We’ve talked a lot about diabetes effects on a patient’s feet, but did you know diabetes also affects your vision? Diabetes is the most common cause of blindness in patients ages 20-74. Don’t panic just yet. With yearly eye exams and control of your blood sugar, you can decrease your risks and improve outcomes.

Am I at risk?

Uncontrolled blood sugar increases your risks of developing diabetic related eye disease, but it’s not the only factor. Blood pressure levels, your genes and how long you’ve had diabetes also affect whether or not you’ll suffer eye-related complications. While you may not be able to change how long you’ve had the disease you can manage your blood sugar which decreases your risk.

What are the symptoms?

Vision problems related to diabetes include diabetic retinopathy, a general term used for diabetic conditions to the retina, as well as increased risk of glaucoma and cataracts. Diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma may not exhibit any symptoms until the disease has progressed, which makes seeing your eye doctor regularly more important than ever.

If you experience these symptoms, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor, even if it’s not time for your regular appointment.

• Blurred vision
• Headaches
• Eye aches or pain
• Watery eyes
• Halos around light
• Vision loss

What is the treatment?

Treatment depends on the type of eye disease with which you are diagnosed. The earlier you are diagnosed and begin treatment, the more likely you are to see improvement or to slow the progression of the disease.

Glaucoma treatment often involves medication and sometimes surgery. Patients with mild cataracts may be able to treat the symptoms by wearing sunglasses while more advanced cases may require surgery to replace the lens. Diabetic retinopathy may be treated with medication or target laser therapy.

Diabetes affects your entire body, from head to toe. For the healthiest quality of life work with your provider to manage your blood sugar. Each month our clinic offers a Diabetes Class to help you better understand how to manage your diabetes. You don’t have to be a diabetic or one of our patients to attend. Join us each month to learn more to improve your quality of life or the quality of life of someone you love who suffers from diabetes.

When you’re first diagnosed with diabetes, the news often comes as a shock. Even for patients whose family members have had diabetes, adjusting to a new lifestyle takes time and some research. Over the last year, we’ve answered many of your questions and provided a lot of diabetes education through articles on our website. To make it easier to find, we’ve compiled all these articles in one location. Feel free to bookmark this page. We’ll add links to new articles as we write them. If you have questions we haven’t answered here, leave us a note in the comments, ask one of our providers or comment on Facebook. We’d love to write more articles based on your questions.

Need information about diabetes? Start here:

How Your Provider Diagnoses Diabetes

Five Diabetes Symptoms You Can’t Ignore

What is Prediabetes?

How to Protect Your Feet with Diabetes

Six Ways to Manage Your Diabetes at Work

Best Breakfast Ideas for Diabetics

Sick Day Guidelines for People with Diabetes

Finding and Educating Your Diabetes Support Team

Diabetes and Your Vision: Risks, Symptoms, and Treatment

Diabetes and Heart Disease: A Deadly Duo

True Cost of Diabetes Reaches Beyond the Patient

Diabetes and Gastroparesis

Disaster Preparedness for Diabetes and Chronic Illness

This morning you promised yourself you’d eat healthier, but you forgot Jane’s birthday was today and somebody brought cake. It’d be rude not to eat a slice. Before you know it, a mid-afternoon donut calls your name and a bowl of sugary cereal wraps up the day as your bedtime snack.

What happened?

Our brains rely on a steady supply of sugar in order to function. Sugar, in and of itself, isn’t our problem, its the added sugars in those breakroom confections and processed foods that send our brains into overload leading to increased sugar craving. Sugar triggers the release of feel-good hormones called Serotonin. These hormones help us relax. Combine those benefits with the fact sugar tastes good and it’s no wonder we want to dive right into a vat of chocolate.

Overdoses of sugar, however, lead to obesity, Type 2 diabetes and a slew of other health problems. To reduce your body’s sugar craving, start small and make deliberate steps to choose healthier foods.

