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Depression sufferers are at twice the risk of developing Type II diabetes than the general population, but not be aware of some unusual symptoms of this disease.
Diabetes is a disease that affects our bodies' ability to break down sugars. More than 20 million Americans suffer from the disorder, though about one quarter of those with the diabetes don't know they have it, according to the National Institute of Health. People can suffer for years without knowing diabetes is silently wreaking havoc on their bodies. With that in mind, here's a list of diabetes symptoms that everybody should know.
Emotional changes are something to watch out for, according to Sue McLaughlin, a certified diabetes instructor with the American Diabetes Association. It's easy to dismiss irritability as a symptom of a bad day at work, whining children or a fight with your spouse. However, dramatic changes in blood sugar can cause mood swings, she said. Just think about how cranky you get when you've been hungry for a while and how you perk backuponce you've gotten some food in your belly.
Having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom is annoying. Having to do it every couple of hours could be a sign you've got diabetes. Frequent urination is one of the most common symptoms of the disease, said Dr. John M. Miles, an endocrinologist with Mayo Clinic. When your blood sugar rises past normal levels, your kidneys pass the excess into the urine. The production of the urine then increases in response to the sugar, Miles said.
Everyone has experienced thirst after exercising or going for a few hours without drinking water. But, a consistently dry mouth might mean something more than you need to start upping your fluid intake, Miles said. As an indicator of diabetes, excessive thirst goes hand in hand with the frequent urination. Because the fluid is flushing out of the body, your system can't stay hydrated. But, don't worry if you're thirsty from time to time. The real concern is when you feel a chronic insatiable need for fluids, Miles added.
Because diabetics excrete most of the sugar they take in, the body doesn't get the nourishment it needs, said Dr. McLaughlin. Since the body isn't getting enough fuel, that leads to feelings of famine and weakness. "When the blood sugar is high, everything is going into the toilet," McLaughlin said. You wind up with insatiable cravings and legs that can't make it up the stairs. People often attribute fatigue to getting older, but McLauglin advises taking a closer look because it can also mean that the muscles aren't getting enough nutrients.
Like many of the other diabetes symptoms, blurred vision has to do with fluids. When a person's sugar levels spikes, fluid is drawn out of the lens of the eye, which then changes shape in response. When the fluid is replaced, the lens swells back up, according to Miles, who noted that the eye acts much like a cracker in a bowl of water and absorbs as much fluid as it can. "In a nutshell, the lens of the eye is shrinking and swelling," he explained. The shift in fluid levels changes the way the eye takes in the light.
Though diabetes is often associated with obesity, unexplained weight loss can point a blood sugar imbalance, according to Miles. Because the sugar can't be broken down, it gets excreted before the calories get a chance to turn into fuel for the body. "The calories are wasted," explained Miles. "The sugar doesn't get used." To compensate, the body starts relying on the energy already stored up in the body in the form of fat.Once the body taps in to these reserve supplies, diabetes patients often start to see their weight drop and waistlines shrink.
Blood sugar imbalances affect every part of the body, including the nervous system. High blood sugar can, therefore, throw a person's pain threshold out of whack. Even in a person who has a high threshold. When a person's blood sugar rises, they will start to notice pains they might not have felt before, said McLaughlin. This phenomenon is especially evident in the legs and feet, McLaughlin noted. That is because people tend to put a lot of stress on their lower limbs.
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