A diabetes diagnosis can be a scary diagnosis for a number of reasons. It comes with many lifestyle changes and puts you at risk for developing other conditions as a result. It’s true that patients with diabetes can be more likely to develop urologic conditions. It can affect your bladder health and cause sexual problems.
Diabetes can damage your nerves and small blood vessels. Autonomic nerves control your internal organs. Sometimes damage caused by diabetes can interfere with normal processes not allowing the signals your brain sends to be received correctly. As a result, you can develop sexual issues. For men, this can be erectile dysfunction or retrograde ejaculation, and for women it can be painful intercourse or vaginal dryness.
More than half of men and women with diabetes have bladder dysfunction because of damage to nerves that control bladder function. This can cause overactive bladder because those damaged nerve signals will tell you it’s time to go to the bathroom or your muscles can contract without warning. Diabetes can also lead to incontinence and urinary tract infections. Pay attention to how often you are going to the bathroom or feeling the urge to go. If it starts to increase and you’re urinating eight or more times a day including during the night, consult with a doctor.
However, a diabetes diagnosis doesn’t doom you to urologic conditions. If you have diabetes, control your glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers. This can help greatly reduce your risk of developing conditions, if you keep all these at healthy levels. Also maintaining a healthy weight and active lifestyle will also lower your risk.
When you start experiencing these symptoms, please consult with a doctor. Give us a call today at 1-877-321-8452 to make an appointment or talk to someone in our clinic.
