Having been diagnosed with diabetes, in order to slow down the inevitable complications that are going to arise, you need to start making some changes in your lifestyle. In some cases, those changes could be quite drastic but they will soon be brought into context when compared to the seriousness of acute or chronic consequences that the complications of diabetes can cause.

OK. Let's be blunt. Diabetes can kill! The acute complications associated with diabetes, if not treated immediately and correctly can be severe, resulting in coma or even death. That's how serious this disease can become and that's why it's important that you come to understand the complications involved.

The major acute complications of diabetes:

* Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) - Predominantly affects sufferers of type 1 diabetes. Ketoacidosis means the presence of dangerously high levels of ketones, acids that build up in your blood. When your body isn't producing an adequate amount of insulin, these ketones will appear in the urine. The important thing to note here is that ketones are poisonous to the body, and their presence is an indication your diabetes control has failed or that you are getting sick.

* Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Non-Ketotic Syndrome (HHNS) - Can affect sufferers of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but normally seen in type 2 diabetes. In HHNS, your body produces above normal amounts of urine in order to get rid of excess blood sugar, resulting in your having to go to the bathroom more often. As this progresses, less urine is produced as your body starts to dehydrate. If this continues, the severe dehydration will lead to seizures, coma and eventually death. It must be noted that HHNS may take days or even weeks to develop.

* Hypoglycemia - This is basically very low blood sugar, and can be brought on due to errors with medication or maybe not being able to eat properly due to ill health or sickness.

The major chronic complications of diabetes:

* Kidney failure - This is one of the biggest problems faced by diabetes sufferers.

* Diabetic Neuropathy - If you are unfortunate enough to contract this complication of diabetes, then you will start to experience a loss of feeling or constant pain due to a loss of nerve function in the body.

* Erectile Dysfunction - Another chronic complication associated with diabetes and is normally caused by a combination of neurological and vascular damage.

Other chronic diabetes complications can include coronary heart disease, diabetic retinopathy, normally resulting in blindness and cerebrovascular disease.

Now can you understand the importance for the changes in lifestyle? But what changes do you need to make? Well first and foremost is a change to your diet, and this doesn't mean that you are now going to have to endure a boring diabetes diet full of tasteless foods and other foodstuffs that you don't like. Just watch what you eat. Cut back on the amounts you eat and avoid foods that are high in sugars. Pay a visit to your doctor, diabetes advisor or dietician and with their help, learn to read the food labels so you can pick the foods that aren't bad for you.

Whilst we're on the subject of food, another change you are going to have to make is to monitor your blood sugar levels. You need to learn how food and exercise affects your body. Your doctor will probably have you check your blood sugar levels before AND after meals so you can see the differences in levels. This will enable to you to make comparisons between how much food you eat and to what levels your blood sugar rises. Check your bloods before and after any exercise as well. This will help to make sure you avoid one of the acute complications of diabetes, hypoglycemia.

Another important thing you should do is to make people around or involved with you aware that you are diabetic. Co-workers, friends, family. They should all be made aware of the signs and symptoms of diabetes and more importantly the signs and treatments of a hypo or hypoglycemia so they can get any immediate treatment required.

This information has been provided as a guide to the problems that are associated with diabetes. It is of the utmost importance that if you suspect that you could be experiencing any of the complications mentioned above, or you experience any changes in your medical condition, that you seek expert medical advice from your doctor. With a good care regime, changes to your lifestyle and careful monitoring of your diabetes, there is absolutely no reason why you can't continue to enjoy life to the full.