10 Silent Diabetes Symptoms You Might Be Missing
Diabetes has plenty of early signs, but they're subtle enough that you might not notice. Syda Productions/shutterstock "It's not like you wake up one day and all of a sudden you're thirsty, hungry, and [going to the bathroom] all the time," says Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD, a certified diabetes educator in Illinois and a spokesperson for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. "It picks up gradually." Indeed, "most people are unaware that they have diabetes in its early or even middle phases," says Aaron Cypess, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and staff physician at Joslin Diabetes Center. Just because you're not keyed in doesn't mean you're immune from problems associated with diabetes, he adds. The longer you go without controlling diabetes, the greater your risk for heart disease, kidney disease, amputation, blindness, and other serious complications. "We recommend that people with risk factors for diabetes, such as a family history or being overweight, get evaluated on a regular basis," Dr. Cypess says. If you've been feeling off, talk to your doctor about getting a simple blood test that can diagnose the disease. And pay attention to these subtle diabetes symptoms and signs. Try these simple tricks for living well with diabetes from people who actually have it. Iryna Kolesova/shutterstock When you have diabetes, your body becomes less efficient at breaking food down into sugar, so you have more sugar sitting in your bloodstream, says Dobbins. "Your body gets rid of it by flushing it out in the urine." So going to the bathroom a lot could be one of the diabetes symptoms you're missing. Most patients aren't necessarily aware of how often they use the bathroom, says Dr. Cypess. "When we ask about it, we often hear, 'Oh yeah, I guess I Continue reading >>
Diabetes Symptoms In Women
What symptoms and signs of diabetes are the same for women and men? What is diabetes? What is prediabetes? Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when your blood sugar (glucose), is too high (hyperglycemia). Glucose is what the body uses for energy, and the pancreas produces a hormone called insulin that helps convert the glucose from the food you eat into energy. When the body does not produce enough insulin - or does not produce any at all - the glucose does not reach your cells to be used for energy. This results in diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune condition in which the body does not produce insulin because the body's immune system attacks insulin-producing cells from the pancreas called beta cells. Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which cells cannot use blood sugar (glucose) efficiently for energy. This occurs when blood sugar gets too high over time, and the cells become insensitive to insulin. Prediabetes (sometimes spelled pre-diabetes) is a condition that often precedes type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is when your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not quite high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. Prediabetes does not usually have any symptoms so there may be no warning signs. A blood test can confirm if you have prediabetes. If a person does not change their diet and lifestyle, prediabetes can become type 2 diabetes within 5 years. What signs and symptoms are unique to women with diabetes? Many type 1 and type 2 diabetes symptoms in women are the same as those in men; however, there are some symptoms and complications of diabetes unique to women. Vaginal itching and pain as well as vaginal and oral yeast infections: An overgrowth of Candida albicans fungus can cause vaginal yeast infections and oral yeas Continue reading >>
Latent Autoimmune Diabetes In Adults
Reviewed by endocrinologist Stanley S. Schwartz, MD, emeritus Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE, Chairman of the Grunberger Diabetes Institute, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Medicine & Genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine and President of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Call it diabetes type 1.5. Double diabetes. Or “slim type 2.” By any name, LADA—latent autoimmune diabetes in adults—plays by its own rules. Similar to type 1 diabetes, in LADA the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-making beta cells in the pancreas. But it progresses more slowly than type 1. Like type 2, it tends to happen after age 30. That’s just one reason LADA is usually misdiagnosed as type 2. Like typical type 2s, people with LADA may be insulin resistant; their bodies don’t respond readily to insulin’s signals to absorb blood sugar. And LADA can usually be controlled for months or years with pills and other non-insulin blood-sugar medications used by type 2s. But eventually, people with LADA need daily insulin shots or a pump to control their blood sugar.1 Researchers are still delving into LADA’s true nature. Some experts think it’s simply slow-motion type 1. Others have a hunch LADA’s got its own unique genetic signature.2 Up to 10% of people with type 2 may have LADA. “Knowing you have LADA could help your doctor choose early medications that can preserve beta cells longer. And it could help you and your doctor move you to insulin therapy sooner when blood sugar levels rise,” explains endocrinologist Stanley S. Schwartz, MD, an emeritus Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Is it LADA? Blood glucose tes Continue reading >>
