If you are managing diabetes, you are certainly not alone. Recent numbers show a total of 38.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes. Of these, 8.7 million have been newly diagnosed. In some cases, individuals may not be aware they have the disease until complications have already arisen and more emergent care is needed.
For those managing diabetes, staying on top of the condition is crucial for preventing a number of potentially debilitating health concerns that can develop over time. Managing the condition becomes preventative care in many ways, and continuing to monitor your health status over the long term is critical. Full body scans can be a helpful tool for detecting any physical changes within the body as the disease progresses. The earlier you detect potential complications, the more likely you’ll be able to respond and manage them effectively.
Early Signs of Diabetes
Of course, the first step toward managing diabetes effectively is recognizing you may have the disease. Many people do not recognize this until after experiencing life-altering complications like nerve damage or even the need for amputation. Awareness of signs can be critical for helping you get the care you need before larger problems develop.
So, what are 10 warning signs of diabetes?
- Increased thirst.
- More frequent urination.
- Increased hunger.
- Fatigue.
- Delayed healing of wounds.
- Numbness or tingling in extremities like hands or feet.
- Dry mouth.
- Sudden weight changes (gain or loss).
- Recurrent infections.
- Darkened skin around the armpits or neck.
If you notice any of these signs, talk with your healthcare provider. This will help you understand what may be causing your symptoms and develop a personalized treatment plan.
Health Concerns Associated With Diabetes
Diabetes is a progressive disease that, unfortunately, can have long-term effects on the body. Over time, individuals managing diabetes have a higher risk of developing:
- Cardiovascular Disease: Diabetes significantly increases the risk of heart disease, including coronary artery disease, heart attack, and stroke.
- Nephropathy (Kidney Disease): Diabetes is among the leading causes of kidney failure (diabetic nephropathy), which can eventually require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
- Neuropathy (Nerve Damage): High blood sugar levels can damage nerves throughout the body. This can lead to symptoms like numbness, tingling, and pain. This often develops in the extremities first, i.e., the hands and feet.
- Retinopathy (Eye Damage): Diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the retina, leading to diabetic retinopathy. If left untreated, this can result in vision loss and blindness.
- Foot Complications: Numbness can leave you unaware of a sore on your foot. Due to poor circulation, these sores take longer to heal and are more prone to infection. In severe cases, amputation is required due to the risk of infection spreading to other parts of the body.
- Skin Conditions: Diabetes increases the risk of various skin conditions, including bacterial and fungal infections.
- Gastroparesis: Diabetes can affect the nerves that control the stomach, leading to delayed gastric emptying. This can cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and difficulty maintaining blood sugar control.
- Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): Diabetes increases the risk of PAD, a condition characterized by narrowed arteries in the legs caused by a buildup of plaque. This can cause pain, cramping, and reduced blood flow to the extremities, such as the feet.
- Cognitive Decline: Some studies suggest that diabetes may be associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia, although more research is needed in this area.
- Hearing Loss: Diabetes has been linked to an increased risk of hearing impairment.
Full-body scans, such as computed tomography (CT) scans, can detect some of the signs associated with disease progression. This can help you stay aware of any critical treatment needs as they arise over the course of disease management.
Diabetes and Heart Health
Diabetes is strongly associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Diabetes affects overall metabolism, and this can often lead to higher levels of cholesterol. Over time, cholesterol can build up in blood vessels and form plaques within blood vessels, which make it harder for blood to pass through the vessel. This is called atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease, (CAD) when it happens specifically in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Eventually, blood flow may be blocked completely, resulting in a heart attack.
Full body scans or more targeted heart scans can be used to look for the physical signs of plaque buildup. A calcium heart scan can be used to watch for plaque buildup specifically. This gives you and your healthcare providers a sense of your current status and the steps you can take to protect your health moving forward.
For those wondering how to improve heart health, taking several steps can have a large impact:
- Diet: Limit processed foods high in saturated fats, sodium, and sugars. Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein sources that can provide healthier fats like fish and poultry.
- Stress management: Sometimes removing stressors from your life is impractical. However, you do have some control over how you respond to stress, and learning tools like deep breathing can have a real impact on cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that causes the ‘fight or flight’ response, which raises blood pressure and heart rate. Managing stress and lowering cortisol levels can ultimately lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.
