High blood sugar levels, a key indicator of Type 2 diabetes, often develop quietly with symptoms that are easy to miss. In fact, 1 in 3 people with diabetes don’t even know they have it. Ignoring these early signs can lead to dangerous complications like heart disease, nerve damage, and vision problems.
This article will help you identify the symptoms of high blood sugar levels – the early warning signs of Type 2 diabetes – so you can take steps to protect your health and prevent complications.
With the right diet, exercise, and, if necessary, medications, diabetes can be managed, allowing you to live a fulfilling and healthy life.
In the first part of this article, we’ll explore the early warning signs of diabetes. In the second part, you’ll learn about effective ways to prevent Type 2 diabetes and take control of your health.
Warning Signs of Diabetes
In 2013, over 382 million people around the world had diabetes, and 90% of them had type 2 diabetes. This is a metabolic disease, characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Production of insulin – a pancreatic hormone that usually deals with balancing blood sugar levels – is either reduced or the cells don’t respond to it properly. The following symptoms develop as a result of this:
1. Frequent urination (polyuria): If you notice that you have to urinate more often, and you wake up during the night (sometimes several times) to empty your bladder, this could be a warning sign. The kidneys start working harder to get rid of the excess glucose from the blood.
2. Excessive thirst (polydipsia): This symptom links with the previous one. As you lose more fluids, the body will try to replenish them, hence the constant need to drink.
3. Increased hunger (polyphagia): Due to extreme highs and lows in blood sugar levels, the body develops a sudden urge to eat. The cells don’t get enough glucose, so you crave it.
4. Dry mouth: You experience a lack of moisture in the mouth, which can be both unpleasant and dangerous. Dry mouth can become a breeding ground for bacteria and cause different oral and dental problems. Gum diseases are a known complication of diabetes.
5. Unexplained weight loss or weight gain: As insulin can’t get glucose into the cells, the body reacts as if it would be starving and starts using proteins from the muscles. Rapid, unexplained weight loss (10 to 20 pounds over a couple of months) is not healthy and requires further investigation. On the other hand, increased consumption of sugary foods can lead to weight gain.
6. Fatigue: Excessive tiredness can develop when body constantly compensates for the lack of glucose in the cells. It also doesn’t help if your sleep gets interrupted by the urgency to urinate. People start experiencing lower levels of energy and are chronically not feeling well. It is not uncommon to also feel irritable and in a bad mood.
Further reading: You can also read my previous article about 6 reasons you are tired all the time, in which health issues are one of them.
7. Vision problems: High blood sugar also affects the eyes. It changes the shape of the lens and eyes. As a result, your vision becomes blurry. You can see occasional flashes of light and the vision gets distorted. Initially, the changes to the eyes are reversible. However, if sugar levels stay high for a long period of time, this can cause permanent damage and can even lead to eyesight loss.
Further reading: find here more health warnings your eyes may be sending and how to protect your eyes.
8. Headaches – A headache can develop due to elevated blood sugar levels and is considered an early sign of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). The symptom gets worse as condition worsens.
Further reading: Read my article about the top 15 causes of headaches and how to get rid of them naturally.
9. Infections, cuts and bruises that do not heal: This classic sign of diabetes is a consequence of blood vessel damage. Excessive amounts of sugar harm the veins and arteries, so they become less able to transport blood to where it is needed to repair and heal the damage.
10. Yeast infections: Since bacteria and fungi thrive in a sugary environment, infections can become more common. The most frequent ones are yeast infections, such as candida, especially vaginal candida infections in women.
Further reading: read my precious articles about top signs that you have candida infection and what to do about it, and how to treat vaginal yeast infection naturally.
11. Numbness and tingling in hands and feet: This symptom is a result of nerve damage – neuropathy – that is connected with diabetes. Tingling and numbness in arms and feet can be accompanied by burning pain and swelling. If sugar levels are not brought down, the nerve damage can become permanent and presents a serious complication of diabetes named diabetic neuropathy.
12. Skin changes: Velvety dark skin, known as achantosis nigricans, can appear on the neck, groin and armpit. You can also observe other unusual skin changes and itchiness, especially around the vaginal or groin area.
13. Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes also damages blood vessels and nerves in the sex organs, which can lead to different sexual problems. Women can experience vaginal dryness and men can have difficulty with erection. 35% to 75% of men with diabetes suffer from impotence.
If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, see your doctor so you can have a blood test and establish if you are indeed suffering from type 2 diabetes.
Several tests are used and they need to be repeated to give a reliable diagnosis. The fasting plasma glucose test checks your sugar levels after 8 hours of fasting. If your blood sugar is above 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) on two occasions, it means you have diabetes. Just as worrying are slightly lower values of 100 to 125 mg/dL. This is considered to be prediabetes.
