The effect of diabetes on your body

many parts of the body can be affected by diabetes
on Tue 13 Nov

 

Diabetes affects your body’s ability to produce or effectively use sufficient insulin. This means your body’s cells are starved of energy and must seek an alternative source.  This can cause complications throughout your body. In this post I bring together a number of blog posts on the subject.

 

Types of diabetes

It is easy to become confused between types 1 and 2 diabetes.  So in this post I explain the difference

 

You might be surprised to know that there are three further forms of diabetes:

  • Diabetes insipidus - a rare condition whereby the kidneys are unable to hold water 
  • Gestational diabetes which is the name given to the (normally temporary)diabetes that women can develop between 24 and 28 weeks pregnancy 
  • And type 3 diabetes which is another name for diabetes due to pancreas disease. Diabetes can be the result of any disease that damages the pancreas (including acute and chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis and pancreatic cancer). It can also occur because of pancreatic surgery - although removal of 90% of the mass of the pancreas can usually be performed without resulting in diabetes. There is more information on this condition here

 

So what is prediabetes?

Although the incidence of diabetes has tripled over the last three decades, the term “Prediabetes” has been used relatively recently. You may also hear this being referred to as Impaired Glucose Tolerance or IGT.

 

In this blog post I explain this condition, how it is diagnosed and how it need not develop into type 2 diabetes if you take control.

 

Diabetes and the eyes

Diabetic eye disease comprises a group of eye conditions that affect people with diabetes. These conditions include diabetic retinopathy; diabetic macular oedema (DMO); cataract and glaucoma.

 

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss amongst people with diabetes and the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness amongst working age adults.

 

In this blog post I talk about the stages, symptoms and treatment of this condition.

 

Diabetes and the ears

Strange though it may seem a connection has also been found between having diabetes (or prediabetes) and hearing loss. This has been known about since the 1960’s but we are still not exactly why this occurs. In this blog post I share information about a number of theories and studies.

 

Diabetes and the feet

Although Charcot foot can occur in connection with a variety of conditions, worldwide it is most commonly associated with diabetes and it’s one of the most serious foot problems that diabetics can face. In this blog post I explain the diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

 

Diabetes and the pancreas

Unfortunately, there is a link between diabetes and pancreatic cancer. This is not common - less than 2 in 100 people with diabetes are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the 3 years after they are first told about their diabetes and the risk diminishes as time elapses. Here I explain the challenges of managing both conditions simultaneously.

 

Diabetes and sexual dysfunction

A more sensitive aspect of diabetes is its link with sexual dysfunction – here I explain how it can affect both men and women and how you can work with your doctor to improve things.

 

Diabetes and depression

Diabetes and depression are closely linked - in fact depression and mood disorders are the most common psychiatric challenge within the community of diabetic patients. It is not entirely clear why because this can be a chicken and egg situation which is difficult to clarify: I explain this in more detail here.

 

Diabetes can affect other areas of your body too from your heart to your nervous system.  Please follow my blog for information on other linked conditions as well as the latest research and findings on diabetes, PCOS and thyroid conditions.

 

Although every effort is made to ensure that all health advice on this website is accurate and up to date it is for information purposes and should not replace a visit to your doctor or health care professional.

 

As the advice is general in nature rather than specific to individuals Dr Vanderpump cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use nor can he be held responsible for the content of any pages referenced by an external link

 

 

 

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