QUESTION: I suffer from diabetes and visit my physician regularly.
He constantly scolds me and warns me that if I don't control things better, the complications of diabetes will get me.
I've a little knowledge of these problems, but are they really as bad as my doctor makes them out to be?
ANSWER: I think you want me to reassure you, so that you may continue to take some of the admonitions of your physician lightly.
I can't do that in good conscience, for all the statistics reveal that the results of poorly controlled diabetes are frightening indeed.
Here are just a few from some recent publications and research.
Patients that suffer from diabetes are more than twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease than the general population.
More than half of all amputations that are not the result of injury are in diabetic patients.
Kidney disease is prevalent in as many as 10% of diabetics within 20 years of the diagnosis, and patients who have diabetes comprise about 25% of all patients in programs that treat end-stage (the most severe) renal disease.
And your eyes may suffer, with diabetes as the leading cause of blindness in adults.
Almost 50% of patients with the noninsulin dependent form of diabetes show retinal disease within 10 years of diagnosis.
And I could go on and on with statistics about nerve disease, circulatory problems, foot problems and impotence.
The answer to all of this remains with preventive actions, early diagnosis, well planned therapies that include not only medication but exercise and diet as well, and an understanding between patient and physician that aids people like you in carefully managing their disease.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