Distance Yourself

Instead of grabbing the mid-day snack to snap you from your afternoon slump, take a stroll around the office. Anticipating a sweet treat often makes us feel better than actually eating it. Adding distance between you and the temptation allows you time to consider why you really wanted that soda or bag of chips (or both).

Dish Out Smaller Portions

Some folks prefer going cold turkey and cutting out all added sugar at once. If you aren’t that self-disciplined, allow yourself a bite-sized candy bar or combine your sugar craving with a healthy treat. For instance, dip a high-fiber fruit like strawberries into a chocolate. The fiber slows the absorption of the sugar and keeps you full longer.

Chew Over It

Chewing aids in making your body feel full. Instead of giving into a sweet treat and feeding your sugar craving, pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth.

Go Bananas

Fruits include natural sugars. While too much fruit increases your blood sugar like foods with added sugar, eaten in moderation fresh fruit can satisfy your sweet tooth and provide your body with fiber and other nutrients that slow down sugar absorption. Dried fruit added to an assortment of nuts covers your craving while keeping proportions in check. Remember, too much fruit can overload your sugar system too, so don’t use this as a blank check.

Eat Mindfully

Do you crave that cheesecake because you’re celebrating a unique occasion or because you’re stressed over work? Understanding why you choose specific foods may help you steer toward healthier options. If stress drives you to sugar, it might be time to schedule time with a counsellor instead. Eating a donut after a stressful encounter offers no long term solutions, but it may very well create long-term problems.

Most people find quitting sugar “cold turkey” difficult. Choose one or two of these steps to reduce the amount of added sugar in your diet this week. Once you’ve cut back on your sugar consumption, your mind and body will more willingly choose healthier options.

If you’re diabetic or know someone who is diabetic you’ve likely heard the horror stories about the effect of diabetes on a person’s feet. Uncontrolled blood sugar affects multiple body systems which can lead to a lot of trouble for your feet.

First, it can reduce blood flow to your feet, which makes healing from what should be a small blister or scrape much harder than you expected. Second, peripheral neuropathy, which develops with diabetes affects the nerves in your feet, reduces the sensations in your feet, which means you may not feel the start of a blister or a scratch until it’s infected. Finally, uncontrolled blood sugar can cause dry skin. Cracks in dry skin are breeding grounds for bacteria and infection.

But cheer up, buttercup, it’s not all bad news. Many small injuries can be treated successfully if found early. And the old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure has never been more applicable. Read on to learn how to prevent infections with your feet and how to spot problem areas fast.

Inspect and clean your feet every day

Washing your feet sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s important to wash with warm — not hot — water. Test the water with your hand first. Neuropathy makes it difficult for your feet to distinguish between hot and cold. Also skip the foot soak. Soaking for a long time can make your skin weaker and more susceptible to injury.

When you’ve finished washing your feet, dry them well, especially between the toes. Do a complete inspection of your feet every day. If you have trouble, place a mirror on the ground or ask a family member or friend for help.

Soothe dry feet with lotion

Dry, cracked feet open the door for infection. Use a light lotion to keep your skin soft. Do not lotion between the toes because lotion here can become a breeding ground for bacteria. Make sure your feet are soft but not wet from lotion when you finish.

Don’t go barefoot

Summer days running barefoot through the yard make for great childhood memories, but it’s time to let them stay where they are. Even going barefoot in the house opens your feet to scrapes, scratches and other injuries you may not notice until they become infected. Wear shoes both inside and out to protect your feet.

See a podiatrist

Corns, calluses, ingrown toenails, and hammertoes can change the way your favorite pair of shoes fit. Add a podiatrist to your medical team to ensure all your foot ailments are treated before they affect the way your shoes fit.

Find the right shoes

Ill fitting shoes or shoes with seams on the inside can cause blisters and injuries to your feet. When the nerves in your feet weaken you may not notice a blister until it’s become infected. Any redness on your feet is an indication your shoes aren’t fitting correctly. A podiatrist can help you choose shoe inserts called orthotics or orthopedic shoes. Always ensure you wear good socks, with no seams, to protect your feet from rubbing the inside of your shoe.

