High blood sugar can sneak up on you without any obvious symptoms. In fact, most people don’t know they have high blood sugar until they’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes — and they’ve probably had it for some time.
How do you know if you have diabetes?
The telltale signs of Type 2 diabetes, such as frequent urination and excessive thirst, are often subtle, especially early on. But ignoring them can cause worse health problems down the road.
Even mild blood sugar elevation can damage your nerves, kidneys and retinas. And the higher your blood sugar levels and the longer you go without treatment, the worse the damage can get.
“When we diagnose someone, we assume they have probably already had diabetes for about five years,” says endocrinologist Kevin Pantalone, DO. “During screenings, a certain number of people who are newly diagnosed already have been living with kidney problems and retinal issues, so they’ve had it for some time.”
Dr. Pantalone says there are several symptoms that can occur early on with diabetes. Even if they’re subtle, they’re worth mentioning to your doctor.
1. You’re making more trips to the bathroom
Having to go to the bathroom more than normal, particularly at night, is a sign that your blood sugar might be out of whack. For example, Dr. Pantalone says one of his patients came in for a diagnosis after a family member noticed he was using the bathroom during each commercial break when they watched TV.
2. You’re experiencing urinary or yeast infections often
When your blood sugar is high and your kidneys can’t filter it well enough, sugar ends up in your urine. More sugar in a warm, moist environment can cause urinary tract and yeast infections, especially in women.
3. You’re losing weight without trying
If you have diabetes, your body isn’t able to use glucose (sugar) as effectively for its energy. Instead, your body will start burning fat stores, and you may experience unexpected weight loss.
4. Your vision is getting worse
High sugar levels can distort the lenses in your eyes, worsening your vision. Changes in your eyeglass prescription or vision are sometimes a sign of diabetes.
5. You’re feeling fatigued or exhausted
Several underlying causes of fatigue may relate to diabetes/high sugar levels, including dehydration (from frequent urination, which can disrupt sleep) and kidney damage. This feeling of exhaustion is often persistent and can interfere with your daily activities, Dr. Pantalone notes.
6. You’re noticing skin discoloration
Something that Dr. Pantalone often sees in people before a diabetes diagnosis is dark skin in their neck folds and over their knuckles. Insulin resistance can cause this condition, known as acanthosis nigricans.
How the signs are different between men and women
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), men are more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at a lower weight. One reason for this is that men tend to store more fat around their stomachs and this is a risk factor. Men who are living with Type 2 diabetes are also more likely to have heart disease. This combination could lead to erectile dysfunction (ED). In fact, the CDC says men who’re living with diabetes are three times more likely to experience ED. Nerve damage from diabetes can also lead to:
- An overactive bladder (especially at night).
- Incontinence (leaking urine).
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs).
- Retrograde ejaculation (semen is released into the bladder).
How diabetes symptoms differ for women
Women who’re living with Type 2 diabetes have more to manage. According to the CDC, diabetes can increase the risk of heart disease by about four times in women as compared to two times in men. Women are also at higher risk of other diabetes-related complications such as blindness, kidney disease and depression.
Women who are living with Type 2 diabetes might also have:
- A lower sex drive.
- Longer or heavier periods.
- Trouble getting pregnant or complications during pregnancy.
- Weight gain during menopause, which might require an increase in your diabetes medications.
- Frequent yeast or urinary tract infections.
Type 2 diabetes also affects women from specific ethnic groups differently. African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women are more likely to have diabetes than white women.
Ways to prevent Type 2 diabetes
It’s possible to prevent Type 2 diabetes. Most of it comes down to managing your weight and exercising regularly. Losing just 5% of your current weight can help reverse prediabetes, which is when you have higher blood sugar levels but they’re not high enough for you to be diagnosed with diabetes. It also helps to cut back on processed foods, alcohol, sugary drinks and trans fat. Go for whole grains, lean protein, fruit, non-starchy vegetables, water and unsweetened drinks instead.
Regular testing can put you in the know
“Often, what happens is people minimize the symptoms or rationalize them and they get worse until they become severe enough that they have to see someone,” Dr. Pantalone says. “They have excessive weight loss or are really tired of peeing all night.”
