Diabetes symptoms

Diabetes is a disease that can only be managed, but not treated. You should go for regular check ups if you encounters any symptoms that indicate that you may be developing diabetes. This is especially the case if you belong to a risk group. There is no difference between the symptoms of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, but Type 1 diabetes is more prevalent in individuals aged 45 years and under. Type 2 diabetes tends to be associated with obesity and middle age and later.

Some women experience a third type of diabetes known as gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Although symptoms cease after giving birth, this condition may indicate an increased likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future, especially if the individual concerned becomes overweight.

The Early Symptoms of Diabetes

Increased skin healing time

Skin rashes, infections such as athlete’s foot, and local irritation

Loss of libido and erectile dysfunction in men

Vaginal dryness in women

Tiredness

Headaches that persist

Blurred vision

Mild difficulty in urination (also associated with prostate problems in men)

General malaise

Tendency to get obese or rapid weight loss

Peripheral neuropathy leading to paresthesia (tingling, pricking, or numbness of skin)

Symptoms of Advanced Diabetes

If you already have diabetes, you should seek immediate medical attention if you experience any of the following symptoms are experienced regularly:

The need for very frequent urination or problems urinating

Continuous thirst and symptoms of dehydration

Continual need to eat not resulting in weight gain

Muscular pain, cramps and weaknesses

Irregular menstrual cycles or premature menopause in women

Numbness of limbs

Loss of peripheral vision

Other than these above stated symptoms of diabetes, one may also experience less frequent symptoms like –

Itching skin

Diarrhoea

Mental depression

Perplexity or being confused

Bleeding gums

Tingling or numbness of limbs

Buzzing or unusual noise in the ears

But note that most of the above may have many possible causes and should only be associated with diabetes when a diagnosis has been made.

So how do you know if any symptoms of adult diabetes that are being experienced are actually indicating diabetes? If you experience several of the symptoms listed above, and you have not been diagnosed with diabetes, you should consult a doctor immediately. He or she will ask you to go to the surgery a couple of times after fasting for 12 hours or so, and take a blood sample each time. These will go off for a test called the fasting blood glucose level test.

Diabetes is diagnosed if this test shows that blood glucose is higher than 126 mg/dL on two different tests. If levels are between 100 and 126 mg/dL, this condition will be referred to as impaired fasting glucose or prediabetes and should be considered a strong risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes and you subsequently develop one or more new symptoms from the list above you should similarly consult your medical practitioner immediately as this indicates that you are not controlling your blood sugar levels adequately. If you don’t, further irreversible damage could follow.

Diabetes Symptoms

The Early Symptoms of Diabetes

Symptoms of Advanced Diabetes