Long term complications

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rayray119

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So realitlics how often and how long and his high of a number does it have to run the risk of long term compilations.
 
I'd think that it's different for everyone. Like everything else related to health it's going to be a combination of genetics, lifestyle, luck etc as to how individuals are impacted by elevated BG levels and how serious those impacts are.
To quote a surgeon I know "If we knew everything it would be called Medical Perfect but it isn't because we never know everything so it's all Medical Practice."
 
The only diabetic long term side effect I've got so far is background retinopathy - which first appeared in the mid 1990s - everything else is either age related or caused by smoking. I did also become hypothyroid about 22 years ago, controlled by tablets, but that's all. No dramas. Oh, I also had fast growing cataracts which I had removed asap by the NHS and once had what was diagnosed as a frozen shoulder 30 years ago, but wasn't, I'd actually ripped something by over enthusiastic serving aces at miniten, so the tendons had calcified and adhered to my shoulder blade forming nodules but that got sorted (very painfully) by a very good and very patient private physio.
 
After my DX I went through the studies on this question from which it seemed pretty clear that complication risk was low when HbA1c less than around 65 mmol/mol (or 8% in US terms). Which corresponds loosely to average BG levels of around 10 mmol/L.

(Back in the olden days of urine tests, I think that was about the level at which diabetes could be detected.)

It was also pretty clear that HbA1c (or average BG) is the important measure when it comes to the complication risk of high BG - short term "spikes" don't really matter much.

But that's from a non-insulin using etc T2's perspective - different for people at risk of hypo's. For T1's etc, HbA1c by ityself isn't a good enough metric; need to worry also about how much time in hypo-land.
 
I think I parwttlu worry about the possibility of allowing it to be a tad high in the evening and overnight(illness recently have affected me and they were kind if high for about a week) however I had nights in December where it might have been high all night and hb1ac was still 47 in January.
 
It still could have gone up but I'll have to see. I'm just overthinking I think
 
rayray119 said:
It still could have gone up but I'll have to see. I'm just overthinking I think
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Could be! I guess yr care team will have given you a target range?
 
Eddy Edson said:
Could be! I guess yr care team will have given you a target range?
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the consent was impressed with 47 the nurse was concerned a bit concerned about it. thought it was a bit before the on the low side. as as i', speeding a good amount of time between 3.9 and 10. they seem to be happy. aslo working work out sometimes is tickky I sometimes adjust when I don't need to but corrections after the shift usally sort in in these cases
 
rayray119 said:
So realitlics how often and how long and his high of a number does it have to run the risk of long term compilations.
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How long is piece of string? Some develop complications others don't regardless of bg control, must be more factors at play not sure what they are.
 
nonethewiser said:
How long is piece of string? Some develop complications others don't regardless of bg control, must be more factors at play not sure what they are.
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Ah okay guess it was kind of a silly question
 
rayray119 said:
Ah okay guess it was kind of a silly question
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No such thing as a silly question. Some are more simply answered than others. The philosophical questions tease us more.
 
Trophywench has it right, she's gone decades with out much im i a year into diabetes and have neuropathy (feet and fingers) and background retinopathy.so I'd second no one knows and its down to each person.
 
I guess this was posted out of moment of worry. Which I di worry about the possibility of them sometimes.
 
rayray119 said:
I guess this was posted out of moment of worry. Which I di worry about the possibility of them sometimes.
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Hey, we all worry about it at some level, the trick is to not let it become an 'obsession' and we all need reassurance/ grounding now and then which this forum is great for.
 
Ii worry about some more then others as some are bad enough to be life therting. Axitey and diabetes don't go well together
 
People seem like they're saying it's completely random, which it's not. It just the case that sustained high BG => increased complication risk.

Sure, it's not like "Everybody who spends >2 years at an HbA1c > 8% will definitely get retinopathy" or something, but who would ever expect that to be true?

I had an HbA1c of 89 / 10.3% at DX and it would have been up there for a couple of years, probably. Well above risky levels. So no surprise I end up with a bit of background retinopathy & peripheral neuropathy and PAD (for which elevated BG increases the risk from smoking). And lucky not to have any kidney probs.
 
Well I think my next hb1ac may may June I thought it was every 3 months but looks like it's every 6. So there will be 3 months gaps where I won't know what it is
 
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