DIABETES

Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way your body uses food for energy. Normally, the sugar you take in is digested and broken down to a simple sugar, known as glucose. The glucose then circulates in your blood where it waits to enter cells to be used as fuel. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps move the glucose into cells. A healthy pancreas adjusts the amount of insulin based on the level of glucose. But, if you have diabetes, this process breaks down, and blood sugar levels become too high.
There are two main types of full-blown diabetes. People with Type 1 diabetes are completely unable to produce insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes can produce insulin, but their cells don't respond to it. In either case, the glucose can't move into the cells and blood glucose levels can become high. Over time, these high glucose levels can cause serious complications.
Some diabetes symptoms include:

                                                               
 
Diabetes is associated with long-term complications that affect almost every part of the body. The disease often leads to blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can complicate pregnancy, and birth defects are more common in babies born to women with diabetes.

Heart Disease and Stroke
People with diabetes have extra reason to be mindful of heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes carries an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and complications related to poor circulation. 2 out of 3 people with diabetes die from heart disease and stroke. People with diabetes must also manage blood pressure and cholesterol.

Kidney Disease
Diabetes can damage the kidneys, which not only can cause them to fail, but can also make them lose their ability to filter out waste products. Factors that can influence kidney disease development include genetics, blood sugar control, and blood pressure.

Eye Complications
Diabetes can cause eye problems and may lead to blindness. People with diabetes do have a higher risk of blindness than people without diabetes. Early detection and treatment of eye problems can save your sight. People with diabetes are 40% more likely to suffer from glaucoma.  People with diabetes are 60% more likely to develop cataracts.

Diabetic Neuropathy and Nerve Damage
One of the most common complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy. Neuropathy means damage to the nerves that run throughout the body, connecting the spinal cord to muscles, skin, blood vessels, and other organs.

Peripheral Neuropathy can cause tingling, pain, numbness, or weakness in your feet and hands.

Autonomic Neuropathy can lead to:

• digestive problems such as feeling full, nausea,
• vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation
• problems with how well your bladder works
• problems having sex
• dizziness or faintness
• loss of the typical warning signs of a heart attack
• loss of the warning signs of low blood glucose
• increased or decreased sweating
• changes in how your eyes react to light and dark

Focal Neuropathy leads to a nerve or a group of nerves being affected, causing sudden weakness or pain. It can lead to double vision, a paralysis on one side of the face called Bell's palsy, or pain in the front of the thigh or other parts of the body.

Foot Complications
People with diabetes can develop many different foot problems. Foot problems most often happen when there is nerve damage in the feet or when blood flow is poor. Although it can hurt, diabetic nerve damage can also lessen your ability to feel pain, heat, and cold. Loss of feeling often means you may not feel a foot injury. You could have a tack or stone in your shoe and walk on it all day without knowing. You could get a blister and not feel it. You might not notice a foot injury until the skin breaks down and becomes infected.

Skin Complications
As many as one-third of people with diabetes will have a skin disorder caused or affected by diabetes at some time in their lives. In fact, such problems are sometimes the first sign that a person has diabetes. Luckily, most skin conditions can be prevented or easily treated if caught early. Diabetics are at higher risk for bacterial infections and fungal infections.

Gastroparesis and Diabetes
Gastroparesis is a disorder affecting people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, where the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. It happens when nerves to the stomach are damaged or stop working. The vagus nerve controls the movement of food through the digestive tract. If the vagus nerve is damaged, the muscles of the stomach and intestines do not work normally, and the movement of food is slowed or stopped.
Signs and symptoms of gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying) are:

• heartburn
• nausea
• vomiting of undigested food
• an early feeling of fullness when eating
• weight loss
• abdominal bloating
• erratic blood glucose (sugar) levels
• lack of appetite
• gastroesophageal reflux
• spasms of the stomach wall

Depression
Feeling down once in a while is normal. But some people feel a sadness that just won't go away. Life seems hopeless. Feeling this way most of the day for two weeks or more is a sign of serious depression. But studies show that people with diabetes have a greater risk of depression than people without diabetes. The stress of daily diabetes management can build. You may feel alone or set apart from your friends and family because of all this extra work.
                                               

Some of the products DASCO offers to help Diabetes sufferers manage their symptoms:             

CALL DASCO TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION 800-892-4044

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