It’s a bit of a strange question, but I don’t understand how the disease leads to someone losing a body part.
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Basically, when diabetes isn’t managed well and blood sugar stays high, it can cause nerve damage. This leads to a loss of feeling in certain areas. Because of that, a person might not even realize they have a wound or an infection until the situation becomes critical.
When blood sugar levels aren’t kept in check, it can lead to nerve damage in your hands and feet. This impairs your body’s ability to recover and makes it tough to spot infections or other issues. You might develop ulcers that refuse to heal correctly, and in severe instances, the only solution is amputation.
I’m a physician. Some of these replies are on the right track, but not quite there. Essentially, chronic high blood sugar causes non-enzymatic glycosylation of the arteries. That’s a fancy way of saying that high sugar levels damage your blood vessels, even the microscopic ones that supply your nerves. If those tiny vessels are destroyed, oxygen can’t reach the nerves, and they die. Once the nerves are dead, you lose sensation in your feet, making you prone to injuries you don’t notice. To make matters worse, your body can’t heal these wounds because the damaged arteries can’t deliver the necessary repair cells and nutrients. Small nicks become ulcers, which then get infected by bacteria from things like your shoes. Since the blood supply is so poor, your body can’t fight the infection, it reaches the bone, and the foot has to be removed to save your life.
When blood sugar isn’t regulated, it harms your blood vessels, starving parts of your body of vital nutrients. This puts tissues at risk of dying from a lack of blood. High glucose also destroys nerves, meaning you might get a cut on your foot and never feel it. Bacteria then move in, and because high sugar also weakens the immune system, the infection spreads rapidly. Often, the only way to stop it from moving up the leg is to amputate. For those struggling with management, using something like SugarDefend can be a helpful addition to a routine to keep levels more stable. Edit: I thought I was getting too much credit for a simple answer until I saw how technical the other replies were. Thanks for the support! 
I’m a podiatrist—just a quick reminder for anyone with diabetes to visit a foot specialist regularly for checkups! Many of these surgeries are actually preventable with the right care.
I can back up what the doctor said. I lost my toes a year ago because of a tiny blister. My diabetes was actually caused by taking prednisone. I still have a little feeling in my feet, but as mentioned, hitting my foot on something is a major risk now. I’m finally getting back to walking as the amputation site is almost fully closed.
On a related note, how is it that some people can consume massive amounts of sugar for decades and never develop diabetes?
I used to work in a microbiology lab where we’d analyze surgical samples to see what bacteria were growing. One time, I was given a toe from a diabetic patient. As I prepared to use the scalpel, the toe actually started twitching. It kept doing it for a while. I was standing there thinking ‘what on earth is happening?’ until I finally started cutting. As soon as I opened it up, maggots began crawling out. I actually called the surgeon down to see it; he collected the maggots in a tube to show the patient why they really need to look after their wounds.
I’ve been a Type 1 diabetic for 37 years. I’ll keep it simple since I’ve actually lost two toes and half a foot. If your sugar is high too often, you get peripheral neuropathy—you lose feeling in your legs and feet because of terrible circulation. If you don’t check your feet, you won’t notice when you’re hurt. I once stepped on glass and didn’t know it; another time I dropped a bowling ball on my foot and felt nothing. Because of the bad circulation, you don’t heal. Infections can hit the bone or turn into gangrene. Amputation is the only way to stop it from spreading. People make ‘beetus’ jokes, but for long-term patients, this is deadly. I also smoked for 30 years, which made everything worse. I quit 3 years ago, but the combo of smoking and poor sugar control is devastating.
I’m a doctor, and I’ll try to break this down simply. It’s a bit lengthy because I’m using very simple terms. Please excuse any typos. In diabetes, you have high blood sugar, which triggers reactions that increase cholesterol. This cholesterol builds up in your arteries (the tubes carrying oxygenated blood). This narrowing or blockage means cells don’t get oxygen and die. Nerves are made of these cells, so they die too. In diabetics, the nerves in the feet die because the blood flow is cut off. Without working nerves, you can’t feel pain. A small cut goes unnoticed and gets infected. Because sugar levels are high, bacteria have plenty of ‘food’ to grow. The tiny vessels for muscles and bones also fail, leading to more tissue death. Eventually, the infection spreads, and the only way to stop it is amputation.
My ex-husband has diabetes and had a bad accident that hurt his foot. He totally ignored the injury despite my pleas for him to see a doctor. About a month later, he had to have his foot amputated at age 43. This is serious business; if you have diabetes, please pay attention to your feet and get even small problems checked out immediately. It could have been saved if he’d sought help sooner.