- Exercise: Cardiovascular training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) are excellent, but may not be safe for everyone. Talk with your healthcare provider about your individual safety limits for physical activity and take steps to implement regular physical activity in your routine. For instance, simply taking walks consistently can have a significant positive impact.
- Medications: If you are managing diabetes, your provider may recommend a medication called a ‘statin’ to help manage your cholesterol levels. These medications are commonly recommended for individuals with diabetes to help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Ultimately, individualized support is critical. Your providers can also help you get connected with numerous resources to help you find and stay on the right path for your long-term health.
Detecting Peripheral Artery Disease
The potential for plaque buildup to affect blood vessels isn’t limited to the heart. Diabetes is associated with higher rates of atherosclerosis in general, and this buildup can also commonly affect the blood vessels in the legs. When peripheral (away from the center of the body) arteries narrow due to plaque buildup, this can reduce the amount of blood and oxygen available in the feet and legs. This is called peripheral artery disease, or PAD.
When patients ask, “Why are my feet always cold?” PAD can be considered a potential cause — particularly if one foot seems colder than the other. Poor circulation can leave your extremities feeling colder. Other signs that are helpful to be aware of include:
- Aching, cramping, or a feeling of ‘heaviness’ in your legs associated with walking or climbing stairs (that goes away after several minutes of rest).
- Leg numbness or weakness.
- ‘Pins and needles’
- Wounds located on the legs and feet heal slowly or not at all.
If you are experiencing these symptoms, it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider. Decreased mobility leads to quality of life concerns, and poor blood flow to the extremities is what can ultimately lead to the need for amputation.
Diabetic Kidney Disease
At the microscopic level, your kidneys are made up of a large number of very small blood vessels that allow for components of the blood to be filtered out as urine is formed. When blood sugars are consistently elevated over time, these tiny blood vessels can become damaged, and the kidney’s ability to filter the blood is reduced. As more of these blood vessels are damaged, kidney function further declines. This is called diabetic nephropathy, or kidney damage caused by diabetes. CT scans can be helpful for detecting some of these physical changes in the kidneys.
Performing scans without using contrast dye can be helpful for individuals with diabetes, as they are at a higher risk of developing contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). Put another way, there is a potential for developing kidney damage (nephropathy) caused by the contrast media. The potential for reduced kidney function is already a concern in individuals with diabetes, so protecting function is important. At Craft Body Scan, full body scans are performed without the use of contrast media or medications.
Monitoring Liver Status
The liver acts as another filter in the body. While there are many concerns related to the effects of diabetes on blood vessels, the liver can also be affected by diabetes in a different way. So, how does diabetes affect the liver?
Similar to the way atherosclerosis can be caused by increased cholesterol and difficulty regulating metabolism, fat deposits can begin building up in the liver. When enough fat has accumulated, this can be considered non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD.
Liver concerns can be scary, and many patients wonder about the life expectancy with fatty liver disease. A fatty liver is silent, meaning it produces no symptoms, and is unlikely to affect liver function. The ultimate reason for concern is that fatty liver disease can increase the risk of developing cirrhosis. It’s this potential transition to cirrhosis and liver damage that becomes more dangerous due to the liver’s reduced ability to filter toxins.
Full body scans can detect fatty liver, giving you and your provider useful information about your status and the areas of your health that may benefit the most from further attention. The progression of fatty liver to cirrhosis can be avoided if you take action to protect your health.
Computerized Tomography (CT) Scans
So, what’s involved with a full body scan?
A CT scan is a type of imaging test that uses X-rays to create detailed pictures of the inside of your body. It takes images from different angles and combines them to make a 3D picture. This gives doctors a better view than regular X-rays. The radiation exposure from a CT scan is low, but it’s not recommended for pregnant women. The scan is easy and painless, and it usually only takes about 10 minutes.
Ultrasound Screening For PAD
The risk of developing peripheral artery disease is increased when managing diabetes. At Craft Body Scan, PAD screening is performed using ultrasound technology, offering a targeted approach to detection.
Full Body Scan Near Me
Managing chronic health conditions like diabetes means managing the risks of further complications that can arise over time. Detecting potential complications early gives you valuable time that can be used to focus on more targeted treatment plans and lifestyle adjustments. Craft Body Scan offers services nationwide with friendly and knowledgeable staff ready to help you take control of your well-being.
You can schedule a full-body CT scan at the following clinic locations:
- Tampa, FL.
- Charlotte, NC.
- Raleigh, NC.
- Tulsa, OK
- Nashville, TN
