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The Signs of the Onset of Diabetes

23.6 million people in the United States currently have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. When diabetes is developing in a person's body, there are certain signals the body will send out. A person will be very tired, may have unexplained weight loss, be very thirsty, have the need to urinate many times, feel hungry most of the time, have wounds that won't heal, get bodily infections very easily, and may even experience blurry vision.

  1. What is Diabetes?

    • Diabetes is when the body can't regulate the amount of sugar or glucose in the blood. People with diabetes don't produce enough insulin or can't produce enough insulin properly. Glucose in the blood can't move into the cells, thus it stays in the blood. This inaction harms the cells that need the glucose for fuel and harms certain organs and tissues as well. There are two types of diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association. There are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 2 is the most common type where the body doesn't produce enough insulin or the cells of the body ignore the insulin. Type 1 is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. This type is when the body doesn't produce insulin.

    Fatigue

    • One of the signs of the onset of diabetes is fatigue. The body becomes inefficient during diabetes and is unable to use glucose for fuel. Therefore the body switches over to metabolising fat as a fuel source. This causes the body to use even more energy, and this is one reason why a person feels very tired before diabetes has been discovered in the body.

    Unexplained Weight Loss

    • Even though a person who has diabetes developing in the body may be eating more than usual, the pre-diabetic may actually be losing weight. A person with diabetes can't process very many calories in the foods eaten, due to the body becoming an inefficient machine. A person may lose sugar and water in the urine, and become dehydrated, contributing to weight loss and the onset of diabetes.

    Excessive Thirst

    • Polydipsia or excessive thirst in a diabetic person develops when the blood sugar levels are high. This overwhelms the kidneys' ability to reabsorb sugar as the blood filters the urine. The body tries to counteract this by sending a signal to the brain to dilute the blood, and this is translated into thirst.

    Excessive Eating

    • According to eMedicine Health, polyphagia or excessive diabetic eating happens because the insulin, whose job it is to stimulate hunger, will go into overdrive trying to compensate for the blood sugar being too high. The body will send signals to the brain that may make a person eat too much. A person will be also try to add energy to the body by eating more than usual, and may just end up losing weight.

    Poor Immune System Function

    • The onset of diabetes also can mean that a person will experience more infections and may have wounds that don't heal. When high blood sugar levels prevent the white blood cells from doing their job of defending the body against bacteria, this means the immune system can't function properly and wounds will take a longer time to heal. A person may also experience more urinary and skin infections.

    Altered Mental State and Blurry Vision

    • According to eMedicine Health, while a person is discovering he has diabetes, his vision may suddenly become blurry more often when his sugar level becomes too high. A person can experience altered moods such as becoming agitated, confused, having extreme lethargy and irritability. When a person experiences any of these symptoms, contact a health care professional for a physical examination.

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