More than 25 % of all newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients have complications, as do some patients with type 1 diabetes.
At the time of diagnosis, as many as 25 % of patients with type 2 diabetes have diabetic complications, including nerve damage, retinal (eye) changes, heart illness, and early signs of kidney damage. The cause is easy: Many individuals live with either type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes for years before they're diagnosed. During this time, elevated blood sugars are damaging large and little blood vessels.
These days, of the almost 24 million people with diabetes in the United States (250 million worldwide), an estimated 6-7 million, or one-quarter to one-third are undiagnosed. In addition, numerous of the at least 57 million U.S. adults who've pre-diabetes do not know they have it.
Many people discover that they've diabetes only after a complication brings them into their health care provider's office. Problems with feet or vision are common early complications of diabetes. Most children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes do not have diabetic complications when diagnosed simply because type 1 diabetes generally comes on abruptly, within a matter of months. Due to its fast onset, type 1 diabetes does not have a pre-diabetes phase in this age group.
Although patients do not have a tendency to have chronic complications, some do exhibit acute signs and symptoms such as ketoacidosis, a condition of high blood sugar and dehydration, where acid builds up in the blood. Nevertheless, type 1 diabetes in adults is frequently marked by a slower onset preceded by years of high blood sugars. Adults are more vulnerable to some complications linked with type 2 diabetes, like retinopathy, which generally appears as blurred vision.
Thirty-nine years ago John, now a really active senior, was driving home from a business trip when he realized he couldn't read the street signs; he believed he was going blind. The subsequent day, when asked to read the eye charts in his ophthalmologist's office, he said, "What charts?" His ophthalmologist produced an appointment for John to determine his primary care physician, telling him you do not become nearsighted this quickly with out a reason. A urine test proved him correct: John had diabetes.
Kathy Spain, a certified diabetes educator and registered nurse, diagnosed her father with type 2 diabetes when he told her his foot was numb and hurt. Noticing that his big toe was red, she tested his blood sugar and found it to be high. The appropriate blood tests that followed confirmed her diagnosis.
Kathy also says that many individuals who come into a hospital having a heart attack go home on insulin and with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, having lived with undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes for years. Heart disease is a leading complication of diabetes, says Kathy Spain, but even if you're in a hospital having a heart attack, diabetes can go unnoticed. Ask those treating you to look for it.
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