I think that most of the people reading this are pretty familiar with the possible complications of diabetes.
I’m not going to dwell on the details of them. There’s just no good to be had there.
What I do want to write about is the one that scares me most, and gather some information from the all-knowing OC.
Most (all?) of the possible complications we might face are silent. No outward signs or symptoms. Many of them can be tested for though – with annual dilated eye exams or routine lab test or filiment test/tuning fork tests.
But what about our heart?
That is the one that scares me the most. The silent heart attacks that cause damage, you may not even know are happening. Then one day, the big one, and Boom – it’s all over.
Are there tests that can be done to see if your heart is Ok? Should I be asking my endo to refer me to a cardiologist? Can a cardiologist do anything to figure out where I am with things?
I think that a lot of my concern stems from the fact that I know my diet has not been “heart healthy” for most of my life. Have I done damage to my heart above and beyond what diabetes does? Do I worry about each and every “twinge” I think comes from near my heart?
Have any of you out there dealt with heart “things”? What have your experiences been? Is it too early (32 years old) to worry about these things? If so, when? How? What should I be doing, or thinking about?