Diabetes affects every part of the body, which makes its regulation even more imperative. Approximately 10.5% of the U.S. population struggles with diabetes. And diabetes is aggravated by several factors, included genetics, diet, and physical inactivity. We have listed 5 good reasons to control your diabetes.
People who have diabetes are in for the long haul-but you shouldn’t lose hope at that. When you manage this condition properly, you can live a healthy life. Unfortunately, some people fail to control their diabetes. This basically means that there is either too much or too little blood sugar in your bloodstream. These unhealthy levels can result in short-term as well as long-term damage to the body.
Here are 5 of those reasons to control your diabetes.
1. It May Cause Heart Disease- One of the Best Reasons to Control Diabetes
One of the most serious repercussions of ill-managed diabetes includes heart disease. Research shows that you are twice as likely to develop heart problems if you have diabetes, especially if it is not managed properly. At the same time, it also claims that you can control your diabetes and mitigate the risk of cardiovascular disease with a healthy diet, exercise, and medication.
Diabetes drastically increases your risk of developing heart conditions. Conditions like angina (chest pain), heart attack, stroke, and atherosclerosis (constriction of arteries). Over time, high blood sugar levels will damage the blood vessels that control the heart. And this will lead to the above-mentioned conditions. Any of these conditions could result in loss of life, which is a good reason to control diabetes.
2. It May Cause Dementia
If diabetes is irresponsibly managed, you incur the risk of Vascular Dementia. This type of memory loss occurs due to obstructed blood flow to the brain, a common result of diabetes. Unchecked diabetes has been linked to cognitive impairment, which can result in advanced dementia. The risk of developing dementia becomes more acute when you have Type 2 diabetes, so people with this condition should be very careful. This is one of the best reasons to control dementia.
Medical researchers also purport that over time, diabetes can cause silent damage to capillaries. To sum up, the poorer you manage your blood sugar levels, the higher your risk of developing dementia, especially if you are of age. With regular management of your diabetes, you can reduce the risk of memory loss resulting from type 2 diabetes.
3. It May Cause Retinopathy
Eye damage or retinopathy is a serious condition that could result from prolonged and uncontrolled diabetes. If you fail to take medication and manage your diabetes, high sugar levels in the bloodstream can cause blockage of tiny blood vessels. These blood vessels help to nourish the retina. As a result of this, the eye tries to grow new blood vessels. However, when the new blood vessels fail to develop, they start to leak.
This phenomenon, spurred by unchecked diabetes, is termed Diabetic Retinopathy. There are two types of Diabetic Retinopathy, Early Diabetic Retinopathy, and Advanced Diabetic Retinopathy. This condition is serious and could potentially result in loss of vision. Therefore, diabetic patients should be very careful to manage their blood glucose levels to avoid serious vision conditions.
4. It May Cause Kidney Failure
Diabetes Mellitus is a common cause of kidney failure. This is why you should manage your diabetes under medical supervision. Approximately 20% to 30% of diabetic people develop diabetic nephropathy and kidney disease, resulting in kidney failure.
What happens is that kidneys contain several tiny blood vessel clusters responsible for removing waste from the blood. When diabetes isn’t managed properly, it is bound to destroy this filtering system. And this eventually leads to kidney failure or advanced kidney disease, mandating a kidney transplant.
5. It May Cause Foot Damage- A Good Reason to Control Diabetes
Uncontrolled diabetes, i.e. too much sugar in the blood, can lead to foot problems. And this can then aggravate causing serious conditions. Unchecked diabetes damages the nerves, which leads to Diabetic Neuropathy. In this condition, you don’t feel any sensation in your legs and feet. Due to this numbness, you may end up ignoring cuts and sores. Furthermore, these can worsen and lead to infection.
Due to the compromised blood flow as a result of diabetes, cuts and sores will take longer to heal. This poor blood flow in the legs and feet is called peripheral vascular disease. When recovery is slower, you may be unable to walk, which will naturally affect mobility. This could also lead to the development of ulcers. And it could incur the risk of leg or foot or toe amputation.
Conclusion
When high blood sugar levels persist in the bloodstream, you are at risk of developing any of the serious conditions mentioned above. If you want to know how to control diabetes, the simple answer is to lose weight, say goodbye to your sedentary lifestyle, and take the prescribed medication so that your blood sugar levels are as close to normal as possible. When your diabetes is under control, you significantly reduce, if not curtail, your risk of developing serious complications. These are all good reasons to control diabetes.
We Are Here To Help
At Sycamore Creek Ranch Memory Care we are here to help. We want families to make the best decision for their situation
Furthermore, the staff at Sycamore Creek Ranch is proactive. That means we are not waiting for a problem to arise. Instead, we are actively engaged with each and every resident. And with only 16 residents we can do that!
If you are looking for Memory Care in The Woodlands or Memory Care in Spring, Texas come for a tour at Sycamore Creek Ranch! See how we can help.