Type 2 Diabetes:Complications of Diabetes
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What You Need to Know
- How to Prevent Diabetes Complications
- How One Woman Copes With Fear of Complications
- Why There Is a Link Between Depression and Diabetes
- How One Woman Copes With Depression
- Why Diabetes Boosts the Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
- I Had 15 Angioplasties
- 8 Ways to Avoid Heart Attacks and Strokes
- How to Prevent Diabetic Neuropathy
- How One Patient Coped With a Diabetes-Related Foot Emergency
- How to Avoid Amputations if You Have Diabetes
- 6 Signs That Diabetes Is Affecting Your Gut
- Why Erectile Dysfunction Occurs in Men With Diabetes
- How You Can Prevent Vision Loss
- 4 Eye Symptoms That Require Immediate Medical Attention
- How You Can Stop Diabetes-Related Kidney Damage
- How One Doctor Helps Patients to Avoid Kidney Dialysis
- Why Diabetes Can Affect Women’s Sex Life Too
- Read Our Diabetes Blog
- Read the Latest Diabetes News
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Dr. Martin Abrahamson's Advice on How to Prevent Diabetes Complications
Dr. Martin Abrahamson
Associate professor at Harvard Medical School
Q: Will diabetes affect my sex life?
A: It can. Men may develop erectile dysfunction, and may also have more frequent urinary tract infections. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity can increase the likelihood of erectile problems. Woman may experience difficulty having an orgasm, more frequent urinary tract and yeast infections, and vaginal dryness. Viagra and similar drugs for treating erectile dysfunction are safe for people with diabetes to take, and there are other options available if medications don't work. Good blood glucose control can prevent such problems from developing or getting worse. Half of men who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes suffer from erectile dysfunction, but that percentage falls to 30% among those whose blood glucose is well-controlled. Read More
A: It can. Men may develop erectile dysfunction, and may also have more frequent urinary tract infections. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity can increase the likelihood of erectile problems. Woman may experience difficulty having an orgasm, more frequent urinary tract and yeast infections, and vaginal dryness. Viagra and similar drugs for treating erectile dysfunction are safe for people with diabetes to take, and there are other options available if medications don't work. Good blood glucose control can prevent such problems from developing or getting worse. Half of men who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes suffer from erectile dysfunction, but that percentage falls to 30% among those whose blood glucose is well-controlled. Read More
How One Patient Coped With a Diabetes-Related Foot Emergency
The bottom of her foot turned black
The No. 1 cause of hospitalizations in people with type 2 diabetes is a foot injury, which can rapidly escalate into an amputation (there are approximately 86,000 diabetes-related lower-limb amputations each year in the United States)... Read More
How One Man with Diabetes Had 15 Angioplasties for Heart Disease
Mike has type 2 diabetes, but no one warned him of the heart disease risk
Having diabetes is a bit like throwing gasoline on the fire, in terms of heart risk. Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to die of heart disease than people who do not have diabetes. In fact, at least 65% of people with diabetes die of heart disease or stroke, according to the American Heart Association... Read More
Diabetes Can Cause Sexual Problems in Women Too
Some women lose interest, feel pain
Although not as common as erectile dysfunction, sexual problems due to diabetes can affect women too. More than a third of women with diabetes may experience sexual dysfunction related to their disease, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston... Read More
MY STORY
I Lost My Insurance, Stopped My Medication, and Had a Heart Attack
Tod should have called his doctor
My father had type 2 diabetes. When I was 27 years old, he underwent surgery for blocked carotid arteries in his neck. He had a stroke a few days after the surgery and was in a vegetative state for a year and a half until he died. After that I began to think that maybe I wasn't invincible... Read More
How One Woman Copes With Laser Treatments for Diabetic Retinopathy
Doctors use such treatments to shrink abnormal blood vessels in the eye
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common eye disease caused by diabetes. Like many people with diabetes, Kathy Davis, 51, a registered nurse in suburban Toledo, Ohio, never experienced any symptoms to warn her of eye complications... Read More
Video: Perspectives on Diabetes Complications
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Erectile DysfunctionDiabetes can cause sexual dysfunction
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Preventing Heart AttacksBlood pressure and cholesterol are key
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Wake-up Call From a DocA specialist zeroed in on complications
( 1:33 ) -
Protecting FeetFoot injuries can lead to amputations
( 1:48 )
