High blood sugar levels can seriously damage parts of your body, including your feet and eyes. These are called diabetes complications. But, you can take action to prevent or delay many of these side effects of diabetes.
See how diabetes can affect your body on our interactive tool
Brain
What you might feel: Low mood, forgetfulness, irritable/short tempered, brain fog, tiredness/fatigue.
What’s happening: Glucose remaining in the blood and the brain not getting enough to function.
How to monitor: Discuss any worries or concerns with memory or mood with GP or practice nurse.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual.
Eyes
What you might feel: Blurred vision, black spots, sudden vision loss or deteriorating eyesight.
What’s happening: Vessels in eyes can weaken and become less effective leading to poor vision due to high glucose levels (retinopathy).
How to monitor: Attend diabetes eye screening appointments.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual and attending regular diabetes eye screening appointment.
Mouth
What you might feel: Gum inflammation, bleeding gums, infection.
What’s happening: High glucose levels causing increased sugar in saliva which then causes irritation gums.
How to monitor: Regular dental appointments, good oral hygiene.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, regular brushing and flossing of teeth.
Heart
What you might feel: Headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath.
What’s happening: High blood glucose can damage blood vessels over time causing heart to work harder, which can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack and strokes.
How to monitor: Regular blood pressure check, taking blood pressure medication if prescribed, cholesterol checks and treat with lifestyle and medication if appropriate.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, lifestyle modifications including healthy eating and exercise.
Liver
What you might feel: Unlikely to feel any symptoms.
What’s happening: Increased glucose can cause fat build up, inflammation and scarring around and inside the liver.
How to monitor: Attending for annual review of diabetes for blood test.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, medication and lifestyle including healthy eating and exercise.
Stomach
What you might feel: Abdominal pain, nausea, weight gain or unintentional weight loss.
What’s happening: High blood glucose levels can cause nerve damage that can affect how you digest your food; this can also lead to weight gain or weight loss.
How to monitor: Monitor weight or waist measurement, or how clothes fitting.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, dietary choices, exercise and reporting any unintentional weight loss to a GP or nurse to investigate asap.
Pancreas
What you might feel: Signs and symptoms of diabetes might have increased, for example tiredness, thirsty, passing more urine.
What’s happening: Reduced or impaired insulin production.
How to monitor: HbA1c blood test at your diabetes reviews.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, taking medication and lifestyle advice.
Kidneys
What you might feel: Passing more or less urine than is normal for you, change in colour of urine, or new incontinence.
What’s happening: High glucose levels can cause damage to kidneys over time as they work hard to push out extra sugar. Kidneys find it harder to clear extra fluid and waste (nephropathy).
How to monitor: Blood test, and urine ACR at your diabetes review and visual monitoring at home of urine.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, maintaining a good blood pressure.
Sexual organs
What you might feel: Reduced sensation, erectile dysfunction, reduced libido, itching and discomfort or frequent urine infections.
What’s happening: Damage to blood vessels and nerves can restrict blood flow to your sexual organs. High glucose in urine may cause thrush or urinary tract infections.
How to monitor:Discuss any worries or concerns with GP or practice nurse. If you think you have an infection or thrush, seek medical advice for treatment.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, lifestyle modifications including good personal hygiene.
Feet
What you might feel: Pain, tingling, reduced sensation in legs or feet, discolouration in skin, change in skin temperature of feet/lower leg and unexplained wounds or fungal infections (neuropathy).
What’s happening: High blood glucose levels can lead to vessel damage, causing restricted blood flow to nerves or arteries/veins in the lower leg.
How to monitor: Attend for foot checks at diabetes review, also check own feet daily for any changes.
How to manage: Ensuring glucose levels are within the parameters discussed at review for you as an individual, ensuring feet are well moisturised but not between the toes, report any wounds to the surgery as soon as you notice them, and wear well-fitting shoes.
