Symptoms of Diabetes

Diabetes is often undetected because the symptoms are not known or it develops gradually so the symptoms are not noticed. In the U.S., more than 6 million people have diabetes and don't know it.

This is a serious problem because the side effects of diabetes can be devastating. Side effects can include heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and even amputation.

Here is a list of the top symptoms to look out for:

Exessive thirst and frequent urination

These are some of the most important symptoms. Diabetes is the result of high blood sugar levels. It can result from the pancreas not producing enough insulin (type 1) or the body's inability to regulate and utilize insulin (type 2).

Your kidneys filter the excessive sugars from your blood. If they are unable to keep up, the excessive is excreted into your urine. This is where excessive urination comes into play.

However, increasing urine to wash away sugar removes water from the blood and tissues. This causes excessive thirst. And the more you drink, the more frequently you must urinate. You might notice your urine is lightly colored or clear as a result.

It is important to note here that this puts a lot of stress on the kidneys. Over time, the kidneys may begin to fail. It is important that this condition be remedied before problems occur.

As a diabetic, it is also important to note that when blood sugar levels rise too high, drinking plenty of water can help bring the levels down.

Constantly tired or having flu-like symptoms

Those with diabetes can have feelings of fatigue, weakness, and loss of appetite. It can resemble having the flu but without running a fever. The flu lasts for a short period of time and you get over it. Diabetes makes this feeling go on and on.

This conditions occurs because your body is unable to convert blood sugars into energy. Without energy, you feel tired and run down.

Weight loss or gain

Frequent urination may remove sugar from the blood. But it also removes calories available to the body. This can lead to feelings of constant hunger which food does not quench. For type 1 diabetes, this can lead to rapid weight loss.

Weight gain is also a problem for diabetics. Excessive weight causes the body to be less sensitive to insulin. Even though you might produce enough, you cannot effectively conver sugars to energy. This is insulin resistance.

Producing more insulin to counteract insulin resistance can cause damage to the organs of the body. There are some drugs that will make the body respond better to insulin. However, excercise and weight loss can also make the body more sensitive.

Blurred vision

Removing high levels of sugar from your tissues can affect the eyes including the lenses. This will reduce the ability to focus.

Left untreated, diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the eye as well as cause new ones to grow in the retina. This can cause vision problems such as dark spots, flashing lights, and rings around lights. If left untreated, this can lead to blindness.

Frequent infections and slow-healing sores

High blood sugar levels reduce the ability to fight infections and heal wounds. For women, this can lead to frequent bladder and vaginal infections. For men, it might lead to itchy skin rashes on the underarms and groin.

Tingling in hands and feet

High blood sugar can lead to nerve damage and circulation problems. Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet is one of the symptoms. Numbness in the feet can lead to injuries that go untreated and may lead to serious infection.

Toe nail fungus may also be an indication there is a problem.

Red, swollen or tender gums

With a weakened ability to fight germs, there is increase risks of gum infections. There may be sores or puss pockets develop. The gums may also pull away from the teeth causing problems with decay and loose teeth.

Some people will ignore the symptoms of diabetes because they believe they will have to take insulin injections. Yes, that can be a scary thought. But most who get the disease later in life can treat it with diet, exercise and oral medications. The longer you wait to find out increases your chance of having to treat some other condition resulting from untreated diabetes.

If you think you or a loved one may have diabetes, a simple test can determine whether they do. Remember, early treatment will reduce the severity of side effects later on.