Your Health n Mind

What are the symptoms of diabetes?  It is sometimes hard to pinpoint.  They do not always manifest themselves in all people in the same way.  Generally, however, most people do experience some symptoms.  Some of the more common symptoms of diabetes people may experience include fatigue, a feeling of sickness, urinating often, thirst, hunger, irritability and blurred vision, among others.

Many times the initial symptom is frequent urination.  This is due to the fact that the body has an excess of glucose in the blood, which effects your kidneys.  Your Kidneys are not able to process the glucose back into your blood if insulin is not present.  They try to draw extra water out of your blood to dilute the glucose, which causes your bladder to be full often.

Many people suffering from diabetes (usually Type 1) will notice weight loss. This is a result of the body not creating enough insulin, instead resorting to muscle tissue and fat for energy. This may cause substantial weight loss.

Being thirsty all the time is another symptom many people report.  This can go hand in hand with the frequent urination, and may be a partial cause of the frequent urination.  If your body is pulling water out of your blood, you will have the urge to drink more water to counteract that process.

A major symptom of diabetes is fatigue.  Glucose is what supplies your body with energy, when it is not available, you can get fatigued very quickly.  You can have plenty of glucose in the blood, but if there is no insulin to allow it to transfer to the cells that need it, your body is not getting the energy it needs.

Lastly, you may feel tingling in parts of your body such as your hands and legs, and sometimes your feet.  This condition is called neuropathy.  This happens gradually, over time, from high glucose levels damaging your nervous system.  This can often times improve for diabetics if the right blood glucose level is reached.

Blurred vision, dry skin, extreme hunger and irritability are some of the other symptoms of diabetes.  If you have any of these symptoms, it is a good idea to give your doctor a call and schedule an appointment.  Simple blood tests can help diagnose diabetes.

Check back in, we will be looking more in depth at diabetes and offering additional resources, including recipes, treatments, advice for living with diabetes and more.