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Recognize the Symptoms of Diabetes

Many people may not take notice of diabetes symptoms because so many of them don’t seem serious enough to attach to an actual disease. Feelings of nausea, for instance, are felt by so many people so often and for such a wide variety of reasons that most people never even think to associate it with diabetes.

And because we all seem to be working longer hours than ever before and having to get up earlier in an attempt to avoid spending an hour or two in traffic, feelings of fatigue and tiredness are usually associated with the price of living in the 21st century. Even the need to urinate more frequently usually goes unnoticed. The fact is, however, that all of these can point to the onset of diabetes.

One of the problems associated with recognizing diabetes symptoms is that the Type I version of the disease builds gradually. The first thing you may notice is the tiredness. While precious few of us don’t experience occasional bouts of fatigue, diabetes-related tiredness tends to be more noticeable. For one thing, the tiredness isn’t occasional; it lingers on and on. Even so, it may be very easy to ignore the severity of the fatigue and fail to associate it with diabetes.

Very often, a diabetes patient won’t begin to question his health until subsequent symptoms appear. The extreme fatigue begins to be accompanied by frequent thirst. Not just the usual kind of thirst where you may finish off a 20 ounce bottle in less than an hour, but an unusual thirst where you may go through two or more 20 ounce bottles in an hour.

But even a sudden spike in thirst can often be attributed to something else, such as perhaps the heat. Less likely to be so casually ignored, however, is one of the more extreme diabetes symptoms. Many patients experience feelings of intense hunger while they are losing weight. This is a symptom that is not typical of normalcy.

Most people who are not on a diet and who are eating regularly don’t feel continually hungry while also losing weight. At this point, most people who have been ignoring other symptoms sit up and take notice. Additional diabetes symptoms that people tend to take notice of include blurred vision, frequent infections and sores that either take a long time to heal or don’t heal at all.

One of the problems in diagnosing diabetes is that not everybody experiences the same symptoms. Another problem is that symptoms can vary depending on whether you are suffering from Type I or Type II diabetes.

Although both types share certain symptoms such as frequent urination, dry mouth and increased thirst, there are other symptoms that are usually unique to each type. For instance, weight loss with continued hunger is primarily associated with Type I. On the other hand, leg pain and yeast infections are common symptoms of Type II.

What Is Diabetes?

With diabetes such an epidemic today, it is essential that you know exactly what it is. Why? Well, to prevent getting diabetes yourself that is!

In layman terms, “diabetes” is the inability of the body to process sugars properly. When we eat or drink, our “pancreas” produces a hormone called “insulin”. Insulin is released into the blood and helps to regulate the amount of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. Diabetes is a condition where this process does not function correctly.

The reason why diabetes occurs is because no insulin is being produced (often called Type 1 Diabetes) and requires the sufferer to use insulin injections, or insulin is produced but the body becomes resistant to it. This renders the insulin ineffective. This is normally called Type 2 Diabetes and is rapidly becoming more common.

The danger is that while diabetes is not immediately life threatening the long term effects of high blood sugar can be damaging to one’s health. Uncontrolled diabetes and prolonged high blood sugar levels can, in later life, cause problems to many organs including the kidneys, eyes, nerves and the heart.

This may sound grim, however controlling blood sugar by a combination of medicine, diet and exercise will vastly reduce the long term complications. Recent research shows that 2 in every 100 people have diabetes. Alarmingly half of these people do not even know they have it. Many people have diabetes without being aware of it because someone with diabetes looks no different from anyone else.

How do you find out if you have diabetes? The simplest way to check if you have diabetes is to arrange a blood sugar check with your doctor. A tiny sample of blood, obtained by pricking a finger is checked using a small electronic tester.

A normal blood sugar level is generally between 72 – 126 mg/dl or 4 – 7 mmol/l (where 1 mmol/l = 18mg/dl). If the body is unable to keep the blood sugar level within these limits, then diabetes is diagnosed. Diagnosis of diabetes can occur out of the blue during a routine check-up but more often it follows from the sufferer experiencing the “symptoms” of diabetes. These symptoms can be many or few, mild or severe depending on the individual.

Common Diabetes Symptoms:

Loss Of Weight – Glucose is the form of sugar which is the body’s main fuel. Diabetics cannot process this properly so it passes into the urine and out of the body. Less fuel means the body’s reserve tissues are broken down to produce energy with a resultant loss in weight.

Thirst – Often it seems no matter how much you drink your mouth still feels dry. The problem is compounded before diabetes is diagnosed by sufferers drinking huge amounts of sugary drinks! Of course this only increases the blood sugar level and leads to increased thirst.

Urinating More Often – Sufferers need to urinate often and pass large volumes each time. In addition this symptom takes no account of time so sleep is constantly disturbed by having to visit the bathroom during the night. It is a mistake to think this is caused by the increased thirst and drinking more. On the other hand, high sugar levels in the blood spill over into the urine making it syrupy. To counter-act this water is drawn from the body causing dehydration and therefore thirst.

If you have experienced any of these symptoms it does not necessarily follow that you are diabetic however it might be advisable to visit your doctor to be sure. If it does turn out that you have diabetes please do not panic! It can come as a shock and it will mean some changes in your life. While it is incurable it can be treated so the long term complications are reduced or even eliminated.

By knowing exactly what diabetes is – and recognizing the symptoms early on – you can prevent it from ever building up within you. Start today by monitoring your health and daily eating habits. Or as they say, preventing is better than finding a cure later on!