The Complications Diabetes Can Cause

The complications of diabetes are a topic few doctors even mention unless specifically asked. Recently, I have asked two doctors and one could only mention heart disease and blindness. The second doctor was able to mention most of them, but missed sexual dysfunction and deafness. He would not agree to deafness and had his doubts about sexual dysfunction.

We also had a difference of opinion about several items, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic. He said the first two were symptoms of diabetes and the second two were not part of type 2 diabetes. When I said that the hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic was limited to people with type 2 diabetes, he went to a book and when he read about it changed his mind. While he was there, he also looked up diabetic ketoacidosis and agreed that this happened to both types.

I suggested he look up sexual dysfunction and deafness. He finally changed his mind and agreed, but added there is conflicting evidence about deafness. I said I agreed, but a recent study showed in young people there is a definite relation, but among the elderly, there could be doubt.

Then he asked why I was concerned. I told him because few doctors even talk about the complications of diabetes and I said many cannot get beyond heart disease and blindness. I said many more cannot accept that diabetes can contribute to cataracts and glaucoma. He admitted he did not think that they were linked, but said he would look them up. I also mentioned that the website WebMD did a poor job of mentioning all the complications of diabetes.

Since I was the last patient of the day, he opened his computer on the web, typed in WebMD, and did a search for diabetes complications. When he had this article, he said they did a better than average job, but you are right that they ignore several, especially women's sexual dysfunction, and only cover a limited amount of heart disease. At least they covered infection and dental problems, which many do not consider. I added foot and lower leg problems and slow wound healing.

Outside of many doctors not being able to list most complications, what other reasons did you bring up this topic? I said that I have several blogs on the complications, and then several more on related problems affecting diabetes and diabetes management.

I admitted that I blog about the complications and related issues and that was the main reason I have been asking doctors to name complications. He asked me to show him and I moved to the computer, entered my blog address, and brought it up. He looked at it and asked me to click on the profile. After that page was up – he read it and said you have four blogs. I said I had, but two are inactive and I concentrate on diabetes at present. Then I clicked on this blog and went to the series on nephropathy.

I moved so he could read the screen and he skimmed the first three and said that he would send the URL to his home computer and read more as he had time. He thanked me and took me to be checked out.