Diabetes Early Warning Signs You Should Know

Do you find yourself needing to visit the bathroom more often than usual to empty your bladder? Frequent urination is common as you age. Being pregnant also makes bathroom runs more frequent, as does an enlarged prostate. But if none of these conditions apply to you and the situation continues without any sign of abatement, the problem could be diabetes.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates there are 40.1 million people in the United States with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes, which equates to 12 percent of the U.S. population. If that were not alarming enough, 115.2 million adults have prediabetes, which means their blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. [1]

Understanding diabetes

Whatever your age, you could be at risk of diabetes. Most forms of diabetes are chronic – lasting throughout your life – but are manageable with the right medications and/or lifestyle changes. Understanding the disease, which is the first step in recognizing early diabetes warning signs, starts with knowing the role of glucose (sugar) in the body.

Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose and releases it into your bloodstream. Beta cells in the pancreas, a large gland in your belly that helps with digestion and the regulation of blood sugar, produce insulin and deliver it into the bloodstream. From there, insulin moves glucose from the blood into your body’s cells, which use it for energy and other essential processes. When the pancreas fails to do its job in producing and regulating insulin to transform food into accessible cell energy, the result often is diabetes, Type 1, or Type 2.

Type 1 versus Type 2 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disease. The immune system mistakes the body’s own healthy cells as foreign invaders. In response, the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Once these cells are destroyed, the body is unable to produce insulin.[2]  CDC estimates there are 2.1 million people with diagnosed Type 1 diabetes in the U.S., including adults, children, and adolescents. [3]

With Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body cannot use insulin correctly so sugar builds up in the blood. Some people with Type 2 diabetes need diabetes pills or insulin shots to help their bodies use glucose for energy.

Type 2 is more common than Type 1, accounting for 90 to 95 percent of all cases.[4]  Type 2 can occur in people of all ages but occurs more often in older individuals. Being overweight and inactive can contribute to the disease. More than 38 million people in the U.S. have Type 2 diabetes. [5]

Watch for diabetes warning signs

Frequent urination, which can be one of the early diabetes warning signs, results from excess levels of glucose. The high glucose levels cause the kidneys to work harder. As a result, the body flushes out excess glucose through frequent urination. Flushing out hydrating fluids can also result in excessive thirst and dehydration. Drinking more fluids to quench the thirst leads to more urination.

Among other diabetes warning signs, watch for:

Fatigue: Fatigue is one of the major symptoms of diabetes. Reasons why diabetes causes fatigue include:[6]

·         Changes in blood sugar levels: Fatigue and weakness may be the result of an insufficient amount of glucose reaching the cells.

·         Side effects of medications: Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is a potential side effect of diabetes medications. Low blood sugar can cause fatigue. Other medications used to treat diabetes complications and other health problems, such as corticosteroids and statins, can contribute to fatigue.

·         Diabetes complications: Kidney problems, heart disease, frequent infections, nerve damage, and blindness are complications of diabetes that contribute to feelings of fatigue.

·         Mental and emotional issues: Having diabetes can affect a person mentally and emotionally, leading to anxiety and depression, which can cause fatigue.

Feeling very hungry: Diabetes may keep glucose from your food reaching your cells, which leads to constant feelings of hunger.

Blurry vision: Studies report that 5 percent of people with prediabetes have diabetic retinopathy.[7] Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina, which is the light-sensitive layer of cells in the back of the eye. The damaged blood vessels can swell and leak. The result is blurry vision or blood flow stops. New blood vessels may grow, but they are not normal and can cause further vision problems. The condition usually affects both eyes.[8]

Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet: The National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) estimates up to one-half of people with diabetes have peripheral neuropathy. That is because high blood glucose or blood sugar and elevated levels of fats in the blood from diabetes can damage nerves and the small blood vessels that nourish them.[9]

Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal: Poor circulation is common among those with diabetes. Poor circulation makes it hard for blood, needed for skin repair, to reach areas of the body affected by sores or wounds.[10] Slow-healing cuts and wounds can be especially troublesome if they affect the feet. If not properly treated, foot wounds can lead to more severe complications, which can result in amputation.

Weight loss: While weight loss of a few pounds is not a cause for concern, unexplained weight loss of ten pounds or more may mean something is wrong. Such dramatic weight loss could be an early sign of diabetes. When you do not get glucose in your cells, your body thinks it is starving and finds a way to compensate. It creates energy by burning fat and muscle at a rapid pace, causing unexplained weight loss, especially with type 1 diabetes.[11]

Itchy and dry skin: Skin may start to feel dry and start to itch. Dry skin is among the most common diabetic skin problems; others include bacterial and fungal infections and diabetes skin rash. Diabetes dry skin results from high blood glucose levels in the blood stream which causes your body to pull fluid from its cells so that it can produce enough urine to remove the excess sugar.[12] This lack of fluid leads to diabetes dry skin on feet, legs, elbows, and other areas.  An estimated 11.3 percent of people with diabetes report dry itchy skin.[13]

Differences in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes warning signs

Even though the diabetes warning signs of Type 1 and Type 2 are the same, there is a difference in how they appear. Because the decline in insulin can be rapid or slow, people with Type 1 diabetes can develop symptoms rapidly over few weeks or months, or the disease can come on more slowly after few years. [14]

The most common Type 1 diabetes warning signs are:

·         Frequent urination

·         Constant thirst

·         Fatigue and lack of energy

·         Unexplained Weight loss

Type 2 diabetes warning signs may be mild and develop more slowly over time, especially at the onset of the disease. You may go for years without recognizing you have Type 2 diabetes. [15]

Recognize diabetes warning signs and see your doctor. The appropriate treatment can improve health and quality of life and avoid serious diabetes complications.