Amy, 21
Diabetes can cause various complications. Chief among them are peripheral neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, and retinopathy. As a sufferer of both diabetes and an eating disorder, I am at an increased risk of attaining complications. At the age of twenty-one, I have first-hand experience with these complications.
Peripheral neuropathy is extremely painful. I experience sharp, shooting pain in my feet. My feet burn and are exceedingly sensitive to heat and cold. I first noticed tingling sensations in my feet in the fall of 2007, but did nothing about it. However, the pain intensified, and by the time I went into my second stint of eating disorder treatment in February 2009, I needed medication to combat the pain. Without my medication, I would be in constant pain. I still experience occasional burning and stinging twinges. For the most part, the pain is controlled.
Automatic neuropathy occurs in the body’s autonomic system, and has affected my heart and digestive tract. When I was hospitalized in February 2009, my resting heart rate was regularly in the 130’s, and would climb to the 150’s standing. After completing a full cardio work-up, complete with a Holter monitor, all typical cardio complications were ruled out, and my endocrinologist concluded that the nerves that control my heart-rate were damaged. To tackle the tachycardia, a cardiologist put me on a beta blocker. Autonomic neuropathy has also adversely affected my digestive system. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach doesn’t empty into the intestines in a timely manner. This causes bloating, constipation, diarrhea and a ‘full’ feeling in one’s stomach. It is highly uncomfortable. For someone with an eating disorder who is already preoccupied with their body image, being bloated can be quite distressing.
Retinopathy occurs when the miniscule blood vessels located in the retina don’t receive the oxygen they need because there is too much sugar in the blood. I noticed a floater in my eye late one night, and decided to call the eye doctor the next day. The next day, I woke up and my eyesight was partially blocked by floaters. Panicked, I researched retinopathy on the internet, and from the descriptions, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had retinopathy. I immediately made an eye doctor appointment, where I was diagnosed with diabetes retinopathy. My regular eye doctor referred me to an ophthalmologist, who suggested combating the abnormal blood vessels with laser surgery treatments, an outpatient procedure in which a laser targets the blood vessels in the eye that are damaged. Over the course of a year, I received over twelve treatments to each eye. Sometimes these treatments required a shot of anesthesia in the eye.
Of all the complications I have endured, retinopathy is the worst. I have floaters that hinder my vision. While my blood sugars were out of control, my near-sighted vision was compromised. I couldn’t focus on what was right in front on me while wearing contacts or glasses. My vision can “quit” on me and become too blurry to continue with whatever it is I am doing at the time. Laser surgery treatments have cost a lot of time and money. The prospect of going blind is frightening.
The important point for me to remember is that I can keep these complications from getting worse with controlled blood sugars. My most recent hemoglobin A1c was 8.8, a vast improvement from 14.6 three months previous. At my last ophthalmologist appointment, my doctor informed me that one of my eyes was stable, and the other quite close to stabilization. The peripheral neuropathy in my feet is controlled by medication, as is my heart-rate. Gastroparesis varies week to week, but I have noticed improvements, and it will continue to improve if my blood sugars stay level. I remind myself how fortunate I am that my kidneys are still fully functioning, and that I’d like to keep it that way. While complications from diabetes are devastating, it is comforting to know that I have the power to keep them at bay.
Peripheral neuropathy is extremely painful. I experience sharp, shooting pain in my feet. My feet burn and are exceedingly sensitive to heat and cold. I first noticed tingling sensations in my feet in the fall of 2007, but did nothing about it. However, the pain intensified, and by the time I went into my second stint of eating disorder treatment in February 2009, I needed medication to combat the pain. Without my medication, I would be in constant pain. I still experience occasional burning and stinging twinges. For the most part, the pain is controlled.
Automatic neuropathy occurs in the body’s autonomic system, and has affected my heart and digestive tract. When I was hospitalized in February 2009, my resting heart rate was regularly in the 130’s, and would climb to the 150’s standing. After completing a full cardio work-up, complete with a Holter monitor, all typical cardio complications were ruled out, and my endocrinologist concluded that the nerves that control my heart-rate were damaged. To tackle the tachycardia, a cardiologist put me on a beta blocker. Autonomic neuropathy has also adversely affected my digestive system. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach doesn’t empty into the intestines in a timely manner. This causes bloating, constipation, diarrhea and a ‘full’ feeling in one’s stomach. It is highly uncomfortable. For someone with an eating disorder who is already preoccupied with their body image, being bloated can be quite distressing.
Retinopathy occurs when the miniscule blood vessels located in the retina don’t receive the oxygen they need because there is too much sugar in the blood. I noticed a floater in my eye late one night, and decided to call the eye doctor the next day. The next day, I woke up and my eyesight was partially blocked by floaters. Panicked, I researched retinopathy on the internet, and from the descriptions, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had retinopathy. I immediately made an eye doctor appointment, where I was diagnosed with diabetes retinopathy. My regular eye doctor referred me to an ophthalmologist, who suggested combating the abnormal blood vessels with laser surgery treatments, an outpatient procedure in which a laser targets the blood vessels in the eye that are damaged. Over the course of a year, I received over twelve treatments to each eye. Sometimes these treatments required a shot of anesthesia in the eye.
Of all the complications I have endured, retinopathy is the worst. I have floaters that hinder my vision. While my blood sugars were out of control, my near-sighted vision was compromised. I couldn’t focus on what was right in front on me while wearing contacts or glasses. My vision can “quit” on me and become too blurry to continue with whatever it is I am doing at the time. Laser surgery treatments have cost a lot of time and money. The prospect of going blind is frightening.
The important point for me to remember is that I can keep these complications from getting worse with controlled blood sugars. My most recent hemoglobin A1c was 8.8, a vast improvement from 14.6 three months previous. At my last ophthalmologist appointment, my doctor informed me that one of my eyes was stable, and the other quite close to stabilization. The peripheral neuropathy in my feet is controlled by medication, as is my heart-rate. Gastroparesis varies week to week, but I have noticed improvements, and it will continue to improve if my blood sugars stay level. I remind myself how fortunate I am that my kidneys are still fully functioning, and that I’d like to keep it that way. While complications from diabetes are devastating, it is comforting to know that I have the power to keep them at bay.