When you’re afraid you’re diabetic, symptoms are the first thing you need to look for. The diabetic symptoms vary widely, but there are some commonalities between Type 1 (otherwise known as Juvenile) Diabetes and Type II (or Adult Onset) Diabetes.
The most consistent diabetic symptom associated with both Type 1 and Type II diabetes is elevated blood sugar levels. In Type I (Juvenile or Early Onset) Diabetes, this is caused by the body’s inability to create enough insulin to regulate blood sugar. In Type II (or Adult Onset) diabetes, this is from the body developing resistance to insulin and therefore not properly using what it produces. However, blood sugar isn’t something you can see in the mirror, so it can be helpful to know the common diabetic symptoms.
The diabetic symptoms of Type 1 (Juvenile or Early onset) Diabetes often come swiftly and severely. The diabetic symptoms can include excessive thirst (unrelated to exercise, hot weather, or short-term illness), dry mouth, the need to urinate often (often noticed because you must wake up repeatedly during the night), weight loss (even if you’re hungry and eating your fair share of food), feeling weak and tired (possibly severe enough to make you fall asleep unexpectedly after meals), and blurry vision.
The diabetic symptoms of Type II (Or Adult Onset) diabetes are hard to notice. Many people go for very long periods of time without ever noticing that they have diabetic symptoms, as they include blurry vision (diabetes can lead to macular degeneration and eventual blindness), wounds that are slow to heal (a sign of a compromised immune function), itchy skin, yeast infections (another sign of impaired immune function), dry mouth, the need to urinate often, and leg pain (peripheral neuropathy, a symptom of diabetes, causes nerve damage in the extremities).
If you find that you’re experiencing a number of these diabetic symptoms on a consistent basis, you need to visit a doctor to be tested for diabetes. Ignoring the symptoms can lead to long term serious health risk such as blindness, coma, and even death. While many of these symptoms can be related to other sources, testing for diabetes is relatively painless and easy.
When you visit a doctor about your diabetic symptoms, and you’re tested, diagnosed, and put on a treatment plan, you’ll be on the road of a long and healthy life. Once diagnosed, your doctor will speak to you about your diabetic symptoms and help set you up with a personalized diet plan that will make optimal use of the foods you love while allowing your body to create glucose it needs for the energy to live.
While many people view diabetes as a horrible inconvenience, in all reality it’s a very good reason to get yourself on a good stable diet plan – and one that you should have been on throughout your lifetime. Overall, the diabetic diet will help you create and consume energy, while living life to the fullest and allowing your body to work at peak performance – without dealing with a single diabetic symptom.