If you have diabetes, you should be able to lead a fairly normal life. But you may need to:

Apart from these changes, you should be able to take part in all your normal activities.

When you've had diabetes for a long time, you're likely to get some extra health problems. Your eyes,

 

 

 

 

 

kidney
Your kidneys are organs that filter your blood to make urine. You have two of them, on either side of your abdominal cavity, toward your back.

 

 

 

 

 

kidneys, feet, and heart are the parts of your body most likely to be affected.

Doctors call these extra problems complications. Not everyone with diabetes gets them. Some people have diabetes for 40 to 50 years without getting complications.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Watkins PJ.
ABC of Diabetes.
5th edition. BMJ Books, London, UK; 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

We know for sure that if you carefully control your blood glucose (sugar) level, you are more likely to stay healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
UK Prospective Diabetes Study Group.
Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33).
Lancet. 1998; 352: 837-853.

 

 

 

 

 

² For more information, see Keeping tight control of your glucose level.

The longer your blood glucose level stays above normal, the more damage it causes. So if you think you might have diabetes, see your doctor right away.

Doctors and scientists don't know for sure how complications happen. They know that having lots of glucose in your blood can harm certain parts of your body. But your

 

 

 

 

 

genes
Your genes are the parts of your cells that contain instructions for how your body works. Genes are housed on chromosomes, structures that sit in the nucleus at the middle of each of your cells. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your normal cells, each of which has thousands of genes. You get one set of chromosomes, and all of the genes that are on them, from each of your parents.

 

 

 

 

 

genes also play a part.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Watkins PJ.
ABC of Diabetes.
5th edition. BMJ Books, London, UK; 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

¹ This means that your chance of getting complications depends partly on the genes passed to you from your parents. It also may depend on other things, such as your blood pressure or cholesterol.

Having high levels of glucose in your blood over many years can damage large blood vessels called

 

 

 

 

 

arteries
Arteries are the blood vessels that take blood that is rich in oxygen and food away from your heart. The arteries carry this blood to all the tissues in your body.

 

 

 

 

 

arteries, making them more narrow inside. It can also damage some of your small blood vessels, making them leaky.

Complications can affect several parts of your body. Changes to your large blood vessels can lead to complications in your heart, arms, and legs. Changes to your small blood vessels can lead to complications in your eyes,

 

 

 

 

 

kidney
Your kidneys are organs that filter your blood to make urine. You have two of them, on either side of your abdominal cavity, toward your back.

 

 

 

 

 

kidneys, and nerves. These problems might leave you feeling depressed and unable to cope.

Click below to find out more about complications:

You should always watch for signs of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. If your blood glucose level shoots up very high or drops very low, see your doctor or get to a hospital right away. For more information, see Medical emergencies: hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.

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