What can happen to someone with diabetes?

Unfortunately, it is not too exaggerated to say, in many cases, a diabetic person is like a walking time-bomb - a potentially self-exploding terrorist who can only injure or kill herself or himself. We get this impression when we walk through the risks and dangers that a person with type 2 diabetes may face. This is as shown in materials culled from relatively respectable and reliable online medical sources such as http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/basics/complications/con-20033091  

" The science may be simply stated. When a person has type 2 diabetes, her body still makes insulin. But as time goes on, her pancreas may make less and less of it. That will make it harder to keep blood sugar within a good target range. If the blood sugar gets too high and stays too high for too long, risks for other health problems increase. 
 
Over time, high blood sugar can damage many parts of our body. 
The following are some of the things that can happen. They are what make type 2 diabetes scary. It is why we should avoid a sedentary life-style when there is still time to do so. That means making real (rather than half-hearted) life-style changes.
 
1.  Your nerves may get damaged High blood sugar levels can damage nerves in your body. This damage is called diabetic neuropathy. This is damage to the nerves that sense pain. These may be nerves in the circulatory system, including the heart.  
There may be damage to nerves that control things like your sweating, digestion,urination, heartbeat, blood pressure and sexual function. Most of the time, this affects just one nerve, usually in the wrist, thigh, or foot. This type of nerve damage can lead to a deformity called Charcot foot. It can also lead to other problems that may require amputation.

2.  Your eyes may fail you High blood sugar levels may cause temporary blurred vision. Blurry vision, floaters, or flashes of light may be a sign of something known as diabetic retinopathy. It may eventually cause severe vision loss.
 
3.  You may have feet problems You may have less feeling in your feet, which means that you can injure your feet and not know it. Blisters, ingrown toe-nails, small cuts, or other problems that may seem minor can quickly become more serious. If you develop serious infections or bone and joint deformities, you may need surgery (even amputation) to treat those problems. Common infections can quickly become more serious when you have diabetes.

4. You may have skin problems There could be a rare thickening of the skin on the back of the neck and upper back (Scleroderma diabeticorum). Another skin problem results in the darkening and thickening of certain areas of the skin especially in the skin folds (Acanthosis nigricans). The skin becomes tan or brown and is sometimes slightly raised and described as velvety. Most often the condition, which typically looks like small warts, appears on the sides or back of the neck, the armpits, under the breast, and groin. Occasionally, the top of the knuckles will have a particularly unusual appearance. Acanthosis nigricans usually strikes people who are very overweight. 
While there is no cure for it, losing weight may improve the skin condition. It usually precedes diabetes and is considered to be a marker for the disease. It is thought that this health condition is a skin manifestation of insulin resistance.

5. Heart and blood vessels High blood sugar damages the lining of blood vessels. This can lead to stroke, heart attack, or peripheral arterial disease. Being overweight or obese can affect your ability to manage your diabetes and increase your risk for many health problems, including heart disease and high blood pressure.
 
6. Your kidneys may be damaged The kidneys have many tiny blood vessels that filter waste from your blood. High blood sugar can destroy these blood vessels. You won't have any symptoms of kidney damage until the problem is severe. Then you may notice swelling in your feet or legs or all over your body.
 
7. Your bladder function may be affected “Diabetes can also affect kidneys by damaging the nerves that tell you when your bladder is full. The pressure from a full bladder can damage the kidneys. As well, if urine remains in the bladder for a long time, it can increase your risk of developing a urinary tract infection, which can spread to the bladder.”

8. You may have hearing loss High blood sugar can damage the small blood vessels and nerves in the ear, causing hearing loss.
 
 The above conditions are likely complications which may arise if diabetes is not brought under control through regular medication: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/basics/complications/con-20033091   

They are reasons why GPs usually warn a pre-diabetic person to make serious efforts to change his or her life-style. If the patient still fails to do so, the GP would have to prescribe medications to keep the diabetes 'under control'. 

Unfortunately, there are some bad side effects of common diabetic drugs. They can cause weight gain, skin rash, upset stomach, kidney complications, tiredness, dizziness, bloating and diarrhea, risks of liver disease, swelling of legs or ankles: 

It is one reason why those in danger of being diabetic should bear in mind the following words of a diabetic: “… being diagnosed as diabetic can feel like you’re being sentenced to a life of imprisonment”: Frank Suarez,  “Problem-Free Diabetes”, http://www.amazon.com/Side-Effects- Death-Confessions-PharmaInsider/dp/1602645167  "