Issue 16.15
When you have diabetes, you should be routinely screened for all of the complications that can come with having diabetes. Almost all of which come back to the vascular (blood vessel) system. Your provider should be asking you what your sugars are and how well they are controlled. You should have a Hemoglobin A1C done every 3 months to monitor this closely. If your sugars aren’t controlled, you are causing damage to your vessels in your body, particularly the smaller sized vessels in your tissues and organs.
The main organs this will effect is the back of your eyes, your brain, your heart, your kidneys and your legs. Your diabetic examination should also include having a dilated eye exam done yearly to check the vessels in the back of your eyes. When you see your provider, they should be checking your urine to look for early damage to your kidneys by detecting protein spillage through your kidneys. Your provider should be checking your feet to look for signs of poor circulation, nerve damage or things that will put you at high request for ulcers and skin breakdown or sore that won’t heal.
As diabetes is a vascular disease, you have a high risk of stroke and heart attack. If your diabetes isn’t controlled, you essentially have the same risk of having a heart attack as someone who already has heart vessel disease and has already had a heart attack. Thus it is also important to make sure you are controlling the other things that contribute to vessel disease such as your blood pressure and cholesterol. If you need help getting your diabetes under control, you can see Karen Radley, MD, a family physician who manages diabetes, by scheduling an appointment by calling 435-673-9653.