Overview What are the complications of diabetes? Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar (glucose). Glucose is vital to your health because it’s an important source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. It’s also your brain’s main source of fuel. If you have diabetes, no matter what type, it means you have too much glucose in your blood, although the causes may differ. Too much glucose can lead to serious health problems. Chronic diabetes conditions…
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Conditions
What is the leading cause of diabetes?
Type 2 Diabetes Causes – Genetics and Lifestyle Choices Play a Role Type 2 diabetes has several causes: genetics and lifestyle are the most important ones. A combination of these factors can cause insulin resistance, when your body doesn’t use insulin as well as it should. Insulin resistance is the most common cause of type 2 diabetes. Genetics Play a Role in Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 diabetes can be hereditary. That doesn’t mean that if your mother or father has (or had) type 2 diabetes, you’re guaranteed to develop it; instead, it means…
Read MoreDiabetes and Sexual and Urologic Problems
Diabetes & Sexual & Urologic Problems Troublesome bladder symptoms and changes in sexual function are common health problems as people age. Having diabetes can mean early onset and increased severity of these problems. Sexual and urologic complications of diabetes occur because of the damage diabetes can cause to blood vessels and nerves. Men may have difficulty with erections or ejaculation. Women may have problems with sexual response and vaginal lubrication. Urinary tract infections and bladder problems occur more often in people with diabetes. People who keep their diabetes under control…
Read MoreSex and Diabetes: What You Wanted to Know
For an oversexed culture that isn’t afraid to push boundaries on TV, in movies, on the radio, and in books and magazines, we’re awfully shy about sex when it comes to our health. In fact, even though people with diabetes are at a higher risk for sexual problems, a 2010 study in the journal Diabetes Care found that only about half of all men with diabetes and 19 percent of women with diabetes have broached the topic with a doctor. And, truth is, many doctors don’t feel comfortable prodding patients…
Read MoreHow can diabetes affect my feet?
How can diabetes affect my feet? Chronically high blood sugar (glucose) levels can be associated with serious complications in people who have diabetes. The feet are especially at risk. Two conditions called diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease can damage the feet (and other areas of the body) in people who have diabetes. What is diabetic neuropathy? Chronically high sugar levels associated with uncontrolled diabetes can cause nerve damage that interferes with the ability to sense pain and temperature. This so-called “sensory diabetic neuropathy” increases the risk a person with…
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