I remember a few years ago going to one of my doctors appointments to see the endocrinologist, and I remember this doctor being all dramatic and shit. He was like: yeah this disease is bad, it is, it’s just bad…. I didn’t like him at all.
I always hear about the bad stuff that people talk about diabetes, the amputations and the many other complications we can develop if diabetes is not well managed. Well, that shit is true and that doctor wasn’t being dramatic. Remember we are talking about our blood glucose levels and as you might be aware your blood is everywhere in your body. So yeah, if we don’t take good care of our blood glucose levels and care about having a well managed diabetes, then yes, we can develop complications in the future. Honestly I don’t want to go through that.
My approach when it comes to managing diabetes is that if I can control my glucose levels on a daily basis, and by this I mean checking my glucose levels 3-4 times per day, then I’m automatically taking care of my future and I can avoid complications. How do I do this ? I’m aware of the foods that I eat. I choose the foods that are working for me and I check my sugar before and after meals. I do work out and try to live a healthy lifestyle because the other option of not caring about my diabetes will end up in more suffering in the future. Is it hard? Yes, I mean calculating insulin and making the right food choices all the time is hard. I’m not talking about perfection because that’s impossible. I’m talking about managing my glucose levels and staying in target range 80-90 % of the time.
Life is not easy and living with a chronic illness and not taking care of it will make it way harder, trust me. We need to deal with problems and all the responsibilities that life brings and on top we need to monitor our glucose levels 24/7.
Not caring about my diabetes is accepting defeat. That’s not an option for me. I will see this as an opportunity to become better, and by better I mean being better at making right food choices, better at taking care of myself physically, better at looking at diabetes straight in the eyes and saying I’m going to take control of you and you will not control me. I’m in charge and I will take responsibility for the fact that this is my life, so now what? Am I going to complain? Yes. This shit is hard, and there are days that I question God and life and many things. And that’s ok, it’s part of the process… but am I the only one dealing with this ? No. So you know what? I’m going to step forward and put my head up. I will enjoy this fucking workout, I will not waver. I’m ready. And if by the end of this journey I develop any complication I will live with peace of mind knowing that I did the best I fucking could. This is my struggle and mine alone and I will rise above it.
Here are some common diabetes complications: nerve damage, chronic kidney disease, heart disease and problems related to vision, oral health, feet and mental health. Fuck man… yeah, everything pretty much.
Next, I will give a brief explanation on each.
Nerve Damage:
If we don’t take care of our blood sugars and keep high glucose levels for a long time we can develop nerve damage or neuropathy. And how do we avoid this? Remember the game of numbers ? And the main goal ? To maintain normal, in range glucose levels.
What happens when your nerves get damaged ? Your nerves stop sending messages to different parts of your body and this can affect your hands, feet, legs and arms.
There are four different types of nerve damage:
–Peripheral Damage: this type of nerve damage affects your hands, feet, legs and arms and is the most common type of damage in diabetics. Symptoms include tingling in your feet, increased sensitivity, and foot problems such as infections, bone and joint pain.
It is very important to check your feet regularly and notice any cuts or ulcers because they might not heal properly and lead to infection which can cause serious problems such as amputations.
-Autonomic Nerve Damage: this type of nerve damage affects your eyes, sex organs, heart, bladder, stomach, intestines. Symptoms may include: bowel problems, nausea, vomiting, trouble getting an erection for men and vaginal dryness in women.
–Proximal Nerve Damage: this type of nerve damage affects nerves in the thighs, buttocks, legs, hips. Symptoms may include: pain in the thigh or buttock and severe stomach pain.
–Focal Nerve Damage: this one affects single nerves, it could be in your leg, hand, head or torso. Symptoms may include: numbness or tingling in hands and fingers, having double vision and paralysis of one side of your face (bell’s palsy).
Chronic Kidney Disease:
Our kidneys are made of millions of tiny filters called nephrons. Again, if blood sugars are high, blood vessels and nephrons in the kidneys get damaged and they will not work as they should. How to avoid this ? Managing blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Your doctor will have you check your kidneys regularly with a simple blood and urine test. This is very important in order to avoid future complications.
