The Glucose Connection
Almost all of the complications of diabetes are caused by having too much glucose in the blood. A major problem - and the cause of many health problems associated with diabetes - is that the small blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body get clogged up. Blood can’t get to where it needs to be.

This causes problems with circulation to the small blood vessels and leads to eye disease (retinopathy) and kidney damage (nephropathy). Too much glucose can also speed up the normal hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) that occurs as you age. This decreases blood flow to the heart, which can cause a heart attack, and to the brain, which can cause a stroke. Too much glucose can also damage nerve cells and delay, change, or halt the electrical messages that your nerve cells send throughout your body, especially to the feet.

But the good news is that we know more about why these problems happen to people with diabetes, so we know more cause of many health problems associated with diabetes - is that the small blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body get clogged up.

“But I was just diagnosed! I can’t have complications already!”

Some people have the unpleasant experience of finding out they have diabetes complications soon after diagnosis. Or they find that complications are present at the time of diagnosis. This is more likely if you’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The signs of type 2 diabetes may be so subtle that you may have had high blood glucose levels for quite a while without ever realizing it. The damage was occurring even before your diagnosis. Maybe it was a diabetes complication, like problems with your vision, that brought you to the doctor in the first place.

Because of your symptoms, your blood glucose levels were tested and you learned you had diabetes.

Blood can’t get to where it needs to be.

This causes problems with circulation to the small blood vessels and leads to eye disease (retinopathy) and kidney damage (nephropathy). Too much glucose can also speed up the normal hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) that occurs as you age. This decreases blood flow to the heart, which can cause a heart attack, and to the brain, which can cause a stroke. Too much glucose can also damage nerve cells and delay, change, or halt the electrical messages that your nerve cells send throughout your body, especially to the feet.