Because symptoms of diabetes are often subtle or nonexistent, especially around the onset, it’s important to see your doctor regularly for a checkup and testing. This is a must if you’re overweight or have risk factors — if diabetes runs in your family, for instance.
Risk factors include:
- Being overweight.
- Being 45-years-old or older.
- If you’re African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
- Living with high blood pressure.
- Having low HDL (good) cholesterol, or a high level of triglycerides.
- Having a history of gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing 9 pounds or more.
- Not being physically active.
- Having a history of heart disease, stroke, depression or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for Type 2 diabetes if you’re between the ages of 40 and 70. If results are normal, you should repeat the testing every three years. If you have a risk factor, the task force recommends beginning screening at a younger age and testing more frequently.
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Although the signs of diabetes can begin to show early, sometimes it takes a person a while to recognize the symptoms. This often makes it seem like signs and symptoms of diabetes appear suddenly. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your body, rather than simply brushing them off. To that end, here are some type 1 and type 2 diabetes symptoms that you may want to watch out for:
If you’re experiencing frequent urination your body might be telling you that your kidneys are trying to expel excess sugar in your blood. The resulting dehydration may then cause extreme thirst.
Along the same lines, the lack of available fluids may also give you dry mouth and itchy skin.
If you experience increased hunger or unexpected weight loss it could be because your body isn’t able to get adequate energy from the food you eat.
High blood sugar levels can affect blood flow and cause nerve damage, which makes healing difficult. So having slow-healing cuts/sores is also a potential sign of diabetes.
Yeast infections may occur in men and women who have diabetes as a result of yeast feeding on glucose.
Other signs of diabetes
Pay attention if you find yourself feeling drowsy or lethargic; pain or numbness in your extremities; vision changes; fruity or sweet-smelling breath which is one of the symptoms of high ketones; and experiencing nausea or vomiting—as these are additional signs that something is not right. If there’s any question, see your doctor immediately to ensure that your blood sugar levels are safe and rule out diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a common condition where your body loses its ability to use up glucose in the blood, also known as blood sugar. There are a number of symptoms that can accompany type 2 diabetes — and many of them start to show up early.
The most common early signs of type 2 diabetes are frequent urination, extreme thirst, and persistent hunger. But there are other symptoms that may alert you to this disease. A diagnosis can feel life-changing, but types 2 diabetes is very manageable if caught early.
Read on to learn about other symptoms that may be a sign of type 2 diabetes, and how to start treatment as early as possible.
Also known as polyuria, frequent and/or excessive urination is a sign that your blood sugar levels are high enough to “spill” into your urine.
When your kidneys can’t keep up with the amount of glucose, they allow some of it to go into your urine. This makes you have to urinate often, including during the night.
Extreme thirst is another common early symptom of diabetes. It’s tied to high blood sugar levels, and is exacerbated by frequent urination. Often, drinking won’t satisfy the thirst.
Intense hunger, or polyphagia, is also an early warning sign of diabetes.
Your body uses the glucose in your blood to feed your cells. When this system is broken, your cells can’t absorb the glucose. As a result, your body is constantly looking for more fuel, causing persistent hunger.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you might experience tingling or numbness in your hands, fingers, feet, and toes. This is a sign of nerve damage, or diabetic neuropathy.
This condition typically develops slowly. You’re likely to experience this after years of living with diabetes, but it can be a first sign for some.
There are several reasons wounds will heal more slowly if you have diabetes. Over time, high blood sugar levels narrow your blood vessels, slowing blood circulation and restricting needed nutrients and oxygen from getting to wounds.
Prolonged, high blood sugar levels also damage your immune system, so your body has a harder time fighting infection.
Blurred vision usually occurs early in unmanaged diabetes. It can be a result of suddenly high blood sugar levels, which affect the tiny blood vessels in the eyes, causing fluid to seep into the lens of the eye. The blurriness will usually resolve. Still, see an eye doctor right away.
With prolonged high blood sugar levels, you become at risk for more serious conditions that can lead to blindness, such as diabetic retinopathy.