Warning Signs Of Type 2 Diabetes
Almost a third of people who have diabetes do not know it. That number comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, most people with prediabetes — a condition that puts people at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes — don’t know they have it. So my diabetes story, which began in ignorance, was not so unusual. I had prediabetes for a long time before the complications caused by high blood sugar led to a stroke. This is the reason I made a list of warning signs for Type 2 diabetes. Perhaps you or someone you love will see how important it is to get a simple blood sugar test. If this sneaky condition is caught early, you can avoid serious complications. The symptoms of Type 2 are well known but are easy to miss. Two of them are increased thirst and frequent urination. The word “diabetes” comes from the Greek word for “siphon.” If the beta cells in your pancreas are working, insulin is pumping into your blood to help your body digest carbohydrates like sugar and bread and noodles. But in Type 2 diabetes (or prediabetes) your cells are resistant to insulin, which leaves much of that glucose, or simple sugar, in the bloodstream. When blood glucose levels are above 250 mg/dl, the ability of the kidneys to reabsorb fluids is blocked, leading to the release of large amounts of liquid (and sugar) into the bladder. (A urine test would show high sugar content. This is why for thousands of years, diabetes was called the “sweet urine disease.”) This process uses lots of water, leading to increased thirst. Another sign of prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes is fatigue. Since your muscle cells are resisting insulin, they are not getting fed the glucose from your blood supply. It makes you tired. The problem with using fatigue as a warnin Continue reading >>
Know The Signs And Symptoms Of Diabetes In Children And Adults
SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., – Diabetes is a disease that impairs the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin. It results in excess sugar in the blood. Diabetes affects all ages − babies before their born, children, teens, and adults. In recognition of National Diabetes Awareness month, Regional West health care providers encourage people to know the signs and symptoms of this chronic disease. The three main symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased hunger, and increased urination. Gestational diabetes is a particular concern among Regional West health care providers. “Poorly controlled gestational diabetes can be harmful to babies,” said pediatrician Cynthia Guerue, MD, FFAP, of Regional West Physician’s Clinic-Pediatrics. “When a mother’s diabetes is not well controlled early in pregnancy, it significantly increases the risk for congenital defects of the heart, nervous, and gastrointestinal system.” Gestational diabetes causes the baby’s pancreas to make extra insulin to get rid of blood glucose before birth, but may cause very low blood glucose levels at birth. It puts newborns at higher risk for premature birth, excess weight at birth, breathing problems, and feeding difficulties. All of these complications increase the likelihood of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, as well as short-term and long-term health problems. Babies with excess insulin become children who are at risk for obesity, and adults who are at risk for type 2 diabetes. Treatment for gestational diabetes includes special meal plans, scheduled physical activity, and monitoring of and treatment for high blood glucose levels. “While gestational diabetes is a cause for concern, the good news is that we closely monitor glucose levels in all expectan Continue reading >>
7 Silent Symptoms Of Pre-diabetes
