Just What Are the Symptoms for Diabetes?
It’s not always easy to spot the symptons of diabetes. This disease is classified as a disorder of the metabolism. Metabolism is basically referring to the way our bodies use food for both energy and growth. Most of the foods that we eat are broken down into glucose, which is a form of sugar in our blood and is the primary foundation of fuel for our bodies. However, glucose can’t come into our cells without the presence of insulin, and it is the insulin that makes it possible for our cells to take in the glucose.
Insulin is a hormone that the pancreas produces. After we eat, the pancreas involuntarily releases a sufficient quantity of insulin to move the glucose present in our blood into the cells and decreases our blood sugar levels. A person with diabetes has an elevated amount of glucose in the blood or hyperglycemia. This can be because the body does not produce insulin, does not produce enough, or has cells that don’t react properly to the insulin the pancreas creates.
Diabetes affects over twenty five million people of various ages and over eight percent of the population in the United States. Over eighteen million have fortunately recognized their diabetes symptoms and have been properly diagnosed while another seven million people have it but have not yet been diagnosed. Why is this? The main reason is that the diabetes symptoms seem quite harmless and normal, nothing that would stand out and cause any type of concern so that one would be prompted to visit a doctor and be checked out. Some of the diabetes symptoms or I should say some of the most common ones are blurred vision which affects your eyes’ ability to focus. With proper treatment, this can be treated but in the worse cases, prolonged vision problems or even blindness can and does occur.
Another one of the diabetes symptoms is that your bruises and cuts do not heal very quickly. Itchy skin is sometimes one of the diabetes symptoms. Keep in mind as you are going over these diabetes symptoms that they do not necessarily indicate that you have diabetes, but it could be possible. If you notice some of these or even just a couple, be sure to see your doctor to be on the safe side. Are your gums red, swollen and tender? Your teeth could become loose as the gums pull away from them. While making that appointment with your doctor, it’s also a good idea to see your dentist as well.
Have you noticed that you seem to be more thirsty than normal? Do you spend a great deal of your day in the bathroom urinating? If your insulin is either not there or not working properly, your kidneys can’t filter the glucose back into your blood. The kidneys will then take water from your bloodstream to thin the glucose, which then fills up your bladder.
Some other diabetes symptoms include intense hunger, numbness and/or tingling in your hands and feet, increased fatigue and irritability and possibly an unusual amount of weight loss. While your body is not making insulin, it will search for another energy source since your cells are not getting glucose. Again, if you recognize even a few of these symptoms see your doctor as soon as possible to get an accurate assessment-don’t be one of the millions who remain undiagnosed.