Diabetes is not just about the blood sugar levels. Yes, high blood sugars directly damages our arteries and many organs. Every time the blood sugars goes much above 8.0 mmol/L,
all sustain damage. They are damaged a little bit at a time and there are no symptoms whatsoever. It is years later when we discover the extent of the damage. It’s really a time bomb ticking away. The complications of diabetes are the above organs being damaged:
On average, diabetes reduces life expectancy by at least 16 years and reduces productive life by many more years. In other words, diabetes not only kills you years earlier, the last 10-15 years of that is with multiple disabilities.
It would be ideal if we can get rid of diabetes (remission) and we can do that early in the disease. If not, optimal management of the sugar levels will reduce the likelihood of the complications. Remember, every time the blood sugar goes above 8 mmol/L, damage occurs (quietly). And more of your beta cells (the cells that produce insulin) dies and you are one more step closer to insulin injects.
We also need to manage the associated conditions which comes with diabetes:
A very diligent look out for the potential complications to ensure that we diagnose and manage them early and aggressively will reduce the morbidity and mortality related to diabetes.
Management of diabetes is very complex and very involved. It require a dedicated team of health professionals with a GP leader working with you. Here at healthfocus, we have the passion and the team to do the job.