Diabetes symptoms

The effectiveness of the treatment of diabetes mellitus directly depends on the time of detection of this disease. In type 2 diabetes mellitus, the disease can cause only mild complaints for a long time, which the patient may not pay attention to. Diabetes symptoms can be blurred, making diagnosis difficult. The earlier the correct diagnosis is made and treatment is started, the lower the risk of developing complications of diabetes mellitus.

Symptoms of diabetes include: 

• dry mouth and feeling thirsty 
• increased urination (excretion of large volumes of urine due to an increase in the volume of fluid you drink) 
• feeling of hunger – weight loss (typical for type 1 diabetes mellitus; obesity is often noted in type 2 diabetes) 
• fatigue, weakness

With a long course of diabetes mellitus, new symptoms associated with untreated hyperglycemia may appear: 

• the occurrence of suppurative diseases of the skin and mucous membranes (fungal diseases, boils, purulent wounds) 
• decreased sensitivity of the skin, paresthesias (numbness, “creeping”, burning, pain, etc.) occurring in the fingers, feet, lower legs
•  blurred vision – thrush in women, manifested by itching and burning in the vagina 
• erectile dysfunction in men

Frequent urination is a consequence of the patient’s increased fluid intake. The accumulation of glucose in the urine leads to impaired urine excretion, since the filtration of urine by the kidneys is difficult. To reduce the concentration of sugar in the urine, the kidneys excrete more primary urine, increasing the excretion of fluid from the patient’s body. As a result, the patient loses a lot of water and must compensate for its loss by increasing the amount of fluid he drinks. One of the main symptoms of diabetes is thirst.

Weight loss is the most common symptom in type 1 diabetes. With a lack of insulin, the cells of the human body begin to experience energy hunger – despite the abundance of glucose in the blood, it is not absorbed into the cells. To eliminate the energy deficit, the body has to destroy muscle and adipose tissue, which results in a decrease in body weight.

Weakness is one of the important symptoms of diabetes. Cells deprived of energy supply cannot perform their functions fully. Weakness is only an external reflection of the internal process of energy starvation. 

With the long-term existence of diabetes , a group of symptoms associated with damage to peripheral nerves gradually forms. The increased concentration of glucose in the blood leads to disruption of blood supply and nutrition of small nerves. The nerves of the limbs – arms and legs – are especially affected. Gradually, a patient with diabetes mellitus develops tingling, numbness of the arms or legs (especially feet), decreased sensitivity (temperature, pain). In some cases, on the contrary, pains may bother you – burning, pulling.