The initial symptoms of diabetes often are dependant on the type of diabetes you may have. However, in general, the following are the initial symptoms of diabetes you may experience:
– unusual thirst (this is also called polydipsia),
– excessive hunger (also referred to as polyphagia),
– frequent urination (this is referred to as polyuria),
– unusual weight loss (emaciation),
– extreme fatigue or lack of energy,
– blurred vision,
– frequent or recurring infections,
– cuts and bruises that are slow to heal,
– tingling &/or numbness in hands &/or feet
Most of these initial symptoms are signs of type-1 diabetes. Many people with type 2 diabetes may or may not display signs or symptoms.
Because you may or may not show symptoms of diabetes, it is recommended to have routine screening every three years for everyone age 45 or over and screening every year for individuals with other risk factors for diabetes.
What causes these symptoms?
The initial symptoms of diabetes are related to the direct effects of high blood sugar levels. Let’s take a look at what causes them:
Excessive urination is caused when the blood sugar level rises above 160 to 180 mg/dL; this is because glucose passes into the urine. Then, if the level rises even higher, the kidneys excrete additional water to dilute the large amounts of glucose lost. Thus, because the kidneys produce excessive urine, a person with diabetes urinates large volumes frequently (polyuria).
Excessive thirst is a direct result of polyuria, as the excessive urination creates abnormal thirst (polydipsia).
Weight loss can be attributed to the excessive calories which are lost in the urine. Calorie loss can cause the person to lose weight.
Then, to compensate, the person often feels excessively hungry (polyphagia).
Other symptoms include blurred vision, drowsiness, nausea, and decreased endurance during exercise. In addition, people whose diabetes is poorly controlled are more susceptible to infections. Because of the severity of insulin deficiency, people with type I diabetes almost always lose weight before undergoing treatment. Most people with type II diabetes don’t lose weight however, so do not think just because you didn’t lose weight you can’t have diabetes.
In people with type I diabetes, the symptoms begin abruptly and may progress rapidly to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Most cells can’t use sugar without insulin; thus, they turn to other sources of energy. Fat cells begin to break down, producing ketones, toxic chemical compounds that can make the blood acidic (ketoacidosis).
If you have type-1 diabetes and it goes untreated and thus you have the condition ketoacidosis, the initial symptoms will include much of what was already listed: excessive thirst and urination, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and–particularly in children–abdominal pain. Also, in this condition, breathing tends to become deep and rapid as the body attempts to correct the blood’s acidity. It is important to recognize these initial symptoms because without treatment, diabetic ketoacidosis can progress to coma, sometimes within a few hours.
The problem comes mainly with type II diabetes as people with type II diabetes may not have any symptoms for years or decades. The symptoms may eventually develop and manifest themselves when insulin deficiency progresses. Sometimes symptoms are fairly gradual, for example, a person may experience increased urination and thirst mildly at first and then it will gradually worsen over weeks or months. Ketoacidosis is rare.