Short & long term consequences

Hyperglycaemia

This means a higher-than-normal amount of glucose in the blood. This is usually above 7 mmol/L before a meal and above 8.5 mmol/L two hours after a meal.

What causes hyperglycaemia?

• You may have missed a dose of your medication.
• Have eaten more carbohydrate than either your body or medication, or both, can cope with.
• You are stressed.
• You are unwell from an infection.
• You have over-treated a hypo.

The symptoms of hyperglycaemia include:

• More thirsty than usual.
• Going to the toilet to urinate more often.
• Feeling tired.
• Lacking energy.
• Having a blurred vision.
• Getting headaches.

When blood sugar levels are too high for too long, the body can be damaged.

This damage can be separated into macrovascular complications (coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke) and microvascular complications (diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy).

Micro means smaller vessels.

• Eye - high blood pressure and glucose can damage eye vessels, causing retinopathy and glaucoma.
• Kidney - high blood pressure damages small blood vessels, and excess glucose overworks the kidneys causing nephropathy.
• Neuropathy - high blood sugar causes damage to nerves. This can result in pain, tingling or numbness. Feet wounds may go undetected, get infected, and lead to gangrene.

Macro means larger vessels.

• Brain - increases the risk of stroke
• Heart - high blood pressure and insulin resistance can cause heart disease.
• Limbs - narrowing of blood vessels can reduce blood flow to the legs and cause slow healing of wounds.