7 Common Symptoms for Diabetics

This article has been medically approved by Pharmacist Sumaiya Patel - GPhC Reg No: 2215078

When the body's cells are deprived of the glucose they need for energy, either due to your body not producing enough insulin from the pancreas to convert the blood glucose into usable energy or ineffective insulin receptors, they fail to function properly. This failure can end up causing unusual reactions that can herald diabetes risk and these symptoms become a marker for further testing and diagnoses. Symptoms of Type I diabetes can appear very unexpectedly and be very acute, whereas the symptoms for Type II diabetes can appear much more slowly and carry on unobserved, making diagnosis more difficult.

Common symptoms

• Appetite increases as the body requires an additional energy source, yet unexplained weight loss and nausea commonly accompany meal times and you do not noticeably gain any weight no matter what you eat.
• The body's response to hyperglycaemia, which is high blood glucose levels, is to try to rid itself of the excess glucose in the blood by passing it to the urine, causing frequent urination and leading to dehydration and increased thirst.
• Fatigue and lack of energy may set in more easily and more often than normal, making it harder to wake-up and even get out of bed.
• Both your vision and your eyesight can become affected as the blood vessels in the eyeball shrink, causing blurry sight and disorientation and leading to blindness if left untreated.
• Mood swings can become more disruptive or severe, and is sometimes confused with menopausal symptoms in older women, causing you to feel irritable, angry, or restless.
• Sometimes a stinging, prickly feeling may be felt in the lips, tongue and mouth areas, or numbness in the feet and hands, signalling poor circulation and cellular nutrition.
• Any skin infections or wounds or yeast infections you get will take a much longer time to heal, especially on the lower leg and ankle areas. These infections may respond more slowly to treatment or deteriorate quickly if no treatment is given.

Conclusions

If you experience any of these warning signs, please consult your doctor or healthcare provider and get an accurate diagnosis and see what treatment may be necessary. Keep in mind, that some of these warning signs could indicate other illnesses, and considering the symptoms of Type I and Type II diabetes are similar in some ways, you should ask your doctor for a impaired glucose test to determine which type of diabetes you may possibly have.

Delayed treatment of diabetes can cause very serious problems but it can be managed easily with proper diet, regular exercise and proper medication. Your doctor, healthcare provider and/or dietician can guide you in the management of your diabetes treatment in a safe and practical way.