Diabetes is a serious disease because of its harmful effects and because half the people who have it don’t even know it. According to the American Diabetes Association, 16 million Americans have the disease. It can lead to blindness heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and amputations. In the extreme, it can even result in death. Every year nearly 170,000 Americans die from diabetes.

Diabetes is now becoming increasingly widespread across both adults and children. A lot of this is down to obesity and the vast amounts of sugar and refined white flour that is in our diet these days, but how do we know if we have diabetes and what are the signs of diabetes we need to look out for?

The first thing we need to understand is that there are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, and type 2 when the body’s cells don’t respond well to insulin. Both result in high blood sugar levels because the body is unable to process the available glucose.

The signs can be very similar in both type 1 & 2 due to the drop in blood sugar levels. This could be down to a lack of insulin production, no production at all or simply, insulin resistance.

The classic first signs of diabetes as listed by the American Diabetes Association include:

1. Urination Frequency – High blood sugar levels increases the amount of blood that flows through the kidneys, resulting in an increase in urine levels.

2. Extreme Thirst – Dehydration caused by the increased urinary output results in the diabetic drinking large amounts of water.

3. Feeling of Being Hungry all the Time – Insulin is the primary hormone that transports glucose from the blood stream and into the cells. Glucose is the primary source of cellular energy. Because diabetes is an absence of insulin or the inability of insulin to do its job (insulin resistance) the cells do not receive the glucose they need which results in hunger pains.

4. Weight Loss – This happens despite the fact that the diabetic is eating more. Again this has to do with the perceived energy shortage. The human body will begin to cannibalize itself, breaking down lean muscle mass to provide the cellular energy it thinks needs.

5. Fatigue – Feelings of being tired all the time are caused by the decrease in cellular energy levels.

6. Depression and Irritability.

7. Eye Problems – High blood glucose levels cause in increase in blood volume which can cause the lens of the eye to swell.

Warning signs of diabetes should definitely not be ignored. It is a fact that today, up to 20 million Americans suffers from diabetes. If feeling something out of the ordinary and you think that it might be diabetes, better consult your doctor before it becomes too late.

The sooner you act on these first signs of diabetes the better your chances of being properly diagnosed. This is important because while diabetes does not have a cure it can be successfully managed with a healthy diet, exercise, and medication. Proper management is the key to minimizing the complication it causes and living a long and healthy life.

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Diabetes is a disorder in the body’s capability to convert glucose to energy. It is caused due to inadequate production of glucose by the pancreas. In diabetes patients, the production of glucose is impair.

The diabetes symptoms most of the time begin slowly, and difficult to recognize initially. They may include fatigue, sudden weight loss, blurred vision, slow healing of wounds, frequent urination – particularly at night, and excessive thirst.. The loss of fluids persuades extreme thirst, leading to more frequent urination.

Type 1 diabetes symptoms come about over a short period of time. Type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune response within the body which attacks the precious beta cells in the pancreas.

Symptoms that develop vary for Type I and Type II diabetes. In Type I diabetes, they generally show up slowly in children or young people over a period of a few days or weeks. In Type II diabetes, symptoms develop even more slowly, over a time of years – in adults over the age of forty. Adults often do not understand they have diabetes mellitus.

Because there is no insulin being produced in the case of type 1 diabetes, symptoms develop and worsenvery feverishly with sufferers quickly collapsing into a diabetic coma if the condition is not diagnosed.

There are some common diabetes symptoms that should be checked out by a physician. By themselves, each symptom is not a cause for alarm. However, if more than a couple are noticed at one time, an appointment with your primary care physician should be made without hesitation. The first thing that you should know about diabetes is, it is very important to pay attention to your body.

There are over one million new diagnoses of diabetes that are made each year. Diabetes is directly or indirectly the cause of approximately 200,000 deaths every year. It is estimated that 17 million people in America have diabetes, it is also estimated that approximately one third of these people do not even know they have the disease.

The reason that so many people do not know that they may have diabetes is because some people show no diabetes symptoms. Therefore, it is very important to have blood work checked every year after the age of 45. This is often part of a routine physical at this age, but it is always a good idea to check with the doctor to make sure the test is being run. If you suspect you are experiencing any of these symptoms, go see your doctor. As the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, work with your doctor and follow your treatment plan.

This usually consists of a healthy diet, regular exercise and checking your glucose levels more often. Working closely with your doctor can help you feel better and in more control of diabetes. With your treatment plan you can help delay or even prevent serious health complications by keeping your blood sugar under control. When you call your doctors’ office for an appointment, be sure to tell them you are experiencing possible diabetes symptoms and that you need to be seen right away.

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