Extreme hunger, involuntary weight loss, fatigue and weakness, blurred vision, irritability, and other mood changes. If you or your child has any of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor. The best way to determine if you have type 1 diabetes is to take a blood test. Three of the first signs of diabetes you may notice are frequent urination, increased thirst, and unexplained hunger.
As your body tries to cope with rising blood glucose levels, your kidneys must work harder to filter glucose, which means you'll have to urinate more often. This, in turn, leads to dehydration, which explains why you are thirsty. According to the CDC, more than 9% of Americans are living with diabetes. This disease is increasingly common, and 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year.
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the level of blood sugar (blood glucose) is too high and may be due to insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) or an inability to produce insulin (type 1 diabetes). Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed during childhood. In contrast, type 2 diabetes can develop at any age, but it is more common in older populations. Prediabetes occurs when the blood sugar level is identified as higher than normal, but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes.
There are changes that can be made to decrease the chance that the disease will progress to type 2 diabetes. When your blood sugar level is high, your kidneys expel excess blood sugar, causing you to urinate more often. One of the first warning signs of diabetes is frequent urination, which is urgent enough to wake you up to go to the bathroom while you sleep. While your kidneys are working overtime and you urinate more frequently, valuable fluids will be extracted from your tissues.
Frequent urination will make you constantly feel thirsty. When your blood sugar level is high, your body works hard to get rid of excess sugar. This process not only affects the body, but it also alters how the body uses glucose for energy. An excessively high blood sugar level, or hyperglycemia, has fatiguing effects, among other symptoms.
In addition, the dehydration that accompanies more frequent urination is a common cause of fatigue in diabetics. With the release of excess glucose, you lose your greatest source of energy and, when your body cannot use glucose for energy, it starts to burn fat and muscle, leading to weight loss. Unexplained weight loss is considered significant at 10 pounds or 5% of total body weight. Like damaged eye tissue that causes blurred vision, damaged blood vessels weaken blood circulation.
Because of this, it is more difficult for blood to reach the affected area, and minor cuts or wounds may take weeks or months to heal. This slow healing makes unhealed cuts and wounds prone to infection, increasing the risk of amputation. The American Diabetes Association has a risk test that can help you determine if you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The most common early signs of type 2 diabetes are frequent urination, extreme thirst, and persistent hunger.
However, there are other symptoms that can alert you to this disease. A diagnosis can be life-changing, but type 2 diabetes is very manageable if detected early. Similarly, dry, itchy skin could be a sign that you're progressing through the stages of prediabetes, but there are also a number of other skin conditions that could be at play. Excessive hunger is an important early warning sign, as it can indicate insulin resistance or high insulin levels even before you notice other symptoms.
Blurred vision, increased urge to urinate, feeling hungry, extreme thirst, and a feeling of itchy and dry skin are warning signs that you may be in the early stages of type 2 diabetes. The mood changes associated with type 2 diabetes usually appear along with other signs of diabetes, not on their own. Read on to learn about other symptoms that may be a sign of type 2 diabetes and how to start treatment as soon as possible. These warning signs are similar for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, although the way they appear may vary.
Fortunately, if you know what to look for, the warning signs of diabetes can give you time to avoid the most damaging symptoms of this disease, such as diabetic neuropathy. For women, an increase in the frequency of urinary tract infections may be a sign of high blood sugar levels, but this is just one of the possible causes of a UTI. However, some people who have diabetes also have key symptoms and early warning signs, such as frequent urination, increased thirst, and excessive hunger. While some people will notice early warning signs, they can be difficult to spot, especially in the case of type 2 diabetes.
The first signs of insulin resistance usually appear very slowly in people with high blood sugar levels. . .