Symptoms of Diabetes

Symptoms of diabetes – What are they?

Do you sometimes wonder whether you have diabetes?

It should be pretty easy to tell because there are quite a number of symptoms of this chronic disease.

There are two sorts of diabetes and both have reasonably similar symptoms.

When someone has type 1 diabetes, this means the cells in their pancreas which are supposed to produce insulin are not working properly.

This then means there is less insulin in their blood.

Insulin is used in the process of moving the glucose in the food we eat to various cells in our body. The cells can then make energy from the glucose. Without insulin, we have a lack of energy.

When insulin levels are not properly sustained, the glucose from our food can not be carried to the cells, hence it just sits in our bloodstream. If left untreated, the glucose levels will continue to rise in the blood stream which can eventually lead to big problems.

Often when someone has type one diabetes, they constantly feel hungry because of the heap of glucose left in the bloodstream – their cells have a lack of energy so they go looking for more.

The glucose does not just sit forever in their blood, just building up. Type 1 diabetics often have frequent visits to the bathroom as their body gets rid of the excess glucose through urination. This often makes them feel perpetually thirsty too.

If you have any of these symptoms so far mentioned then it is possible you may have type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes often occurs suddenly. There are no warning signs to look for.

Type 1 diabetes has been dubbed “Juvenile Diabetes” because it most often happens to teenagers.

This does not mean adolescents are the only ones who may suddenly have type 1 diabetes. It can happen to adults too. Of all the diabetes cases discovered in the world, only 3 percent are diagnosed as type 1.

There are other symptoms of type 1 diabetes too such as pain in the abdomen, unexplained weight loss, nausea and vomiting and lack of menstruation (in females).

Don’t let the name of this disease fool you, however – full-grown adults run the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes as well. Three percent of all new diabetes cases are Type one.

Other symptoms that may occur when Type one diabetes is present include sudden unexplained weight loss, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, nausea, and unusual lack of menstruation in females.

Type 2 diabetes is much more frequently found. 

Those with type 2 diabetes don’t usually have any problems producing insulin – the problem occurs when their bodies have trouble dealing with all the insulin which is made by the pancreas.

Type 2 diabetes is often seen in overweight people as fat can stop the body from processing insulin. Those with type 2 diabetes always have high blood-glucose levels because their body does not use the sugar properly.

Type 2 diabetes is harder to diagnose because people with it do not usually show any symptoms.

If there are symptoms though, they could be things such as being very hungry or thirsty, have blurred vision, a more frequent need to urinate and blurred vision.

Another symptom could be infections which happen often and are slow healing.

These issues can lead to life-threatening problems so if you have even any vague feeling that you may be a diabetic, go to your Doctor immediately and have a test to insure no damage is done to your body –or your life.

And now we answer the question: What Causes Diabetes?