More Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

Written by Michael Corrieri

Diabetes mellitus is a disease that occurs when the body is unable to normally use a type of sugar called glucose.

Sometimes this disease is called sugar diabetes. Glucose is the main source of energy that is utilized by every cell in your body. Glucose levels in the blood are controlled by insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas. Insulin helps your body utilize the sugar or glucose for the cells.

There are two major types of diabetes. Type-one diabetes occurs when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin for your body’s needs. Type-two diabetes happens when the body can’t respond to the insulin that is made. In both types of the disease the blood sugar or glucose levels rise and need to be managed by diet and medications.

Common Symptoms

The most common symptoms of both types of diabetes include extreme thirst, unexplained weight loss and needing to urinate more.

Urinating more often occurs because there is too much glucose or sugar in the blood stream. When this happens, it is difficult for the kidneys to filter the glucose back into the blood and they become overwhelmed. So the kidneys try to draw more water out of the blood stream to dilute the glucose. This means the bladder is kept full and more frequent urination occurs.

Having the kidneys pull additional water out of the blood stream means that the person feels dehydrated and needs more water, so having excess thirst and an overactive bladder go hand in hand.

A more subtle sign is losing weight without trying. More noticeable in Type-one diabetes, the pancreas stops making insulin and the body looks elsewhere for the energy it needs. It finds this energy in the muscle tissue and fat cells of the body. It can cause a rapid breakdown of this tissue and fat cells and the body seems to melt as it quickly sheds the weight. In Type-two diabetes this reaction is slower and not as noticeable.

Other Symptoms

These symptoms can also occur, although they can be more difficult to associate with diabetes because the symptoms are not unique to diabetes and commonly occur for many other reasons.

Weakness and Fatigue: Normally the glucose or sugar from food goes into the bloodstream where insulin is supposed to help this glucose into the cells of the body to be used to produce energy. If the insulin isn’t there to make this transition, or there isn’t enough of it, the body will have no or very little energy. This makes us feel tired and run down.
Numbness or Tingling in the hands, legs or feet: This symptom has a name, it is called neuropathy. It generally occurs over time because having a consistent high glucose level in the bloodstream damages the nervous system. This symptom is almost always associated with Type-two diabetes because Type-two generally happens gradually. This means that because it happens over time, people aren’t aware they have it. So the blood sugar in a Type-two diabetic could have been high for years before they are diagnosed. This nerve damage can sometimes be reversed when the blood is monitored and the glucose levels corrected.

Less Common Symptoms

There are many less common symptoms. These symptoms are not unique to diabetes and can be difficult to use for diagnosis of the disease. The less common symptoms include dry and flaky skin, blurred vision, and frequent infections. The infections could be things like urinary tract, or infection from a cut. Another symptom is bruising easily, or having bruises that take a long time to heal.

Getting Tested For Diabetes

If you have a family history of diabetes or you think you have one or more of the signs of diabetes, it is important to talk to your doctor about getting tested for this disease. There are several tests that can be done; the most common tests include a fasting blood sugar test and an oral glucose tolerance test.

The fasting blood sugar test or FBS, is a test done after you haven’t eaten for eight to ten hours. This is a blood test that is commonly taken first thing in the morning after not eating throughout the night. A test result of 70mg/dl to 99mg/dl for the fasting blood glucose test is considered normal. A level of 100mg/dl to 125mg/dl is an impaired rating and a person is considered to have pre-diabetes. If you have a fasting glucose level that is higher than 125mg/dl you could have Type-two diabetes. If the first fasting glucose test is in the pre-diabetes or diabetes two range, the doctor will probably ask for a second test to verify the diagnosis.

The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test or OGTT, is usually done after a fasting glucose test has been taken to establish a baseline. After the baseline test you are given a prepared drink with 75 grams of sugar in it. Two hours later the blood test is taken again to test what your blood glucose levels are after drinking the sugar drink. A level of 140mg/dl and under is considered to be normal. From 140mg/dl to 200mg/dl your glucose tolerance is diagnosed as impaired or pre-diabetic. Over 200mg/dl returns a diagnosis of Type-two diabetes. This test will probably be done more than once.

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