintain low-fat meal planning that does not contain a lot of salt.
Keep your blood pressure down.
Lower your cholesterol if it is over 200 mg/dL.
Exercise often.
Lose weight if you need to.

Treatment.: These seven steps can also help people who already have heart or blood vessel disease. Also, surgery can open narrowed vessels.