Type 2 Diabetes – Untreated Consequences

Diabetes is not an obvious health condition, and roughly 30% of people in the UK don’t know they have it.

Of the many issues associated with this, there seem to me (and I’m no expert, just a sufferer), two that hold centre stage.

In the first instance, I believe there is a sizable proportion of the population who simply don’t want to bother the doctor if they feel a little “under the weather”. I myself never visited the doctor, and indeed the first time I did, in my forties, the doctor remarked that my file was completely empty. I think it’s because I am too proud to admit an illness had got the better of me, which I have since found to be silly and also dangerous!

That’s perhaps a bit extreme, but I believe we also have a fear of finding out we may have a chronic disease.

Type 2 diabetes intrudes unannounced. It’s not obvious, especially as we get older, that we are in fact ill. So we just don’t visit our doctor.

With stress level in the workplace at an all time high, it’s easy to blame the symptoms of type 2 diabetes to on this fact, and also, because it often appears in the over 40s, lon getting older.

That’s why, as we get older, an annual medical checkup is so important.

Diabetes is basically a condition where there is too much sugar in the blood. Sugar provides the energy the body needs and it is insulin that unlocks the cells to allow the sugar in. A lack of insulin and the sugar is not absorbed, resulting in tiredness (and many other issues too).

The nervous system, kidneys and eyes are most at risk from long term damage as a result of type 2 diabetes.

It’s a fact that in the UK a third of those undergoing dialysis have type 2 diabetes. The potential for kidney damage is the same for both type 1 and type 2 sufferers. Control of blood sugars, blood pressure and lowering your bad cholesterol are the main ways of preventing or slowing the onset of kidney disease.

Glaucoma and cataracts are more prevalent in those with diabetes. An annual eye check is vital to check for the onset of retinopathy, which can cause blindness.

Neuropathy, (nerve disease), affects about 60% of those with diabetes. This usually affects the feet and can lead to amputation. Neuropathy affects both type 1 and 2 sufferers and usually occurs after about ten years of high sugar levels. When these levels are reduced through treatment, the condition improves and often goes away completely.

So don’t let pride get in your way when it comes to the doctor. Try and get a yearly medical check up, and don’t put feelings of tiredness down to old age.

Toby has been living with diabetes for almost two years now, but lives a near normal life and persues a number of hobbies. Visit his latest website giving fantastic deals on tentsforcampingreview.comat http://www.tents for campingreview.com This article, Type 2 Diabetes – Untreated Consequences has free reprint rights.

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