Preventing complications requires more than just controlling blood sugar

In fact, for diabetes, just controlling blood sugar levels is not enough. Only by comprehensively controlling various risk factors and stabilizing blood sugar can the incidence of chronic complications of diabetes be reduced. So today we will talk about what else you should pay attention to besides controlling blood sugar levels.

Glycated hemoglobin

Glycated hemoglobin mainly reflects the average level of blood sugar control of people with diabetes in the past two or three months. It is generally believed that occasionally high blood sugar, but normal glycated hemoglobin, indicates that the blood sugar is usually well controlled; this time the blood sugar is normal, but the glycated hemoglobin rises, indicating that the blood sugar is well controlled this time, but the blood sugar has not been well controlled in the last 2 to 3 months; Both blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin are high, indicating a period of poor blood sugar control. Controlling blood sugar should be a long-term process, so monitoring glycated hemoglobin is also essential.

blood lipids

Because the endothelial surface of the blood vessel walls of diabetic patients has been damaged by "glucotoxicity" over many years, it has become "pitted". At the same time, diabetes also increases the attack power of "bad cholesterol". Bad cholesterol in the blood can easily "take advantage of the situation" and pass through the intima gaps in the blood vessel wall to form plaques on the blood vessel wall. Once the plaque ruptures, it may block blood vessels. If it occurs in important parts of the heart or brain, it can even take away a person's life within minutes!

Blood sugar and blood lipids are different: abnormalities in blood sugar can often be detected, such as short-term weight loss, dry mouth, excessive urination, etc. However, there is no feeling or symptoms in the early stage of blood lipid problems, so timely attention and treatment are required.

blood pressure

High blood pressure is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for people with diabetes. High blood pressure can promote and aggravate diabetic complications, such as fundus lesions and kidney lesions. The ideal blood pressure control value for diabetics with hypertension is less than 140/80mmHg. People with diabetes should insist on measuring their blood pressure every day. They can measure their blood pressure at different time periods to find out the blood pressure fluctuation pattern. People with high and unstable blood pressure should also undergo ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

Urinary microalbumin

Diabetic nephropathy is kidney damage caused by chronic hyperglycemia due to poor blood sugar control, and the disease can affect the entire kidney. The main characteristics of diabetic nephropathy are persistent albuminuria and/or progressive decrease in glomerular filtration rate, eventually progressing to end-stage renal disease.

Diabetic nephropathy manifests as microalbuminuria in the early stage, and later develops into persistent albuminuria, but most patients have no obvious symptoms. Increased microalbuminuria can reflect damage to glomerular and renal tubular function, so microalbuminuria is one of the commonly used early clinical monitoring indicators for diabetic nephropathy and is also the main indicator for judging the effectiveness of treatment for diabetic nephropathy. Diabetic patients should undergo regular examinations. Once microalbuminuria is found, it cannot be ignored and must be treated immediately.

weight

Many patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Weight loss can help control cardiovascular risk factors such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

Body mass index (BMI) = weight (kilograms)/height (meters) 2. A BMI greater than 24 is considered overweight. There will be some differences in body weight before and after breakfast and dinner, so it should be measured in a relatively fixed state. For example, it is more accurate to measure it in the morning on an empty stomach and after defecation.

Comprehensive control will significantly reduce complications!

Strict control of blood sugar has a certain preventive effect on the prevention of diabetic microvascular complications (i.e. renal, retinal and neurological complications) and macrovascular complications.

To prevent complications, we cannot just control blood sugar. Only by comprehensively controlling various risk factors (such as blood sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, blood lipids, and weight, etc.) can we reduce the occurrence of chronic complications of diabetes.