If not treated and detected early, people can develop complications and will need dialysis (filtering of blood) or kidney transplant in order to survive.
Heart Disease:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. You are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke if you are diabetic than someone who is not diabetic.
Heart disease, stroke and blood vessel disease fall under the term “cardiovascular disease”. These are all problems that affect your heart. The most common type is “coronary artery disease” which affects blood flow to the heart. This is caused by buildup of plaque in the walls of the coronary arteries; the blood vessels that supply oxygen and blood to the heart.
Heart attack is caused by not enough blood flow to the heart and a stroke is caused by not enough blood flow to the brain.
High blood sugars, if not controlled, can damage blood vessels, and the nerves that control the heart.
People with diabetes also might suffer from other conditions that raise the risk for heart disease: high blood pressure, too much LDL (bad) cholesterol and high triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood).
All of these conditions need to be checked by your doctor and treated accordingly. The best way to avoid this is by eating healthy, keeping a healthy weight, exercising and managing stress.
Vision Loss:
There are different eye diseases that can affect diabetics. Some are retinopathy, cataracts, macular edema and glaucoma.
The most common eye disease in diabetics is retinopathy and it is the leading cause of blindness in adults. Again, when blood sugars go high they can damage the blood vessels in the retina. Damaged blood vessels will swell and leak, which causes blurry vision or blood flow stop.
In order to avoid this complication it is important to get your eyes checked (dilated eye exam), to keep blood sugar levels in target range, to exercise, and to keep blood pressure and cholesterol levels in target range.
Oral Health:
High blood sugars can produce bacteria in your mouth since these sugars are also found in your saliva. This bacteria might cause cavities, tooth decay and gum disease. If not treated, it can lead to tooth loss.
Also infections in the mouth can take longer to heal if blood sugars are high.
It is very important to visit the dentist frequently and keep clean teeth by brushing and flossing daily.
Tell your dentist if you have diabetes. They will check your teeth with X-rays and will do professional cleanings.
Foot Health:
Like I previously explained, checking your feet is very important. If you suffer from nerve damage your feet might lose sensitivity and you might not notice any cuts or blisters. You might also lose the ability to feel pain, heat or cold. If this happens any cuts might get infected and this can lead to serious problems like amputations.
Take care of your feet by checking them regularly, washing them and wearing shoes that are comfortable.
Be aware of any pain, tingling or burning in your feet and tell your doctor.
Again, this can be avoided by keeping in range glucose levels and checking for any cuts or discomfort in your feet. The sooner you can detect any symptoms the better in order to treat accordingly.
Mental Health:
When it comes to mental health, here’s what I think: if your head is not in the right place then nothing you do to take care of your diabetes will work. @dieabeast is a mindset and here’s what I have decided: I can live with diabetes and let this disease defeat me and I will end up with all sorts of complications as I get older or I can literally see this as an opportunity to transform myself into a beast physically and mentally.
Diabetes is challenging and you will feel depressed, anxious, stressed, sad, frustrated, at some point. This is part of living with a chronic illness.
In order to take care of your diabetes you need to make sure you are getting help from your doctor and diabetes care team. There are therapists and people who can help with depression, anxiety, diabetes burnout and any other mental conditions.
Know that if you are diabetic, you are not alone. There are people who are on the same journey with you. People who share your same situation and people who are willing to help you and understand you. All you need to do is ask for help. There is freedom and peace when you reach out and ask for help.
In my personal experience I have come to understand that I can not do this on my own. I ask for help from my family, from my girlfriend, from my doctor.
All of them can help and support me, but at the end of the day it is my responsibility to take care of myself. How do I do this? I personally have developed some habits that have helped me: eating healthy, working out 5-6 days per week, praying, reading and learning about diabetes, being part of a community of diabetics (Beyond type 1) and talking about it with my family.
Do the best you can everyday to take care of your glucose levels and you will be okay, we will be okay. One day at a time. If your sugars go high sometimes, don’t beat yourself up, this is part of the process too. Remember the game of numbers ? And the main goal ? To maintain normal, in range glucose levels.
@dieabeast