by David Cowley

Created on: March 20, 2010

Diabetes is a disease that causes the blood glucose level to shoot up. The food we eat gets converted into sugar or glucose, and our body uses it for energy. Pancreas is an organ located near the stomach which is responsible for producing the hormone insulin so that the glucose can get into the cells of the body. For the person suffering from diabetes, the body either does not produce sufficient insulin, or is not able to use it efficiently, causing the sugar in the blood to build up.

Some of the common symptoms of diabetes include excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, frequent urination, dry skin, sudden vision changes, extreme hunger, numbness or tingling in feet and hands, sores that take time to heal, feeling tired easily and more infections than usual.

Common Complications of Diabetes

The person suffering from diabetes is twice more likely to have a stroke or heart disease. People with diabetes also have stroke or heart disease at the earlier age as compared to other people. The high level of blood sugar along with instability of the hormones and blood vessels can cause some changes in the body.

If you are suffering from diabetes and your blood sugar level is usually too high, it can lead to several complications of diabetes. This disease starts causing problems with other organs and body parts such as nerves, kidneys, eyes and feet. Having diabetes also puts you at the higher risk of developing joint and bone disorders.

Over long term, the complications of diabetes include digestive problems, skin problems, problems with gums and teeth and sexual dysfunction. Very low or high levels of blood sugar can also lead to emergency situations. The cause could be certain medications, underlying infection or medicines that you might be taking to control the diabetes.

Short term complications of diabetes such as hypoglycemia, ketoacidosis, hyper-osmolar syndrome and hyperglycemia can happen quickly. The patient must be aware of the associated signs and symptoms, and what needs to be done to reverse them.

Kidney disease is one of the long term complications of diabetes, and this is called nephropathy. Excessive levels of blood glucose causes damage to the delicate blood vessels of kidneys that are responsible for filtering the toxins from our bodies. When this does not happen, the toxins build up in the blood.

One of the lesser known complications of diabetes is depression, and studies have found that people with diabetes are more susceptible to depression.

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