Type 1 Diabetes: Living With Complications
When To Call a Doctor
Call911 or other emergency services immediately if you are:
- Unconscious or become very sleepy unexpectedly. You may have low blood sugar, called hypoglycemia. While waiting for emergency help, follow:
- Drowsy, confused, breathing fast, and your breath smells fruity or like nail polish. You may have high blood sugar, called hyperglycemia. A life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis could be present.
- Having new or sudden vision loss. You may have a retinal detachment or bleeding within the eye.
- Having chest discomfort or pain that is crushing, squeezing, or feels like a heavy weight on the chest. You could be having a heart attack. Other symptoms of a heart attack include:
- Sweating.
- Shortness of breath.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Pain that spreads from the chest to the back, neck, jaw, upper belly, or one or both shoulders or arms. The left shoulder and arm are more commonly affected. See an illustration of areas that may be affected by chest pain
.
- Dizziness, light-headedness, or feeling like you are going to faint.
- A fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat.
- Note: If you have these symptoms, you should immediately chew one adult ASA (325 mg) or 4 low-dose ASA (80 mg each) to prevent a blood clot.
- Any loss of function. You could be having a stroke. Signs of a stroke include:
- Numbness, weakness, or inability to move (paralysis of) the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
- Trouble seeing with one or both eyes, such as dimness, blurring, double vision, or loss of vision.
- Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
- Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
- Severe headache with no known cause.
Call your doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms of a new or worsening complication, such as:
- Blurred or distorted vision.
- Seeing floaters or flashes of light, or large, floating red or black spots, or large areas that look like floating hair, cotton fibres, or spider webs.
- Pain in the eyes.
- A wound that won't heal or that looks infected.
Call your doctor if you have:
- Frequent high blood sugar levels or if your blood sugar level is persistently high. Your treatment may need to be changed.
- Burning pain, numbness, or swelling in your feet or hands.
- Frequent bloating, belching, constipation, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. These symptoms may indicate gastroparesis.
- Profuse sweating or reduced sweating.
- Feeling dizzy or weak when you sit or stand up suddenly.
- Difficulty sensing when your bladder is full or difficulty emptying the bladder completely.
- Erection problems or vaginal dryness.
- Difficulty knowing when your blood sugar is low (hypoglycemia unawareness).
Call a health professional if you are having frequent or persistent high blood sugar levels.
Watchful Waiting
Watchful waiting is a period of time during which you and your health professional observe your symptoms or condition without using medical treatment. Watchful waiting for type 1 diabetes is not appropriate if you have any of the following symptoms.
- Persistent or frequent high or low blood sugar levels. Keeping your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible can help slow the progression of your complication and prevent the development of others. You can keep track of your blood sugar levels with home tests and hemoglobin A1c tests at your doctor's office. The A1c test gives you an average of your blood sugar levels over the past 2 or 3 months.
- Symptoms of a new complication from diabetes. Early detection and treatment may reverse, stop, or at least slow the progression of the complication.
- Symptoms indicating that your complication from diabetes is getting worse. Prompt treatment may help prevent serious disability or death.
See your health professional if you have any of these symptoms.
Who To See
The specialist that you need to see depends on which complication you have. The following health professionals treat complications from type 1 diabetes:
- An ophthalmologist or optometrist can diagnose eye disease from diabetes. An ophthalmologist is the preferred specialist for retinal complications.
- A nephrologist treats kidney disease.
- A cardiologist or a vascular surgeon treats heart and/or circulation problems.
- A neurologist diagnoses and treats nerve damage.
- A podiatrist, pedorthist (a certified technician who can make special shoes or shoe inserts), or an orthopedic surgeon treats foot and ankle problems.
- A gastroenterologist treats stomach and intestinal problems.
- A urologist treats sexual and urinary tract problems.
To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment
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| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: March 2, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism | |
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