Diabetes is a disease which when taken care of posses no real danger to the patient. Once the diabetes is under control and the physician’s instructions are followed exactly, every day, the patient will be able to live an absolutely normal life. When the disease has been diagnosed the physician will have to determine the correct dose of insulin to be injected for Type 1 diabetes patients plus a diet and exercise plan. The same will happen to the Type 2 diabetes patient; in this case medication may not be necessary. Insulin injection is not required by Type 2 patients, but a regular diet and exercise is necessary.
In either case regular checkups are necessary and a strict application and medication control is a must. Diabetes is a benign disease while under control but it is very aggressive when left unchecked. If a patient fails to take his medication for several days, symptoms will start to show. The first of these is a lack of desire and energy to do the most basic physical activities. In males, impotence is one of the first signs that diabetes is settling in, especially if this condition has not been diagnosed before.
Lack of concentration and attention are other signs of a diabetic crisis on the way. Blurred vision while watching TV or reading, and lack of focus are also to be taken seriously; if not attended these can advance to a permanent lack of focus and blurriness. In serious case will evolve to a total loss of vision in one or both eyes. The high amounts of glucose in the blood cause excessive pressure inside the eye that ruptures vital organs which allow vision. The blurriness and lack of focus are signs of the same rise of pressure within the eye but in smaller amounts.
After several days of an uncontrolled diabetic crisis, the patient will feel extreme unquenchable hunger and thirst. No amount of food or water will help, dizziness spells will start and all the other conditions mentioned above will get worst. These dizziness spells will happen anywhere and at any time but they will show up specially if the patient is exerting himself or attempting some physical task. It does not have to be extreme, walking or getting out of bed will produce weakness and dizziness spells.
By then a deep depression will settle in and the patient will refuse to get out of bed. Sometimes he or she will also prefer the curtains to be drawn in the bedroom to keep the light out. The patient will sleep most of the day and night and will lack the strength to even feed himself. These are advanced symptoms of danger and medical attention must be provided immediately to stop them.
Finally weakness, depression, and the excess of insulin in the blood stream will make all systems collapse. The person will faint and go into a comma. He will experience liver and kidney failure, these depending on the amount of damage caused by the insulin may be permanent and he will require dialysis for the rest of his life. Due to the excess of glucose the blood pressure will rise in the body and heart arrest is a possibility. The fact that the heart does not have enough strength to irrigate the limbs properly may cause infections and damage to the blood vessels which will require limb amputation.
The diabetic person can live a normal life but he must always be aware of small changes in his body that may be alarms going off. These may not be dangerous at first; he may need a change a greater dose of insulin or medication. He may have abused his body during the weekend and doesn’t feel right. Many things may provoke these small signs and symptoms; awareness is the key to success against diabetes.