A little fatigue. An extra five pounds you can’t shake. A bruise that just won’t heal. None of these symptoms are especially eyebrow-raising on their own. But taken together, they could be signs of a silent epidemic that’s affecting more and more women across the country: pre-diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that at least 86 million Americans—more than one in three—have the condition, which is marked by blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to qualify as diabetic. But as many as nine in 10 sufferers don’t know they have it, says Ashita Gupta, M.D., an endocrinologist at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “That’s because it’s common for people to feel perfectly normal and healthy while the disease is progressing,” she explains. Still, there are signs and symptoms you can watch out for. And you should, since pre-diabetes can be treated and reversed through dietary tweaks and healthy lifestyle changes when it’s caught earlier. But the longer it goes undiagnosed and untreated, the greater the chance of it turning into full-blown diabetes, which is much harder to rebound from. So in honor of November, which is American Diabetes Month, we asked Gupta to share some of the most common red flags of pre-diabetes. If you’ve experienced any of the symptoms on the slides ahead, ask your doctor to test you as soon as possible. Sudden spikes and dips in your blood sugar (which are common in those with pre-diabetes) can impair your eye’s ability to bend and focus, leading to blurred vision, says Gupta. The blurriness should go away once you get your sugar levels back into normal range. (Here are 10 other Surprising Things Your Eyes Reveal About Your Health.) One of the more well-known sig Continue reading >>
Type 1.5 Diabetes: An Overview
Type 1.5 Diabetes (T1.5D) is also known as Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults (LADA). LADA is considered by some experts to be a slowly progressive form of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) while other experts in the field consider it a separate form of Diabetes. LADA or T1.5D is sometimes thought of as T1D that is diagnosed in adults over the age of 30—T1D is commonly diagnosed in children and younger adults. T1.5D is often found along with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D): up to 25% of individuals with T1.5D also have characteristics of T2D.1 This is sometimes called “double diabetes”. Individuals with T1.5D are all eventually dependent on insulin for treatment, and have a very high risk of requiring insulin within months or years (up to six years) after the initial diagnosis. This is in contrast to people with T1D—these people tend to need insulin within days or weeks of diagnosis.2 Individuals diagnosed with T2D relatively rarely require insulin treatment. Current recommendations are to treat individuals with T1.5D immediately with insulin, though this is not universally accepted (see below). The Causes of T1.5D Just as with other forms of diabetes, we don’t truly understand the underlying cause(s) of T1.5D. There are autoimmune components in Types 1, 1.5 and 2 diabetes with some overlap in the types of antibodies formed, so it is clear that as in T1D, the immune system has become “confused” and begins to act against the beta cells of the pancreas—the source of the insulin needed to control blood sugars. Both T1D and T1.5D have antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase or anti-GAD antibodies. As with T1D, individuals with T1.5D tend not to be obese, whereas in T2D, most individuals are overweight or obese. Genetics and Environmental Susceptibility Individuals with T1.5D Continue reading >>
Symptoms, Diagnosis & Monitoring Of Diabetes
According to the latest American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, about 8 million people 18 years and older in the United States have type 2 diabetes and do not know it. Often type 1 diabetes remains undiagnosed until symptoms become severe and hospitalization is required. Left untreated, diabetes can cause a number of health complications. That's why it's so important to both know what warning signs to look for and to see a health care provider regularly for routine wellness screenings. Symptoms In incidences of prediabetes, there are no symptoms. People may not be aware that they have type 1 or type 2 diabetes because they have no symptoms or because the symptoms are so mild that they go unnoticed for quite some time. However, some individuals do experience warning signs, so it's important to be familiar with them. Prediabetes Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes No symptoms Increased or extreme thirst Increased thirst Increased appetite Increased appetite Increased fatigue Fatigue Increased or frequent urination Increased urination, especially at night Unusual weight loss Weight loss Blurred vision Blurred vision Fruity odor or breath Sores that do not heal In some cases, no symptoms In some cases, no symptoms If you have any of these symptoms, see your health care provider right away. Diabetes can only be diagnosed by your healthcare provider. Who should be tested for prediabetes and diabetes? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that you should be tested if you are: If your blood glucose levels are in normal range, testing should be done about every three years. If you have prediabetes, you should be checked for diabetes every one to two years after diagnosis. Tests for Diagnosing Prediabetes and Diabetes There are three ty Continue reading >>
What Are The Pre-diabetes Symptoms?
