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Problems Related to Diabetes Complications
The biggest challenge for many people with diabetes is to come to terms not just with the diagnosis of diabetes but with the fact that their diabetes places them at risk for a number of serious complications.
There are four main categories of complications from diabetes, affecting:
- Small blood vessels (microvascular), causing damage to the eyes and kidneys.
- Large blood vessels (macrovascular), which damages the heart and large blood vessels.
- Nerves (neuropathy), which damages the nerves in your body. Nerve damage can affect both the functioning of internal organs, such as the stomach (gastroparesis), and your ability to feel pain when injured.
- Immune system functioning, which affects your ability to fight infections and heal properly.
The experts do not completely understand what causes some people to develop complications from diabetes while others do not. For unknown reasons, some people have tissue and unidentified factors that are more or less resistant to damage. But having other risk factors for a specific complication increases the likelihood that you may develop that complication. For example, people with diabetes who smoke are at higher risk for heart disease than people with diabetes who do not smoke.
In some cases, you may be able to prevent complications. In other cases, that may not be possible, but good management of your diabetes can delay the onset of these problems and minimize their intensity when they do occur.
This table presents the potential problems related to diabetes complications and the symptoms that indicate those problems.
Diabetes complication | Potential problem | Symptoms of potential problem |
|---|---|---|
Heart disease (coronary artery disease) |
| |
| Blood flow cut off to brain (cerebrovascular disease) |
| |
Problem with blood circulation (peripheral arterial disease) | Reduced blood flow to the limb |
|
Impaired immune system functioning | Developing infections that linger and wounds that do not heal quickly |
|
Impaired processing of cholesterol | Contributes to problems with coronary artery disease and strokes |
|
Eyes (diabetic retinopathy) | Damage to the retina |
|
Kidneys (diabetic nephropathy) |
|
|
Nerves (peripheral neuropathy) | Decreased sensation, especially common in the feet and hands |
|
Autonomic nervous system (autonomic neuropathy) |
|
|
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: February 24, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine David C.W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
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