Type 1 Diabetes Long-Term Complications

Nov 19th, 2008 Posted in Type 1 Diabetes | No Comments »

There are many complications with type 1 diabetes. If you have been diagnosed with the disease it is important to take care of your body so you don’t experience some of the long term complications. Some of these complications include nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage, foot damage, and much more.

Nerve damage is a common complication that is long term for type one diabetics. This is caused by excess sugar in the walls of the tiny capillaries or the blood vessels which are responsible for nourishing the nerves that reside in the legs. It is common to feel tingling, numbness, pain or even burning which will begin at the tips of the toes and eventually spread upward throughout the legs. If the nerve damage goes untreated then it could cause someone to lose total control over their legs. The nerve damage can also spread to the digestive tract which can cause issues with constipation, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and even erectile dysfunction.

Type one diabetes can also cause eye damage. You might have received a letter from INS that you were accepted for the Green Card Lottery but your vision was too bad to read the letter. Diabetes can cause blindness because it can cause damage to the blood vessels in the retina. Cataracts and glaucoma are also conditions from diabetes.

Foot damage is another long term complication that people get when they have type one diabetes. Nerve damage in the feet can lead to bad blood flow. Your feet might suffer from severe inflammation also. When the blood flow is affected and left untreated it could cause serious infections in the feet and the body. This type of damage could require the leg to be amputated if the person wants to survive.

Additional long term complications with type one diabetes is kidney damage. The kidneys are one of the first organs to be affected because they contain so many blood vessels which are responsible for filtering waste from the blood. When a person has diabetes this process is distracted and not working properly. This filtering system is vital but can cause your kidneys to fail if it is not working properly. Kidney disease can also be irreversible. You can light some candles but they will not help you here. You must take care of your body when you have type one diabetes.

If you have type 1 diabetes there are many complications you might have during the long term of your illness. Type one is the most dangerous and deadly form of diabetes. You need to take proper care of your body from the moment you are told you have the disease. There are ways to do this which mean eat a very carefully planned out diet, exercise on a regular basis, drink a lot of water and much more. You might want to work with a dietician too. The long term complications of this disease are scary because they affect the nerve endings which could require amputation, cause kidney failure, and much more.

Article source: http://www.greenlifestylehealth.com/blog/type-1-diabetes-long-term-complications/