Diabetes Symptoms
Key Takeaways
Diabetes can cause symptoms like increased thirst and hunger, frequent urination, headaches, and fatigue.
Many people with diabetes have no obvious symptoms. This is why screening tests are important.
The symptoms are similar for all types of diabetes.
Various factors, including the time course over which symptoms develop, the age of the patient, and whether they are overweight or have other health conditions, can provide clues as to which type of diabetes a person has. However, testing is needed to be sure.
If you have potential symptoms of diabetes, get tested as soon as possible.
Early detection and treatment of diabetes helps to avoid long-term complications, such as vision loss, kidney disease, and heart disease.
Diabetes is a condition in which the body is not able to keep blood sugar under control. In people with diabetes, average blood sugar levels are too high. This causes damage throughout the body, leading to long-term health complications like vision loss and kidney disease.
Treatment can help to keep blood sugar levels under control. Studies have shown that the earlier you begin treating diabetes, the lower your risk of long-term complications. This is why it’s important to know the symptoms of diabetes. If you develop these symptoms, you should get tested as soon as possible, so that you can begin treatment.
General Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
All types of diabetes lead to blood sugar levels that are higher than normal. High blood sugar can lead to a variety of symptoms, including:
Increased thirst
Frequent urination
Increased hunger
Fatigue
Headaches
Frequent skin infections
Slower healing of wounds
People with any type of diabetes may notice these symptoms. However, it’s important to recognize that there are not always obvious symptoms of diabetes, especially in the early stages. This is why it’s important to get regular screening for diabetes.
In Singapore, health authorities recommend regular screening for diabetes for everyone beginning at age 40, and earlier for those who have risk factors for diabetes, such as being overweight or having a family history of the condition. It’s also recommended that all pregnant women receive screening, because it’s common for women to develop diabetes during pregnancy.
Diabetes Symptoms in Men
Although most of the symptoms of diabetes are the same in men and women, there are certain symptoms related to sexual health that are specific to a person’s gender.
Men with diabetes often experience sexual symptoms, including trouble getting or keeping an erection. This happens because diabetes damages the nerves and blood vessels that are involved in the process of erection. Although a man’s ability to have an erection normally decreases with age, it’s important to consider the possibility that this problem could be caused by diabetes. This problem is three and a half times more common in men with diabetes than in men who don’t have diabetes.
Diabetes Symptoms in Women
A woman with diabetes may notice that she gets frequent vaginal yeast infections. Although yeast infections are relatively common in women in general, women with diabetes tend to get them more often.
In addition, women with diabetes may experience vaginal dryness, which can make sexual activity painful. Similarly to men, they may also experience problems with sexual arousal, which is related to damage to nerves and blood vessels caused by diabetes. Although issues like these can also be caused by changes in hormone levels during and after menopause, it’s important to consider that they might be caused by diabetes.
Types of Diabetes and their Symptoms
There are multiple different types of diabetes, and each one has a different cause. Although the symptoms of diabetes are similar across all types, certain factors serve as clues as to which type a person has. In some cases, this is enough to diagnose a particular type of diabetes, while in other cases, further testing is needed to be sure about the diagnosis.
Type 1 diabetes
In people with type 1 diabetes, the body is not able to produce enough insulin to control blood sugar. This is an autoimmune condition, meaning that it’s caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body’s own tissues. When the immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, type 1 diabetes is the result.
Type 1 diabetes is the most common type in children, and most people are diagnosed between 5 and 14 years old. When a child develops symptoms of diabetes, type 1 is usually the type that’s suspected. However, people of any age can potentially develop type 1 diabetes, and 40% of patients are diagnosed after the age of 30. Age may be a clue as to what type of diabetes someone has, but it’s not possible to rely solely on this factor to determine the diagnosis.
With type 1 diabetes, the onset of symptoms tends to be quite rapid, often occurring within a period of weeks. This may help to distinguish type 1 diabetes from other types, which often take longer to develop. However, some patients, especially those who develop type 1 diabetes as adults, may take longer to develop noticeable symptoms.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type overall, especially in adults. In this condition, the body produces enough insulin, at least at first. However, the body’s cells are resistant to insulin, meaning that they don’t respond normally to the presence of insulin. As a result, insulin can’t act to trigger cells to take up glucose, and blood sugar rises as a result.
In addition to the signs of high blood sugar, such as increased thirst and frequent urination, people with type 2 diabetes may also notice signs of insulin resistance, such as:
Weight gain, especially around the midsection
Darkening of the skin of the armpits and back of the neck
Increased numbers of skin tags (small, painless growths on the skin)
High blood pressure
Being overweight greatly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes is also associated with other conditions, like high blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol levels. People who are overweight or who have these other conditions are more likely to have type 2 diabetes. However, it’s certainly possible for overweight people to develop type 1 diabetes, so it’s important to consider this possibility to avoid a misdiagnosis.
In addition, type 2 diabetes generally develops slowly over time. If the symptoms appear gradually, then type 2 diabetes is more likely to be the cause.
Prediabetes
Prediabetes is a condition in which a person’s average blood sugar is higher than normal, but not quite high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. Like type 2 diabetes, prediabetes is caused by insulin resistance. However, in people with prediabetes, insulin resistance is not as severe.
