Diabetes can create many health problems in your body

Diabetes creates more health problems than most people know. Many of us think of diabetes as being a blood sugar problem. However, diabetes is a triple threat to your health.

Background

https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/blood-pressure-kidney-disease-drugs-medication/2020/11/05/id/995514/. Diabetes is insidious. People who skip annual physicals do not know if they have insulin resistance problems. Prediabetes does not usually have any symptoms. One might see darkened skin on their necks, armpits, elbows, knees, and knuckles, but most of the time there are no symptoms. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prediabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355278

It is not until increased thirst, frequent urination, excess hunger, fatigue, and blurred vision manifest that people start to question their health. This might take years before diagnosed properly and lifestyle changes recommended, and medications prescribed.

Triple Threat

Diabetes affects the smaller blood vessels in the body. As such, the body adjusts and increases blood pressure to pump the same amount of blood through those vessels.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317220 Problem #1 – hypertension (high blood pressure). Diabetes contributes to hypertension.

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/diabetes Problem #2 – kidney disease. Hypertension can create kidney disease. Diabetes affects the filtering efficiency of the kidneys. This leads to stiffening of the blood vessels which, in turn, leads to hypertension. Hypertension accelerates kidney damage. The National Kidney Foundation tells us that almost half of the people with diabetes develop kidney failure.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.CIR.100.10.1134. Problem #3 – cardiovascular problems. As blood pressure increases, cardiovascular problems develop over time. I mentioned the word, insidious, earlier. Insidious is sinister, stealthy, deceptive, and dangerous. All these health problems start with no symptoms.

We do not feel diabetes early on. We do not have any idea that our kidneys might be in danger. And we have no inclination of higher blood pressure – ‘the silent killer.’ Three things are going wrong – over time. I am an advocate for annual physicals.

I have had annual physical going back to the ‘60s. I do not miss them. As we age, they become the first indicator of potential health problems. When we know about something early enough, we can act. Otherwise, we wake up one day unable to control a controllable health issue.

Drugs

https://bit.ly/38pEO1d. SGLT2 inhibitors (sodium-glucose co-transport 2) are drugs to treat type 2 diabetes. Canagliflozin, Dapagliflozin, and Empagliflozin are in this category. This drug adds a level of protection by preventing blood sugar from being absorbed by the kidneys.

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/34/Supplement_2/S279. GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) receptor agonists imitate a hormone to increase insulin in the pancreas. The increase in insulin promotes better and healthier blood glucose levels in diabetic patients.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.045888 is a link to September 22, 2020, Volume 142, Issue 12 of the journal Circulation. It states that these two drugs cut deaths from kidney disease and can reduce rates of cardiovascular failure, stroke, and death.

Conclusion

Part of the problem with the ground-breaking discovery is that multiple systems are being addressed at the same time. Different specialists need to be coordinated to ensure proper control over the administration and monitoring of these drugs and the patients’ progress.

Impossible? No, but it is not the way our medical industry typically does business. It is something that needs coordination. Additional clinical testing is required to bring it together to avoid conflicts in treatments.

There are other diseases that bleed over into other organs or systems. Treat one disease and it may exacerbate another. Choose your physicians wisely. They may have to coordinate with multiple specialists to reduce future complications.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com

 

 

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