Type 2 Diabetes isn’t always known to the person who has it. Indeed, many people have suffered from it for a while and are completely oblivious. They may have other health concerns and not realise that these are signs of diabetes too. In case this might relate to someone in your family, here are some early signs of type 2 diabetes to look out for.
1. Hunger Never Seems to Dissipate Much (or For Long)
Feeling hungry is a natural occurrence, but when that hunger is rarely satiated for long, it’s a problem. Other people may just label this as greediness. You may notice it in a growing waistline. The reason it is a possible sign of type 2 diabetes is because it may indicate that insufficient glucose is reaching the cells of your body. Glucose is a sugar that is used as fuel. When not enough of it is produced naturally through food intake, the body feels hungry even when you’ve technically consumed enough calories.
2. Frequent Trips to the Toilet
If you have to go to the toilet to relieve yourself more regularly, this might be a cause for concern. Because not enough sugar is being moved to the body’s cells, it keeps your blood sugar levels too high. The kidneys kick into high gear as the body’s filtration system excretes the sugar. The result of this is the need to visit the toilet frequently. While this might not be as bad during the daytime, getting a full night’s sleep becomes harder because needing to go is more common at night.
3. Blurred Vision
Too much sugar in the bloodstream rather than the cells isn’t good long-term. One of the side effects is that the eye’s small blood vessels can get damaged. When this goes on for too long, the vision becomes occasionally blurred. This blurred vision can come and go. However, when it goes undiagnosed and untreated, it can become a permanent issue with full vision loss.
4. Abrasions Heal Slower
Any abrasion or deep wound from an activity or an accident requires longer to heal properly than you’d expect. This might be something that you initially put down to getting older, but that would be incorrect. The reason it relates to being diabetic is that excess sugar in the bloodstream can impair blood vessels and nerves too. With worsening blood circulation, healing from wounds or even minor cuts requires far more time. Also, the infection risk is higher.
5. Feeling Overly Tired
Feeling overly tired even when you’ve managed to get enough sleep and eat properly shouldn’t be ignored. While we tend to be less energetic as the years’ tack on, we still have plenty left in us. So, don’t discount persistent tiredness because it’ll have a root cause. A diabetic clinic can perform tests to see whether you have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The London Diabetes Centre is a diabetic clinic that conducts these tests to verify whether these early signs are indeed related to diabetes. It’s always better to know than to worry whether it could be true. Their blood test and questionnaire will likely prove illuminating.
Don’t ignore any of these signs if they apply to you. Diabetes can do permanent damage to your health if left untreated for too long.