As the 38.4 million Americans who have been diagnosed with diabetes can tell you, receiving a diabetes diagnosis is often just the start of a long health journey that can be rife with complications that stem from this chronic disease.
From peripheral neuropathy to heart disease and many conditions in between, the potential health issues that can develop due to diabetes are numerous, which is why, if you are diabetic, you can benefit from a higher standard of care.
Since November is National Diabetes Month, the team at World Medical Group dba Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas wants to touch on the importance of comprehensive and targeted diabetes care. To do this, we’re going to review some of the complications of diabetes and how we can help you stay on top of your health.
When you have diabetes, the high levels of glucose in your blood due to lack of insulin and/or insulin resistance can damage your peripheral nerves, especially those in your upper and lower limbs. As a result, your nerves can malfunction, and you might develop pain, as well as numbness and tingling, in your feet and hands.
To put some numbers to this complication, more than half of people with diabetes develop some degree of nerve damage.
Thanks to the peripheral nerve damage, you’re more susceptible to diabetic foot ulcers, which develop in about 1.6 million people in the US each year. These ulcers are often slow to heal, and between 50% and 60% of them become infected. Playing this out even further, about 20% of these infections lead to amputation.
People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease than people who don’t have the disease. Given that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, this is a very serious complication.
The nerve damage that we describe above can include damage to the delicate nerves in your eyes, such as your optic nerve. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss.
Diabetes can damage the blood vessels and nerves that help your kidneys to function, which can lead to serious kidney disease.
Our diabetes care is designed to help our patients manage the disease so that they don’t have to face the complications we just described above.
This targeted care starts with better managing your blood sugar levels, which we can do through insulin therapies, as well as key lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise.
Another important aspect of our care is our close monitoring of your health. When you have diabetes, you need a higher standard of care. Vigilance is key, and that’s exactly what our team provides.
We pride ourselves on leaving no stone unturned when it comes to your health, and we track any area that might be affected by your diabetes. This vigilance allows us to step in and reverse the course of your health for the better.
So, if you have diabetes, we urge you to take advantage of our comprehensive and experienced care. To get that ball rolling, we invite you to call or message one of our offices in Waco, Arlington, Wichita Falls, or Fort Worth, Texas, today to schedule an appointment.