There’s good news, however. Progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes isn’t inevitable. Eating healthy foods, incorporating physical activity in your daily routine and maintaining a healthy weight can help bring your blood sugar level back to normal. Prediabetes affects adults and children. The same lifestyle changes that can help prevent progression to diabetes in adults might also help bring children’s blood sugar levels back to normal. The exact cause of prediabetes is unknown. But family history and genetics appear to play an important role. Inactivity and excess fat especially abdominal fat also seem to be important factors. What is clear is that people with prediabetes don’t process sugar (glucose) properly anymore. As a result, sugar accumulates in the bloodstream instead of doing its normal job of fueling the cells that make up muscles and other tissues. As insulin circulates, it allows sugar to enter your cells and lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream. As your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas. When you have prediabetes, this process begins to work improperly. Instead of fueling your cells, sugar builds up in your bloodstream. High blood sugar occurs when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or your cells become resistant to the action of insulin, or both. Continue reading >>
Could You Have Type 2? 10 Diabetes Symptoms
Diabetes symptoms Diabetes affects 24 million people in the U.S., but only 18 million know they have it. About 90% of those people have type 2 diabetes. In diabetes, rising blood sugar acts like a poison. Diabetes is often called the silent killer because of its easy-to-miss symptoms. "Almost every day people come into my office with diabetes who don't know it," says Maria Collazo-Clavell, MD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The best way to pick up on it is to have a blood sugar test. But if you have these symptoms, see your doctor. Watch the video: 5 Ways to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Increased urination, excessive thirst If you need to urinate frequently—particularly if you often have to get up at night to use the bathroom—it could be a symptom of diabetes. The kidneys kick into high gear to get rid of all that extra glucose in the blood, hence the urge to relieve yourself, sometimes several times during the night. The excessive thirst means your body is trying to replenish those lost fluids. These two symptoms go hand in hand and are some of "your body's ways of trying to manage high blood sugar," explains Dr. Collazo-Clavell. Weight loss Overly high blood sugar levels can also cause rapid weight loss, say 10 to 20 pounds over two or three months—but this is not a healthy weight loss. Because the insulin hormone isn't getting glucose into the cells, where it can be used as energy, the body thinks it's starving and starts breaking down protein from the muscles as an alternate source of fuel. The kidneys are also working overtime to eliminate the excess sugar, and this leads to a loss of calories (and can harm the kidneys). "These are processes that require a lot of energy," Dr. Collazo-Clavell notes. "You create a calorie deficit." Hunger Continue reading >>
Signs & Symptoms
There are many signs and symptoms that can indicate diabetes. Signs and symptoms can include the following: Unusual thirst Frequent urination Weight change (gain or loss) Extreme fatigue or lack of energy Blurred vision Frequent or recurring infections Cuts and bruises that are slow to heal Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet Trouble getting or maintaining an erection If you have any of these symptoms, it is important to contact your health-care provider right away. Even if you don’t have symptoms, if you are 40 or older, you should still get checked. It is important to recognize, however, that many people who have type 2 diabetes may display no symptoms. We respond to more than 20,000 requests per year by phone, email, and online chat. We are here to help give you the information and support you need so don't hesitate to contact us today. Contact Us Symptoms of diabetes in children Diabetes affects children of all ages. Most children who develop diabetes do not have a family history of diabetes. Symptoms of diabetes in your child could include: Drinking and going to the bathroom more frequently than usual Starting to wet the bed again Lack of energy If you think your child might have diabetes, see a doctor today. Diagnosis of diabetes Speak with your doctor and ask him or her to test you for diabetes using one of the following tests. The amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood is measured in mmol/L. Fasting blood glucose You must not eat or drink anything except water for at least eight hours before this test. A test result of 7.0 mmol/L or greater indicates diabetes. Random blood glucose This test may be done at any time, regardless of when you last ate. A test result of 11.0 mmol/L or greater, plus symptoms of diabetes, indicates diabetes. A1C This test may b Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
Tweet Type 2 diabetes symptoms will often develop gradually and may not always show symptoms at an earlier stage. Type 2 diabetes symptoms can differ slightly from symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong condition. Once symptoms of diabetes have developed into the condition, the body will then be unable to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood. It is important to catch the symptoms as early as possible to limit damage to the body. Although there are 3 main diabetes signs shared by all people with diabetes, type 2 diabetes may sometimes exhibit some specific symptoms, such as certain skin disorders. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes often develops slowly, over a period of years, and the symptoms can therefore also develop gradually. At diagnosis, people who have type 2 diabetes may show little or no symptoms of the condition. Because the symptoms develop slowly, type 2 diabetes may commonly be diagnosed following routine medical examinations or screening tests for non-related conditions. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes may include: Feeling tired during the day, particularly after meals (fatigue) Often feeling hungry, particularly if you feel hungry shortly after eating (polyphagia) Urinating more often than normal, particular needing to do so during the night (polyuria) Feeling abnormally thirsty (polydipsia) Blurred vision Itching of the skin, particularly itchiness around the genitals (genital itchiness) Slow healing of cuts or wounds Having regular yeast infections (thrush) Having a skin disorder such as psoriasis or acanthosis nigricans Sudden weight loss or loss of muscle mass Explore the most common symptoms of diabetes: Spotting the symptoms of type 2 diabetes The presence of type 2 diabetes prevents the body from being able to lower Continue reading >>
