One of the most well-known and common complications for people with diabetes is an amputation of the feet or legs. When an individual’s blood sugar remains elevated for a long period of time it can cause poor circulation as well as damage to nerve endings in the lower limbs. This, combined with slower healing of cuts and wounds as well as higher rates of infection, have led to thousands of feet and leg amputations for people with diabetes. The medical journal Diabetes Care recently published a study researching the rate of diabetes-related leg and foot amputations and found that the rates have dramatically decreased since 1996! In fact, the rate of leg and foot amputations among diabetes patients aged 40 and older fell by 65 percent between 1996 and 2008. So what does this mean? It means that complications of diabetes are becoming less common, probably because patients are doing more than ever to manage their diabetes.
The most important member of the healthcare team is the patient. There have been numerous studies that show that the more consistent a patient is with monitoring blood sugars, taking medications, and following the diet and exercise routine, the lower the A1C will be. And the lower the A1C, the less chance there is of complications. The extreme decrease in leg and foot amputations represents so much more than just the amount of amputations performed each year. It represents the possibility of living a complication-free life.
However, keep in mind that it is going to take some work. In order to keep your A1C down, and therefore your chances of complications down, you must be willing to check your blood sugars multiple times a day as well as take the necessary steps to keep your blood sugars in your target range (diet, exercise, medications, etc.). But remember
– it can be done!
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