Diabetes affects every single organ system in the body. Diabetes has the unique malignant potential to devastate our entire body. It would be difficult to find a single organ system not affected by diabetes. The medical community classifies these complications as either microvascular (small blood vessels) or macrovascular (large blood vessels).

“Diabetes complications include blurry vision to blindness, neuropathy to amputations, kidney failure and dialysis, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to stroke, atrial fibrillation to heart attack, and an early and painful death. Other complications of diabetes include gastroparesis, erectile dysfunction (both male and female), urinary tract infections, and depression. Six emergency complications include “heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, kidney disease, eye problems, and hyperglycemia.”¹

Jenny Ruhl writes about “the blood sugar levels found to cause neuropathy, retinopathy, kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, and other diabetic complications, such as dementia and Charcot’s Foot (a foot complication caused by clogged blood vessels). And early diabetic complications, such as carpal tunnel.”² Jenny lists ways to reverse diabetic neuropathy, the most important of which is to eat low-carb.

And there are other complications not related to blood vessels, such as skin conditions, fatty liver disease, infections, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. Some less common complications include “tinnitus, shoulder disorders, sudden thigh pain, [and] sleep apnea.”³

Complications of diabetes can occur even if you have a low or normal A1C, especially if you achieved your low A1C with diabetes medications and/or insulin. Dr. Jason Fung says, “Blood glucose is fairly easily controlled by medication, but this does not prevent the long-term complications. Despite blood glucose control, damage occurs to virtually every organ system.”⁴

Fortunately, complications of diabetes can be reversed if you and/or your doctor catch them early enough. The body can heal itself if given the chance, but we must stop whatever is causing the damage, and that is high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) and high insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia). “The body, being a living biological thing, is able to heal itself to some degree. But to give our bodies the chance to heal themselves, we have to stop the thing that is causing the damage, which, in the case of diabetes, is elevated blood glucose levels.”⁵

Endnotes

¹Marks, Hedy; medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH. “6 Emergency Complications of Type 2 Diabetes,” Every Day Health (February 23, 2016). https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/symptoms/complications/ (accessed on 7/30/1010).

²Ruhl, Jenny. “Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes,” Blood Sugar 101 © 2018 Janet Ruhl. https://www.bloodsugar101.com/complications (accessed on 7/30/2020).

³Editorial Team. “Less Common Complications of Type 2 Diabetes,” Type 2 Diabetes (June 8, 2020). https://type2diabetes.com/clinical/less-common-complications/ (accessed on 7/30/2020).

⁴Fung, Dr. Jason. “Complications of diabetes – a disease affecting all organs,” Diet Doctor (October 9, 2016). https://www.dietdoctor.com/complications-diabetes-disease-affecting-organs (accessed on 8/2/2020).

⁵Lake, Dr. Ian. “Can diabetes complications be reversed?” Diabetes.co.uk (March 8, 2016). https://www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/can-diabetes-complications-reversed/ (accessed on 7/30/2020).

Additional References

Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes
https://www.bloodsugar101.com/complications

6 Emergency Complications of Type 2 Diabetes
Heart Attack, Stroke, Nerve Damage, Kidney Disease, Eye Problems, Hyperglycemia
https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/symptoms/complications/

Amputation and diabetes: How to protect your feet
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/amputation-and-diabetes/art-20048262

How Uncontrolled Diabetes Damages Your Heart, Eyes, Kidneys, Nerves, Teeth, and More
https://www.top10homeremedies.com/news-facts/uncontrolled-diabetes-damages-heart-eyes-kidneys-nerves.html

When Diabetes Leads to Nerve Damage
https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/symptoms/nerve-damage-and-diabetes/

Can diabetes complications be reversed?
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/can-diabetes-complications-reversed/

5 Deaths of Diabetes
https://diabeticsurvivor.com/en/5-deaths-of-diabetes/

Diabetes Complications
https://healthy-ojas.com/diabetes/diabetes-complications.html

Diabetes fatalities may be far more common than we thought
https://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/health/diabetes-fatalities-may-be-far-more-common-than-we-thought/article_563477a6-1bd5-11e7-935e-23a5f8515b09.html

Can diabetes lead to dangerous blood clots?
https://apollosugar.com/world-of-diabetes/can-diabetes-lead-to-dangerous-blood-clots/

Alpha-Lipoic Acid and Diabetic Neuropathy
Alpha-lipoic acid seems to delay or reverse peripheral diabetic neuropathy through its multiple antioxidant properties.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2836194/

Foot Health Awareness Month, diabetes foot complications, gangrene, sprained ankle, and smelly feet
April is Foot Health Awareness Month
https://www.belmarrahealth.com/foot-health-awareness-month-diabetes-foot-complications-gangrene-sprained-ankle-smelly-feet/