Diabetes is a chronic health problem and can pose serious health risks. While identifying the early signs and taking prompt action can help, the symptoms can be subtle and easily ignored. Nearly 40 million Americans have diabetes, and 9 million of them do not even realize that they have the disease. This can lead to poor health management and worsening of the condition. Read More: striction d
Without proper care, diabetes can lead to nerve damage, kidney failure, vision loss, and cardiovascular disease. If you suspect you have type 2 diabetes, you should cross-check the symptoms and visit a core primary care doctor immediately.
The warning signs of type 2 diabetes
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Frequent urination.
When you have type 2 diabetes and consume too much sugar, your kidneys cannot handle that amount of glucose. Therefore, it flushes some of it out of the blood through your urine, causing you to urinate frequently. The more your sugar intake, the more you will go to the bathroom to urinate. Some people notice that they must wake up several times at night to urinate and produce more urine than usual.
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Increased thirst.
Excessive thirst is one of the earliest signs that you have diabetes. Your kidney works harder to filter the sugar and flush it out of your body through your urine. It also flushes out other bodily fluids in the process. Therefore, your body experiences dehydration, and you feel thirsty more often. You drink more water which then leads to urinating more often.
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Increased hunger.
Increased hunger in diabetic patients is also called diabetic hyperphagia. It is a common condition among diabetic patients whose feelings of hunger do not go away no matter how much they eat. While some may mistake this for a sudden change in appetite or an eating disorder, it is usually a symptom of an underlying medical condition. It is characterized by an abnormal and strong persistent sensation of hunger that eating does not satisfy.
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Unexpected weight loss.
Strangely, type 2 diabetes can be characterized by increased hunger as well as unexpected weight loss. While losing a few pounds should not be a concern, losing 10 pounds at once is a red flag. Weight loss can happen quickly, from a few weeks to a few months.
Insulin is used by your body to generate energy from glucose. If you have diabetes, your body does not use insulin effectively, and glucose is built up in the blood. When your cells do not receive glucose, it creates energy by burning fat in an effort to compensate.
