Type I diabetes can have serious consequences for the health of the patient and is as yet incurable. Serious hypo’s or hypers (more about those read here) can be life-threatening at short notice. Having a high blood sugar level for years on end can also lead to serious complications. Therefore, it is very important to strive for preserving good health and avoiding complications. Certainly in children and young adults, who have a whole life ahead of them. It is therefore useful to dwell on the complications that can occur with type I diabetes.

Having a too high glucose level for years on end leads to accelerated ageing of the blood vessels. They constrict, because fat in the blood sticks to the walls. The blood flow deteriorates, which means that the organs get less blood and therefore less oxygen. The eyes (retina), kidneys and nerves have most to suffer from this, because they are most dependent on a good blood flow of the smaller vessels.

In one out of three of the present adults with type I diabetes ultimately the illness of neuropathy occurs, slowly corroding the nerves. These people get a decreased sense of feeling, weakness and sometimes pain in legs and arms. Other symptoms are tingling, sweating and loss of balance.

Retinopathy is an illness that damages the small blood vessels in the cornea. This causes the patients’ eyesight to worsen and can even lead to blindness if untreated. Almost all adults who have suffered from type I diabetes have to deal with retinopathy to a certain extent.

Ultimately, apart from the small blood vessels the larger vessels and the heart also get damaged if the diabetes is badly managed. Cardiac arrest and hemmorhages are feared complications.

In all these cases prevention is better than curation. Complications of type I diabetes not only cause daily inconvenience, they also damage a persons’ quality of life and diminish life expectancy. Luckily, much can be done to prevent this. At Diabeter, we do this together with the patients and we do it using the latest technologies and knowledge from scientific research. This way, we can offer personalized health care and personal attention to our patients.