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- $Unique_ID{BRK00360}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Physician Warnings about Diabetes Control}
- $Subject{diabetes mellitus complications Endocrine Glands Metabolism poorly
- controlled coronary artery disease amputations injury Kidney renal blindness
- retinal nerve circulatory foot feet impotence}
- $Volume{C-7}
- $Log{
- Structure of the Pancreas*0009801.scf
- Diabetes Mellitus*0009802.scf
- The Functions of Insulin*0009803.scf}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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-
- Physician Warnings about Diabetes Control
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-
- QUESTION: I suffer from diabetes and visit my physician regularly. He
- constantly scolds me and warns me that if I don't control things better, the
- complications of diabetes will get me. I've a little knowledge of these
- problems, but are they really as bad as my doctor makes them out to be?
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-
- ANSWER: I think you want me to reassure you, so that you may continue to take
- some of the admonitions of your physician lightly. I can't do that in good
- conscience, for all the statistics reveal that the results of poorly
- controlled diabetes are frightening indeed. Here are just a few from some
- recent publications and research. Patients that suffer from diabetes are more
- than twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease than the general
- population. More than half of all amputations that are not the result of
- injury are in diabetic patients. Kidney disease is prevalent in as many as
- 10% of diabetics within 20 years of the diagnosis, and patients who have
- diabetes comprise about 25% of all patients in programs that treat end-stage
- (the most severe) renal disease. And your eyes may suffer, with diabetes as
- the leading cause of blindness in adults. Almost 50% of patients with the
- noninsulin dependent form of diabetes show retinal disease within 10 years of
- diagnosis. And I could go on and on with statistics about nerve disease,
- circulatory problems, foot problems and impotence. The answer to all of this
- remains with preventive actions, early diagnosis, well planned therapies that
- include not only medication but exercise and diet as well, and an
- understanding between patient and physician that aids people like you in
- carefully managing their disease.
-
- ----------------
-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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-