Been diabetic type 1 for almost 7 years now. Been taking good care of myself. (good sugars, good A1C, ect.) But before I was diagnosed I was running sugar levels in excessive of 400 for probably 3 or 4 months. Even though I have good control now, I wonder if having high levels for so long before I was diagnosed may have caused any future damage. Any opinions on this?
Hi Steve,
Well my doctor said something very interesting to me when I was first diagnosed as a type 2. He told me I'd probably been living with this for a considerable time prior to catching it, it was just that the symptoms hadn't really mainfested themselves. That may also be true for your type 1 status. Now as to the damage, well, yes, you probably did some, but as to when it will manifest itself, if ever, is the question. As a dibetic you just have to be vigilent to watch for signs of neuropathy and to have your liver panels done on a regular basis. Your doc will also monitor your kidneys through simple urine tiests. That takes care of the lions share of where damage could begin to show up.
Personally, I wouldn't spend time worrying about it, but just try to live healthy and be vigilant for anything that doesn't feel right. The word of the day is "don't wait for it to go away, ask your doctor about it" if something doesn't seem quite right!
++Warren++
Well my doctor said something very interesting to me when I was first diagnosed as a type 2. He told me I'd probably been living with this for a considerable time prior to catching it, it was just that the symptoms hadn't really mainfested themselves. That may also be true for your type 1 status. Now as to the damage, well, yes, you probably did some, but as to when it will manifest itself, if ever, is the question. As a dibetic you just have to be vigilent to watch for signs of neuropathy and to have your liver panels done on a regular basis. Your doc will also monitor your kidneys through simple urine tiests. That takes care of the lions share of where damage could begin to show up.
Personally, I wouldn't spend time worrying about it, but just try to live healthy and be vigilant for anything that doesn't feel right. The word of the day is "don't wait for it to go away, ask your doctor about it" if something doesn't seem quite right!
++Warren++
Your blood work will give you some indication if you've had any kidney damage. Protein in the urine, creatinine, etc. Ask your doctor. And don't forget those eye exams. Very important! I thought my eyesight was just fine, but you don't notice damage until its already done. After ignoring my eye doctor to have laser for a year (because I could see just fine) I developed a blind spot in one eye. Could have avoided that if I wasn't stubborn and listened to common sense.
Thank you for the replies. It,s been awhile since I,ve had a liver or kidney check,but I did recently have my eyes (the nerves in the cornia) checked, and that was o.k. My last blood work (about 9 months ago) did not turn up any problems at that point in time.