Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease caused by hormonal dysregulation of the body. The main cause of the disease is a deficiency of the hormone insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. This organ is especially sensitive to stress and nervous shocks, which directly affects the level of insulin and, as a result, the level of glucose in the blood. Most often it occurs in those people who have a genetic predisposition to this pathology.
Hyperglycemia (high sugar level) causes multiple metabolic disorders: a disorder of water, mineral, protein and carbohydrate balance occurs.
Signs of diabetes in men
The main symptoms of the disease in men and women are approximately the same. The difference is that a strong half of humanity turns to doctors much later when health deteriorates, attributing poor health to errors in nutrition, lack of rest, chronic stress or the consequences of age-related changes. Ignoring the initial signs of the disease leads to the progression of the pathology and serious consequences. The initial manifestations of the disease are:
- Increased thirst (consumption of large amounts of water leads to frequent urination and increased stress on the bladder);
- Weight change (increase or decrease);
- Fatigue with little physical activity;
- Tingling in the extremities or temporary loss of sensitivity (symptom indicates nephropathy – renal failure);
- Edema;
- Dry mouth;
- Hair loss;
- Inflammatory processes of the foreskin due to frequent urination;
- Blood pressure surges;
- Lack of appetite;
- Deterioration of vision (sand in the eyes, diplopia – double vision, pain and burning);
- Itching (especially itching in the perineum and in the anus);
- The smell of acetone in the exhaled air;
- Long-term healing of minor abrasions and scratches, the appearance of abrasions on the skin.
Signs do not always appear simultaneously – at the onset of the disease, only a few basic symptoms are most often recorded. For a person who is attentive to his health, this is enough to be alert and visit a medical institution: the trouble is that not all men are attentive to their own well-being. A significant part prefers either a complete ignorance of the symptoms, or symptomatic treatment with folk and home remedies, which does not eliminate the cause of the disease, but only temporarily masks the manifestations.
Almost a third of men find out that they have diabetes mellitus when the disease causes serious pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. At this stage, therapy for the disease is most often lifelong. But if diagnosed at the initial stage, with the help of complex medical procedures, you can keep the body in a relatively healthy state for many years. There are methods that allow you to identify the disease yourself at an early stage. Diabetes in the early phase of development contributes to a decrease in the flexibility of the joints of the fingers. The presence of the disease is indicated by such signs as:
- Inability to lift the big toe more than 50 degrees from the floor;
- Difficulties when trying to completely align the palms of two hands (as with a clap) – in diabetics, fingers are only partially aligned with each other in the area of \ u200b \ u200bthe pads (this sign is a consequence of the contraction of the tendons).
- A constant feeling of hunger can also be an indicative sign of the development of the disease. Already an hour after eating, they may again experience hunger – food does not cause a feeling of full saturation as a result of metabolic disturbances.
If the mobility of the joints has deteriorated, this is a direct reason to contact a clinical institution and undergo a diagnosis. The presence of pathologists can identify urine and blood tests.
What if the first signs appear?
If you find yourself with symptoms of the disease, you must see a doctor (this can be a therapist or endocrinologist). Running the disease to the stage of complications is unreasonable and dangerous. The doctor will prescribe a comprehensive examination and, on the basis of a detailed diagnosis, will select adequate therapeutic procedures.
Treatment of diabetes mellitus of any type and any stage is always complex. Currently, many effective therapeutic regimens have been developed that allow regulating sugar levels and metabolic processes even with severe pancreatic dysfunction. In advanced cases, a gland transplant is possible, but this operation is rather complicated and very expensive.
Diabetes is not always a life sentence. With adequate therapy and lifestyle correction, in some cases it is possible to completely control the pathological processes.To control the amount of glucose in the blood, it is necessary to constantly take medications. If this is not enough, insulin injections are prescribed. Elimination of symptoms – in particular, erectile dysfunction – is carried out with the help of:
- Oral medications;
- Injections;
- Rectal suppositories containing prostaglandins (active substances that stimulate the reproductive organs);
- Physiotherapy methods.
What matters is giving up bad habits – first of all, smoking and drinking alcohol, as well as correcting the diet. Diet therapy involves the control of carbohydrate consumption – the body must invariably receive the daily rate, but no more. Calories entering the body must clearly correspond to energy costs and needs. It is also necessary to switch to fractional meals – to consume food in small portions up to 6 times a day.
Usually, dietitians advise to limit the consumption of red fatty meat and increase the content of fresh vegetables, cereals and dairy products. Fried, spicy, salty dishes, as well as marinades and smoked meats, it is better to exclude from the diet completely.
For a full life and long-term compensation of metabolic processes in the body, self-control of the glycemic level of patients is of decisive importance. For this, special devices are used – glucometers, which any diabetic can currently use at home.
What are the consequences?
Diabetes mellitus causes quite serious damage to internal organs. The consequences for the strong population of the planet are almost always more serious than for women. The disease itself is more severe and causes complications of various kinds. The difference between the disease in men and women also lies in the peculiarities of the course of the disease. If the female body responds to hormonal disorders mainly by obesity, then in men, first of all, internal organs are affected. This is not a simple endocrine disease that can cause a malfunction in the reproductive system: potency decreases as a result of angiopathy – damage to large and small capillaries and impaired blood flow to the reproductive organs. At the same time, the use of stimulating drugs (such as Viagra) only aggravates the situation and intensifies negative symptoms. The level of testosterone in the blood also decreases, which reduces sex drive (libido). In addition to reducing libido, it also causes:
- Dysfunction of ejaculation;
- Lack of orgasm;
- Decreased spermatogenesis (sperm production)
- Mutations in the DNA structure of male germ cells;
- Infertility.
In addition, it contributes to the development of atherosclerosis in the vascular system of the brain, which significantly increases the risk of death from stroke. High levels of bad cholesterol also increase the likelihood of:
- Myocardial infarction;
- Ischemic disease;
- Chronic vasoconstriction of the brain.
One of the most severe complications of the disease is diabetic ketoacidosis , which develops as a result of acute insulin deficiency and high blood sugar. The condition causes deterioration in the work of all organs and requires immediate hospitalization. In severe cases, ketoacidosis causes coma and death.
Type 2 diabetes (the most common form of the disease associated with a decrease in the body’s sensitivity to insulin) can cause progressive dehydration of the body against the background of polyuria (increased urine production) and hypersmolar coma, also fraught with shock and death.
Other complications are:
- Retinopathy – damage to the eye retina, which can lead to detachment thereof and complete blindness;
- Vascular thrombosis;
- Polyneuropathy – decreased sensitivity of the legs and arms;
- Arthropathy – joint crunch and joint pain;
- Encephalopathy – changes in the psyche and thinking;
- Emotional instability, tendency to depression;
- Diabetic foot is a complex lesion of the skin, joints and blood vessels of the foot, which leads to amputation of the limb.
At present, with adequate treatment and control by patients of their current state, the prognosis of treatment is conditionally favorable. Diabetics can remain able to work and live a full life: in most cases, serious complications and consequences can be prevented.