Dark, velvety discoloration in the folds of your skin is called acanthosis nigricans. This is another early warning sign of type 2 diabetes. It’s most common in the armpits, neck, and groin regions. The skin in the affected area also becomes thickened.
This is caused by an excess of insulin in the blood. This is common in people with type 2 diabetes because insulin resistance is the main precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Anybody can get a bacterial, fungal, or yeast infection, but people with type 2 diabetes tend to get them more often.
When your blood sugar is too high for your kidneys to filter it well, sugar ends up in the urine. This can cause urinary tract infections, as well as yeast infections. Gum and skin infections are also common.
Bacterial infections. You can often treat these at home by yourself, but you may need an antibiotic prescribed by a doctor. Common bacterial infections in people with diabetes include:
- styes (in or near the eyelids)
- boils on the surface of the skin, or carbuncles deeper down
- infections of the hair follicles, called folliculitis
- infections around the nails
Fungal infections. People with diabetes most often get the fungal infection caused by Candida albicans. This is a yeast-like fungus that causes itchy red rashes surrounded by tiny blisters and scales. These infections are most found in warm, moist folds of skin, such as:
- under the breasts
- around the groin
- in the vagina
- around the nails
- between fingers and toes
Itchy skin is often caused by diabetes, and it’s sometimes one of the first symptoms. It can be caused by a variety of conditions related to diabetes, including:
- yeast or fungal infection
- dry skin
- poor circulation, often in the lower legs
Dry mouth is one of the most common mouth symptoms of diabetes, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD).
Doctors don’t know exactly why dry mouth, or xerostomia, occurs with diabetes. They believe it’s related to high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, which is related to diabetes.
Some symptoms of dry mouth include:
- mouth is continually dry
- trouble chewing, swallowing, or speaking
- dry, cracked lips
- sores or infections in the mouth
- rough, dry tongue
Extreme fatigue is one of the hallmark symptoms of diabetes. It’s sometimes called diabetes fatigue syndrome. Researchers don’t know exactly why it occurs. There have been many studies about fatigue and diabetes, but none has completely pinpointed the causal connection.
The most common explanation is that diabetes-related fatigue is caused by fluctuating blood glucose levels that don’t supply enough glucose for the body to use for energy. Researchers also acknowledge the difficulty of studying the connection between diabetes and fatigue.
Many co-occurring conditions can cause fatigue, as well as lifestyle factors including:
If you’re losing weight without trying to, this can be a diabetes warning sign. It can also be a sign of other conditions, so be sure to check with your doctor and get tested.
If you do have type 2 diabetes, there’s so much extra glucose circulating in your body that it goes into your urine. This may cause you to lose weight, even while you’re eating more and more to satisfy your hunger.
Researchers have found that people who experience unintended weight loss before a diabetes diagnosis are more likely to develop diabetic complications later, including diabetic retinopathy (eye disease) and diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease).
Irritability or mood changes can be a sign of type 2 diabetes. There are many other medical conditions that can cause shifts in mood. So don’t assume you have diabetes if you’re suddenly feeling a little cranky.
Mood changes that are associated with type 2 diabetes usually appear with other signs of diabetes, not on their own. A growing amount of research indicates a correlation between your moods and the seesaw changes in your blood sugar that characterize diabetes.
Blood sugar highs and lows are closely related to mental health symptoms such as:
People almost always develop prediabetes before type 2 diabetes. Your blood sugar levels at the prediabetes level are high, but not yet high enough to warrant a diabetes diagnosis. With prediabetes, you might experience some diabetes symptoms, or you might not.
If you know or believe that you’re living with prediabetes, here are the blood levels that the three main types of diabetes tests will show:
If you think you may be experiencing any of these early signs of type 2 diabetes, it’s best to talk with your doctor right away.
The test for diabetes is often a simple blood test, and you’ll know the results fairly quickly. It’s possible that you may not actually be living with diabetes — many of the early symptoms of diabetes mimic those of other conditions.
Diabetes is a manageable condition, especially when found early. Early diagnosis and swift treatment can significantly reduce the risk of later complications.
Lifestyle changes related to diet and exercise can go a long way in managing diabetes. You may not need medication, but if you do, it’s best to start it early.
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