Diabetes is a disease of glucose (sugar) metabolism that's characterized by the inability to use glucose. Diabetics can't utilize glucose once it has been produced by the digestion of food or by the liver, so excess glucose accumulates in the body. This accumulation of glucose is responsible for a number of the consequences of untreated diabetes. Some of the most common sites for damage due to uncontrolled diabetes is in the kidney (nephropathy), sensory (diabetic neuropathy) and visual systems (retinopathy, blindness and cataracts).
Kidney Disease
The urino-genital system and kidney are significantly affected by long-term, uncontrolled diabetes. There are stages of kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy) associated with diabetes, and each has associated complications. The first stage is microalbuminuria, when small amounts of protein leak into the blood circulation and into the urine. Long-term, uncontrolled diabetes compromises the kidney's filtering functions. According to the American Diabetic Association website, this stage is reversible--except the loss of proteins and blood sugars draw more out of the blood and into the urine. This results in the diabetic feeling constantly thirsty, accompanied by increased urination.
End-Stage Renal Disease
End-stage kidney disease or End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is diagnosed when the kidneys no longer function adequately for a person to live normally. It's a consequence of long-standing kidney disease due to diabetes. People display a variety of symptoms resulting from the inability of the kidneys to filter the blood and the accumulation of toxic substances. As described on the University of Virginia Health System website, common signs and symptoms are fatigue, skin color changes, generalized itching, headaches and weight loss. Other complications can include vomiting, confusion, coma and even death. People who are at this stage of the disease process require regular dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant in order to survive.
Diabetic Neuropathy
A long-term complication of diabetes is neuropathy (nerve damage), in particular to the extremities of the legs and feet. According to the National Diabetes Clearing House website, approximately 70 percent of diabetics develop some type of neuropathy. Neuropathy reduces blood flow to these areas, predisposing the diabetics to ulcers, foot sores, infections and gangrenous complications. Because the nerve damage also causes parenthesis (loss of sensation to pain and touch), injuries can go unnoticed and potentially cause long-term complications that result in limb amputations. Foot changes and deformities are other complications.
Visual Problems
Diabetic retinopathy is a long-term complication in uncontrolled diabetics. A chapter publication on "Vision Disorders in Diabetes" by Dr. Ronald Klein and others (on the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease website) reported that diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of blindness in the 24 to 74 age groups. It also reported that approximately 12 percent of diabetics dependent on insulin medications for more than 30 years are blind. Diabetic retinopathy is a long-term complication of diabetes caused by reduction of blood flow to the retina and its micro-vascular system, resulting in vascular changes in the small blood vessels. A study in 1993, The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, concluded that a 60 percent reduction in the progression of retinopathy occurred in the study subjects administered with intensive insulin medications. Other visual complications of long-term diabetes include cataracts (cloudy lens), increased ocular pressure and glaucoma due to optic nerve damage.