When no actions are taken to address the problem, there’s a high likelihood that prediabetes will progress to type 2 diabetes. However, lifestyle changes can halt or reverse the problem in many cases, which can prevent diabetes from developing. That’s why it’s important to detect prediabetes.
There are often no symptoms of prediabetes. Because blood sugar levels aren’t as high as they are in people with diabetes, symptoms of high blood sugar, such as increased thirst and frequent urination, will generally be absent in people with prediabetes. However, signs of insulin resistance, such as weight gain, darkening of the skin in certain areas, and increased numbers of skin tags, may occur in people with prediabetes.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy. This can lead to complications with the pregnancy, including difficulties with delivery of the baby. A mother with gestational diabetes has an increased risk of preeclampsia, a condition in which blood pressure rises dangerously high. The baby has an increased risk of health problems after birth, including trouble breathing and jaundice, and also has an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life.
Gestational diabetes occurs because hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy act to make the mother’s body more insulin resistant. Although this insulin resistance occurs to some extent during every pregnancy, many women’s bodies are able to produce more insulin to compensate, and blood sugar control remains normal. However, in some women, there isn’t enough insulin available to make up for the insulin resistance, and gestational diabetes develops.
If a mother already has diabetes before she gets pregnant, then this would not be considered gestational diabetes. Instead, the mother would have type 1 or type 2 diabetes in pregnancy. Treatment for pre-existing diabetes to get it well under control is important during pregnancy, in order to avoid complications with the pregnancy.
It’s standard for pregnant women to be screened for gestational diabetes during their second trimester. If this screening is missed and gestational diabetes develops, then the symptoms of high blood sugar may occur. If a pregnant woman notices symptoms like increased thirst, she should talk to her doctor about this. Symptoms like frequent urination and increased hunger are already common during pregnancy, so it may be difficult to tell whether these are signs of high blood sugar or simply effects of the pregnancy itself.
Additional Complications
If you have diabetes, then your body is unable to regulate your blood sugar properly. This can lead to serious complications. It’s very important to watch out for these, so you can get treatment quickly if they occur. If they’re not treated, then they can even be fatal.
Your treatment team will teach you about these conditions and how to recognize the signs, so that you feel prepared to keep yourself safe. In some cases, there are steps you can take on your own to address the problem. In other cases, you may need to seek emergency medical attention. If you develop symptoms of any of these conditions and you’re not sure what to do, seek medical attention immediately.
Hypoglycemia
Diabetes treatment is generally aimed at preventing blood sugar from rising too high. But it’s also important to avoid having blood sugar dip too low. Low blood sugar is medically known as hypoglycemia. It causes symptoms like confusion, shakiness, and fatigue, and if it’s not treated, it can lead to seizures and even death.
Because diabetes medications are designed to lower blood sugar, they increase the risk of hypoglycemia. It’s important for anyone taking diabetes medications to be aware of the signs of this condition. If you develop potential symptoms, you should test your blood sugar immediately. If it’s low, then taking a small amount of sugar (often in the form of fruit juice) will address the problem. You don’t need to go overboard – it only takes about 10 to 15 grams of sugar to correct hypoglycemia. About half a glass of juice should be enough. If you take too much (for example, if you eat a whole candy bar), this will cause an overcorrection and will lead to high blood sugar.
Hyperglycemia
When a person’s blood sugar is too high, they can develop high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia. The long-term effects of high blood sugar lead to the complications of diabetes. However, very high blood sugar can also be associated with serious health impacts over the short term.
Extremely high blood sugar passes into your urine, drawing a lot of fluid with it. This can lead to severe dehydration, which causes a dry mouth and extreme thirst along with symptoms like confusion and weakness. This is known as diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome, and generally occurs when blood sugar levels are greater than 600 mg/dL (33 mmol/L). It’s more common in people with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes.
When there’s not enough insulin to help glucose enter your cells, then your body begins breaking down fats for energy. This process produces a byproduct known as ketones. Large amounts of ketones change the acidity level of your blood. This is known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). It causes symptoms like nausea, abdominal pain, and confusion. People with type 1 diabetes are more likely to develop DKA, although those with other types can also develop this condition.
Diabetic Coma
Either very high or very low blood sugar can cause a person to become unconscious. This is known as a diabetic coma. If you’re with someone who has diabetes, and they become unconscious, seek emergency medical attention immediately. Make sure to tell the emergency personnel that the unconscious person has diabetes, so they can provide the right treatment as quickly as possible.
If you have diabetes and you feel like you might pass out, test your blood sugar right away, so you know whether it’s low or high. If you’re not able to test, seek immediate medical attention.
What you should do
If tests have shown that you have diabetes or prediabetes, then it’s important to talk to a medical professional as soon as possible. Studies have shown that the earlier you begin treatment for diabetes, the lower your risk of long-term complications. It’s best not to delay talking to a doctor about your treatment options. You can consult your regular GP, or you can choose a diabetes specialist.
Our NOVI Magnum program is designed to provide holistic care for people with diabetes. This includes treatment by our physicians, who are diabetes specialists. They’ll monitor your health and prescribe any medications that they recommend in your specific case.
Because lifestyle is also a crucial aspect of diabetes treatment, you’ll also consult with a nutritionist and a health coach. They’ll assist you in creating a healthy eating plan that will help keep your blood sugar under control, as well as a sustainable exercise plan. Using our custom app, you’ll stay connected with your team, to help you stick to your plan so you can reach your goals.