Uncontrolled Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. Genetics, environmental factors, poor diet, obesity, medications, infections and sedentary lifestyle are some of the possible causes of diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes. Diabetic patients can't eat what they want, whenever they want and they can never over eat. Practicing tight control helps minimize the impact on lifestyle, but patients must commit to self care. Lack of self care results in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.

The hormone insulin is produced by the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas, which contains two types of cells, alpha and beta. The beta cells are responsible for producing insulin. The function of insulin is to stimulate the cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and maintain sugar or glucose metabolism. Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism as it keeps your body from properly utilizing the sugar obtained from food and is associated with long-term complications. Untreated diabetes can lead to blindness, memory loss, heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, amputations and nerve damage. Diabetes can also lead to the loss of the right to drive, complicate pregnancy and may cause birth defects in the newborn. Poorly controlled diabetes can develop hyperosmotic non-ketotic coma (HONK).

Symptoms of Untreated Diabetes
If diabetes isn't diagnosed or poorly controlled, it can lead to

• Raised blood glucose level or hyperglycemia.
• Excessive production of urine
• Extreme thirst
• Loss of glucose in the urine
• Unexplained weight loss
• Blurred vision
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Lethargy, feeling sick
• Dry skin
• Nerves not working properly
• Numbness in limbs
• Disorientation, memory loss

Neglected Diabetes and Pregnancy
Poorly controlled diabetes (or if diabetes is not diagnosed at all) can lead to severe complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

• Babies born to mothers with diabetes do not have diabetes at the time of birth. But poorly controlled diabetes during pregnancy can affect the baby and the baby can very quickly develop low blood sugar levels after birth. Such babies need to be watched very closely until his or her body adjusts the amount of insulin it makes.
• If a diabetic pregnant woman is not successful in controlling her blood sugar, she might have to face the common problems of diabetes or those problems might get worsened if she already has them. Out of control blood sugar can lead to a miscarriage.
• Out of control blood sugar may also result in high blood pressure in a woman during pregnancy which means she will need extra visits to the doctor. High blood pressure during pregnancy, due to uncontrolled diabetes, can also cause seizures or a stroke (a blood clot in the brain that can lead to brain damage) in the woman during labor and delivery.
• High blood pressure during pregnancy can lead to early labor and a premature baby, leading to further complications in baby's life. Out of control blood sugar is the reason behind extra large amounts of amniotic fluid around the baby which causes pre-term labor.
• A pregnant woman who has neglected diabetes symptoms may give birth to a too large or excessively grown baby. This can cause discomfort to the woman during the last few months of pregnancy and during delivery. Extra large babies are more likely to become obese and they are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. They especially need to develop healthy eating and regular exercise habits as they grow up, to lessen the chance of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
• A woman may have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes; but if it is not tightly controlled, the chances of having a baby with a birth defect are higher for her than for a woman without diabetes. Birth defects related to the brain, spine and heart or miscarriage can occur if the symptoms of diabetes are overlooked before and during pregnancy. There is also the risk of a stillborn baby.

The chances of developing diabetes rise with increasing age, stress, lack of exercise, obesity, low intake of proteins and fibers and high intake of refined foods, hypertension, infection of the pancreas and high level of serum lipids, high cholesterol and high triglyceride levels.

Diabetes treatment for type 1 diabetes consists of daily injection of insulin, while the type 2 diabetes is treated with sulfonylureas, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, biguanides, thiazolidinediones, D-phenylalanine derivatives, insulin, etc. Diabetes has no permanent cure and along with medications, lifestyle changes such as diet modifications, weight control, regular exercise and physical activity play an important role in effectively controlling the disease.

People with uncontrolled diabetes can go into 'diabetic coma' if their blood sugar is too high. Some people can also be victims of hypoglycemia (blood sugar that is too low), if they don't get enough food or they exercise too much without adjusting insulin or food. Both diabetic coma and hypoglycemia are very serious and even fatal, if not treated promptly. Diabetic patients need to watch blood sugar closely, they should be aware of the early signs and symptoms of too high or too low blood sugar. They need to treat these conditions as early as possible, to prevent these problems from becoming too serious. The damage caused by untreated diabetes is usually experienced by people whose blood sugar has been out of control for years. It is necessary for the family members to recognize the signs and symptoms of diabetes so as to assist the diabetic patient.