(ThyBlackMan.com) Diabetes is a disease that kills. Many people live with it, and can offset some of its symptoms through exercise, diet and additional lifestyle changes. It is a disease in some cases that can be managed, and though we attach it to obese people there are some that have it and don’t have a weight issue. Because diabetes can be managed the horrors of the disease can be ignored by some. Diabetes is not cancer, but maybe it should be handled with the same sense of urgency. The reality of the damage this disease causes to the body is far reaching, and its end is painful. The goal should not be to merely manage diabetes, but to live in a way by which you avoid the onset of the disease at all cost. Find a doctor you trust, learn your body, and understand what your body needs to be 
in the shape…then pursue such with priority.
Diabetes is more than just checking sugar levels, and making sure you don’t consume too many of the foods that can spike your sugar. It is also about making sure your sugar levels don’t drop to the point that it can render you unconscious. Managing diabetes is a game of keeping your bodies “numbers” in balance day in, and day out. Working high stress jobs that affect your blood pressure is not wise for someone managing diabetes. When watching TV there are many commercials for medications that help manage diabetes, and it shows people active and healthy. This could be the outcome…if the disease is managed, but even then, it does have its effects on the body.
When diabetes is not managed, it can be linked to bouts with depression that can affect one’s blood pressure. “Some of the more well-known complications are nerve damage ( neuropathy), characterized by numbness and tingling in your feet or hands, kidney failure ( nephropathy) and vision problems ( retinopathy) which can lead to blindness.”
Living with the above mentioned can become a daily battle to remain safe as it is important to protect your feet and areas affected by neuropathy; one could severely injure themselves without feeling it. The disease makes one vulnerable to skin infections and disease. This is one of the beginning signs of diabetes. In addition, those with diabetes are at high risk for heart disease ( coronary artery disease ). High blood pressure and stroke risk also lead to the risk of cardiac arrest. Diabetes also weakens the immune system which makes one vulnerable to illness and infections especially at the sight of injuries. Kidney failure, as previously mentioned, usually requires dialysis which takes a harsh toll on the body leaving one weakened. The amounts of medication a person must take to deal with all the different complications of diabetes also takes a dangerous toll on the body, and the mind.
When a person with diabetes is battling many of the devastating symptoms at once any occurrence can be fatal. Diabetes is a disease that destroys the body in so many ways. A person may have a massive heart attack, and die but the diabetes was the underlining reason as to why the heart attack was fatal. The body was already weakened and compromised by the disease and simply could not fight back.
I know this disease to be fatal, and it was the underlining factor that caused the death of my father. Diabetes compromised so many of his organs, primarily his kidneys, that he was unable to recover from the massive heart attack. This is a disease that can be managed, but the truth is we should do all we can to steer clear of it. We live in a high stress society, and many people endure large amounts of stress every day just trying to provide for their family. Diabetes is unforgiving and it cares not how it is acquired. Exercise, eat healthy, maintain regular check-ups, and don’t let the stress of life control your blood pressure. The best way to beat diabetes…is to avoid it, because it is a killer.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
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