E10.40: Type 1 diabetes mellitus With neurological complications Controlled

You have diabetes. This is also known as diabetes mellitus.

The body takes sugar from food via the intestines. The sugar gets into the blood there. The sugar level in every person’s blood thus increases after eating. The pancreas produces the messenger substance insulin. Insulin ensures that the sugar from the blood is absorbed into the cells. After eating, the pancreas releases more insulin into the blood. As a result, the sugar level in the blood drops after eating.

The messenger substance insulin is produced by specific tissue in the pancreas. Your immune system has produced antibodies against this tissue. As a result, this tissue in the pancreas was damaged or destroyed. This means your body is not forming enough of the hormone insulin. If you do not have enough insulin in your blood, the sugar level in the blood can become permanently too high. This is called Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

With diabetes, the sugar level in the blood can be too high. However, if you receive the hormone insulin as an injection, your sugar level can sometimes also drop too sharply. You must therefore always adjust the amount of the messenger substance insulin to the sugar content in food or to the amount of physical strain.

If the sugar level in the blood is too high for a considerable time, the sugar may damage the blood vessels and nerves. As a result, symptoms can occur at various sites of the body. If the blood vessels are damaged, circulatory disorders may occur. The kidneys are especially affected by them. But the eyes and skin may also be affected by the circulatory disorders.

You have symptoms regarding your nerves. The nerves control various processes in the body. If the sugar level in the blood is too high, the small blood vessels on the nerves may be damaged. As a result, the nerves are not properly nourished and thus get damaged. Furthermore, the sugar itself or sugar by-products can be deposited on the nerves. That also damages the nerves. For example, you may not be able to move various muscles properly as a result, or the skin may be numb. You may have problems moving your bowels or urinating.