“Reactive people are often affected by their physical environment. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn’t, it affects their attitude and their performance. Proactive people can carry their own weather with them.” -Stephen Covey
Apply this to Diabetes Management, and you already have the winning formula. Knowing how diabetes can affect you over the years and proactively managing it can help prevent the need to troubleshoot when complications crop up.
When you don’t do what is required to keep possible health problems at bay, it can have a taxing effect on health and break the bank!
So, let’s start off with a little insight on the flurry of complications that you can expect in diabetes and know how to tackle them:
Foot Trouble
Nerve damage and diabetic neuropathy can develop gradually over the years causing pain and a tingling sensation that keeps your feet from feeling anything. In this condition, the chances of developing infections from the most minor injuries are high. You may not realize until it has progressed to a more serious level.
In addition, it can also lower blood flow that severely hinders healing allowing the infection to continue unabated and warrant amputation. Charcot Foot and foot ulcers are other complications that can wreak havoc to your feet.
Caring for your feet is thus incredibly important and can spare you from some rather difficult times.
- Keep a check on your feet from time to time.
- Wash them and be gentle when you’re smoothening calluses or corns.
- Keep your soft and comfy socks close.
- Rotate your ankles and wiggle your toes to keep the blood flowing.
- Make it a habit to see your Podiatrist and your diabetes doctor , even if you don’t see foot problems.
Eye Issues
Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause diabetic retinopathy, the eye complication of high glucose induced damage. It negatively impacts blood vessels in the retina. Left untreated, it can potentially lead to poor eyesight or even blindness.
If this has managed to awaken a sense of responsibility, take heart. Small steps go a long way in keeping your vision intact.
- Lash out on high blood pressure as it can cloud the lens of your eye.
- Have your blood lipids monitored regularly.
- It’s not just your body that needs exercise. Your eyes do too. Talk to your diabetes doctor about which ones you can work with.
- Put on those UV protection equipped shades when you walk out into the sun.
- A dilated eye check-up annually, goes without saying, is extremely crucial.
Kidney Complications
Kidneys are technically waste filters that constitute small blood vessel networks aiding the process of disposing out the unnecessary. Diabetes can impair this system and put strain on the kidneys. As the strain increases, the chances of irreversible end-stage kidney disease or kidney failure are almost inevitable, leading to the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Screening to check on issues related to kidney function is imperative. Testing for micro albumin in the urine annually, and monitoring diabetes by visiting a diabetes doctor. can help course correct and take action before disaster strikes.
Other Snags
The above were only a few of the many microvascular complications that arise out of poor diabetes management . Macrovascular complications manifest in the brain, heart, and blood vessels. Stroke, heart attack, and coronary artery disease are some of the long-term problems that come with bad diabetes management.
Making heart-healthy choices by staying away from smoking, keeping a tab on cholesterol, following an exercise regimen and the doctor’s instructions reduces risk significantly.
If you can reverse and arrest complications that are born out of diabetes, #WhyWait? Grab the reins of diabetes management ! Don’t let complications reduce your quality of life.
Choose to make small changes. Exchange cheese-loaded pizzas, oily paratha’s, and sugary drinks for fresh greens, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Put in that little extra effort to walk around for a bit. Vigilantly track and keep blood glucose levels in control with timely medication.