Stick with low-impact exercise

Exercise helps you manage your blood sugar levels. High impact exercise, however, poses risks to your feet especially if you suffer from neuropathy. Choose a low impact exercise such as walking, biking, swimming or yoga to keep your body strong and reduce the stress to your feet. Before you begin a new exercise check in with your provider.

Quit smoking

Cigarettes damage and constrict your blood vessels which impacts blood flow throughout your body, especially to your feet where blood flow may already be slow due to diabetes. Putting down your cigarettes benefits your whole body, so talk to your provider about a program to help you stop smoking. Your feet (and lungs and blood vessels) will thank you.

Control your blood sugar levels

We can’t talk about the effects of diabetes on your feet without talking about your blood sugar. You can delay and possibly even prevent problems with your feet by controlling your blood sugar. A combination of exercise, diet, and medication can help you keep your numbers where they need to be. If you’re struggling to maintain your blood glucose levels talk to your provider.

Your medical provider is a key player in your fight to keep your blood sugar under control. Make sure to mention any odd sensations in your feet and legs including numbness, tingling or pain. No change is too insignificant to mention to your provider. If you do not have a regular provider to help you manage your diabetes, click the appointment button below and request a time to talk to one of our providers.

“Have you been tested for diabetes?”

The provider’s question may surprise you, after all, you came in to see her because you burned your arm grilling last week and you’re afraid it might be infected.

Often Type 2 diabetes diagnoses surprise patients because the symptoms appear gradually over time. Other patients may recognize the symptoms especially if they have a family member with diabetes or they know they are at risk.

Whether you suspect diabetes or your provider mentions the risks, make sure to ask your provider to perform the proper tests to accurately diagnose the disease. You cannot diagnose diabetes yourself by using over the counter blood glucose machines. Suspecting diabetes can be scary, but leave the glucose monitor where it is and head to your provider’s office.

Who needs to be tested?

Providers test for Type 1 diabetes only after symptoms occur. However, they should also test for Type 2 diabetes based on risk factors even if patients do not present symptoms.

Routine testing for Type 2 diabetes is recommended if you

• are age 45 or older
• are overweight or obese
• do not exercise regularly
• have a family history of diabetes
• have high blood pressure
• are of certain ethnicities ( African-American, Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Hispanic or Latino descent)
• are a woman who had gestational diabetes

How does a provider test for diabetes?

Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

This test requires patients to fast for eight hours and have blood drawn to test the blood glucose levels. Providers normally perform this test in the morning before breakfast.

• Normal blood sugar registers less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).
• Prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose) measures blood sugar from 100 to 125 mg/dl.
• Diabetes measures blood sugar at 126 mg/dl or higher.

A1C Test

This test measures average blood glucose numbers over the last two to three months. Most providers prefer to use the A1C test unless a patient has certain conditions such as anemia or a hemoglobin variant which can make the results unreliable.

• A1C levels over 6.5 percent on two tests indicates diabetes.
• Levels between 5.7 and 6.4 indicate pre-diabetes, which increases the risk of developing diabetes.
• Levels below 5.7 are considered normal.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

This test also calls for patients to observe an eight hour or overnight fast and then have their fasting blood glucose levels tested. Following the initial blood tests, patients drink a sugary liquid and have their blood glucose tested periodically over the next two hours.

• 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or higher after two hours may indicate diabetes.
• Between 140 and 199 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L and 11.0 mmol/L) indicate prediabetes.
• Less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) are normal.

After the diagnosis

Accepting your diabetes diagnosis and the lifestyle changes it requires takes time. Talk to your provider about symptoms, make a list of questions for your next appointment and start making small changes to your lifestyle such as choosing healthier meal options or exercising more often.

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes and aren’t sure what to do now, make plans to join our monthly diabetes class, read through other articles on our website about diabetes and allow our providers to support you in your journey.