9 Early Signs Of Diabetes You Must Know (#2 Is So Often Overlooked)
Diabetes is sneaky. The early symptoms can go unnoticed for months or years. In fact, 1 in 3 people with type 2 diabetes don’t know they have it. 1 in 3. Most actually do experience the early signs but don’t realise or understand what they are. Early detection and treatment can have a profound impact on your long-term health. A 3-year delay in diagnosis increases your relative risk of heart disease by 29% (1). Therefore by knowing what to look for, you can take control of the situation before it takes control of you. Diabetes Symptoms In Adults and Children Diabetes is the term given to blood sugar (glucose) levels that are too high for a sustained period of time. The signs or symptoms of high blood sugar are typically the same for both children and adults. Patients with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a sudden, short period of time. The condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting. Type 2 diabetes on the other hand progresses quite slowly. Symptoms tend to come on gradually, which is why they are often overlooked. Some don’t experience any early symptoms at all. The following early signs of diabetes are the most common: 1. Increased urination is arguably the most common A significant increase in how often you urinate (Polyuria) is a tell-tale symptom of high blood sugar. As a point of reference, the average person pees 4 to 7 times in a 24-hour period. Waking up during the night to go, even though you already went right before bed, is a common red flag. Why does this happen?: Your kidneys are working overtime to expel the excess sugar in your blood. Sugar that the kidneys are unable to absorb must be urinated out. Therefore high sugar levels leads to more urination. 2. Excessive thirst is one of the classic early signs of diabetes Drinking u Continue reading >>
What Causes Diabetes?
Little Known Factors That Lead To Diabetes What are some of the lifestyle, genetics and other not-so-obvious factors that can trigger diabetes? What can you do to prevent this condition? Diabetes is a chronic condition associated with abnormally high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. It affects over 29.1 million people in the U.S. – 9.3 percent of the population in the U.S. Another 86 million Americans have prediabetes and aren’t even aware of it. The cause of diabetes is the absence or insufficient production of the hormone insulin, which lowers blood sugar in the body. Two types of diabetes There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2, which are also known as insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is less common: it affects only 1 in 250 Americans and only occurs in individuals younger than age 20. It has no known cure. A majority of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or cured. Signs and symptoms Among the symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are: Increased urine Excessive thirst Weight loss Hunger Fatigue Skin problems Slow-healing wounds Yeast infections Tingling or numbness in feet or toes Various factors Research has proven that there are certain lifestyle and genetic factors that lead to diabetes. Among them are: Leading a non-active lifestyle A family history of diabetes High blood pressure (hypertension) Low levels of the good cholesterol (HDL) Elevated levels of triglycerides (a type of fat) in the blood Increasing age Polycystic ovary syndrome Impaired glucose tolerance Insulin resistance Gestational diabetes during a pregnancy Some ethnic backgrounds (African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Alaska natives) are at greater risk of diabetes. Get t Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes
Symptoms The symptoms of diabetes include feeling very thirsty, passing more urine than usual, and feeling tired all the time. The symptoms occur because some or all of the glucose stays in your blood and isn't used as fuel for energy. Your body tries to get rid of the excess glucose in your urine. The main symptoms, which are common to both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, are: urinating more often than usual, particularly at night feeling very tired unexplained weight loss cuts or wounds that heal slowly blurred vision – caused by the lens of the eye becoming dry The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes are usually obvious and develop very quickly, often over a few weeks. These signs and symptoms aren't always as obvious, however, and it's often diagnosed during a routine check-up. This is because they are often mild and develop gradually over a number of years. This means you may have type 2 diabetes for many years without realising it. See your GP as soon as possible if you think you may have diabetes. Early diagnosis and treatment for type 2 diabetes is very important as it may reduce your risk of developing complications later on. Hyperglycaemia Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach, can't produce enough insulin to control your blood glucose level, or when the cells in your body don't respond properly to the insulin that is produced. This means your blood glucose levels may become very high, and is known as hyperglycaemia. Hyperglycaemia can occur for several reasons, including: eating too much being unwell ineffective diabetes medication, or not taking enough Hyperglycaemia causes the main symptoms of diabetes, which include extreme thirst and frequent urination. Next review due: 27/06/2018 Type 2 diabetes occurs when t Continue reading >>
