Circulatory System

Nearly all patients who have diabetes and high blood pressure should take an ACE inhibitor (or ARB) as part of their regimen for treating hypertension.
Drug used for this problem: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduce the production of angiotensin, a chemical that causes arteries to narrow.

Aspirin for Reducing the Risk for Blood Clots. Taking a daily aspirin reduces the risk for blood clotting and may help protect against heart attacks. The recommended dose is 75 - 162 mg/day.

Statins are the best cholesterol-lowering drugs. They include: 

• atorvastatin (lipitor) 
• lovastatin (mevacor and generics) 
• pravastatin (pravachol) 
• simvastatin (zocor and generics) 
• fluvastatin (lescol) 
• rosuvastatin (crestor) 

These drugs are very effective for lowering LDL cholesterol levels.

Atherosclerosis (also known as arteriosclerotic vascular disease or ASVD) is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol and triglyceride.

Ways to prevent this disease to attack your body are:

• healthy diet
• stop smoking (if you smoke)
• take regular exercise
• lose weight (if you are overweight or obese)
• moderate your consumption of alcohol

Respiratory System

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) has been associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, and is frequently found in people with type 2 diabetes. SDB not only causes poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, but has clinical consequences, including hypertension and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Breathing difficulties don't affect everyone with diabetes and the risk of having difficulty breathing can be reduced by maintaining good diabetes control and a healthy body weight.Rapid or laboured breathing, known as Kussmaul breathing, can be a symptom of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Ketoacidosis is a short term complication of diabetes caused by very high blood glucose levels accompanied by a high level of ketones in the blood.Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that results in difficulty breathing whilst sleeping. This can happen if the muscles in the throat collapse inwards and block your airway. This may happen partially or completely and can therefore disturb sleep. Being overweight is the main risk factor of sleep apnea.
Some preventions for this diseases are:

• Don't use alcohol and medicines, such as sleeping pills and sedatives, before bed. These can relax your throat muscles and slow your breathing.
• Eat sensibly, exercise, and stay at a healthy weight.
• Quit smoking. The nicotine in tobacco relaxes the muscles that keep the airways open. If you don't smoke, those muscles are less likely to collapse at night and narrow the airways.
• Check your ketone level.

Integumentary System

The integumentary system is composed of the skin. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can leave the skin more prone to bacterial and fungal infections, the American Diabetes Association notes. Moreover, poor oral hygiene may also lead to gum infections, according to MayoClinic.com. In addition, diabetes can affect blood vessels that cause the appearance of scaly patches of skin usually on the front part of the legs. Other skin related symptoms include atherosclerosis, a condition in which blood vessels are narrowed, causing the skin in an affected area to turn hairless, thin, and shiny. Insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes can cause a darkened areas of skin to appear in the armpits and the folds of the neck. This condition is called acanthosis nigricans.
There are 6 Diabetic Skin Care Tips that you should follow in order to control skin in a diabetic body:

• Get educated. One key to preventing diabetic skin problems is to understand what causes them. Talk to your doctor. Learn about diabetic skin complications, what your particular risks are, and how you can lower them.
• Control your diabetes. Getting -- and keeping -- your blood glucose within normal range can go far toward preventing common diabetic skin complications.
• Be aware.  If you suffer from diabetic nerve damage (neuropathy), you could have an infected cut, scratch, or skin puncture and not know it.
• Cover up.  This simple first line of defense can help you avoid the cuts and scratches that can lead to infection.
• Keep skin comfortably dry, especially at armpits, toes, and groin. Talcum powder can help.
  But avoid drying skin out.
• Moisturize if your skin is dry. The best time to moisturize is right after a shower or bath, when skin is still moist.

Digestive system

Diabetic autonomic neuropathy most often affects the digestive system, especially the stomach, blood vessels, urinary system, and sex organs. To prevent autonomic neuropathy, continuously keep your blood sugar levels well controlled.

Symptoms of diabetic autonomic neuropathy of the digestive system may include:

• Bloating
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Heartburn
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Feeling full after small meals

Treatments of autonomic neuropathy of the digestive system may include:

• Eating smaller meals
• Medication

Immune System

Diabetes manipulates the immune system. In a series of laboratory experiments, researchers found in blood samples of pacients with type 2 diabetes contained antibodies against their own properties. Their immune systems have turned on them.

• Lowering the dose of insulin or other medications.
• More meticulous attention to blood sugar balance during unusual hours.
• Higher levels of exercise.
• Decreasing alcohol intake.
• Consuming fat and protein with carbohydrates.
• Adding morning or afternoon healthy snacks.
• Changing eating patterns (smaller meals, avoiding excessive sugar, mixed meals rather than carbohydrates by themselves)
• Reducing intake of stimulants such as caffeine.
• Reduce stress.

Hypoglycemia is an acute complication of several diabetes treatments. When you have this, your blood glucose becomes low and abnormal. The patient may become agitated, sweaty, weak, and have many symptoms of sympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system resulting in feelings akin to dread and immobilized panic. Consciousness can be altered or even lost in extreme cases, leading to coma, seizures, or even brain damage and death. There are ways to prevent this from happening:

Nervous System

Neuropathy.
Neuropathy usually causes pain and numbness in the hands and feet. It can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic disorders, and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes of neuropathy is diabetes.
A number of different drugs are used for peripheral neuropathy pain relief: They include:

• Nonprescription analgesics, such as aspirin, acetaminophen, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). (Patients with stomach or kidney problems should check with their doctors before using these drugs.)
• Prescription painkillers, such as tramadol (Ultram). Tramadol is a drug that is similar to opioids. It can help relieve pain but has significant side effects, including nausea, constipation, and headache.
• Topical medications, particularly capsaicin (the active ingredient in hot peppers), are applied to the skin to relieve minor local pain. A 5% lidocaine patch has also shown good results in clinical trials.
• Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline (Elavil) or doxepin (Sinequan), are effective in reducing pain from neuropathy for many patients. A combination of doxepin and capsaicin (applied to the skin) may also be helpful. Unfortunately, tricyclics may cause heart rhythm problems, so patients at risk need to be monitored carefully.
• Duloxetine (Cymbalta), a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is approved for treatment of pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
• Anti-seizure drugs used for peripheral neuropathy pain relief include gabapentin (Neurontin), pregabalin (Lyrica), carbamazepine (Tegretol), and valproate (Depakote).

Diabetes Type 2

It was previously referred to as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In this disease you can still produce insulin but you do it relatively inadequately for their body's needs. The pancreas produces larger than normal quantities of insulin. When you have type 2 diabetes you lack of sensibility to insulin by the cells of the body.
There is a direct relationship between the degree of obesity and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and this holds true in children as well as adults. It is estimated that the chance to develop diabetes doubles for every 20% increase over desirable body weight.