Have you been worried for either yourself, or someone close to you, who may be displaying early diabetes symptoms — such as frequent urination or thirst?  We have given a list of the top diabetes warning signs below which will help you to differentiate between type 1 diabetes, (which is insulin controlled) and diabetes 2  symptoms, (which is lifestyle and dietary changes). If you’re armed with the details of both of these diseases, then these early warning signs diabetes will give you ample time to seek diagnosis and treatment.

The latest info from the American Diabetes Association is staggering, to say the least — with 23.6 million children and adults in the United States or 7.8 percent of the population, having diabetes symptoms.  What’s more worrying is that there are 5.7 million people that remain undiagnosed and therefore at risk of being diabetic without even knowing it!  There are 1.6 million new cases of both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes each year, with the age range of the patient being around twenty years and older.

Diabetes Insipidus (very rare) and Diabetes Mellitus have similar symptoms.  When your body can’t make enough insulin, or your cells aren’t responding to insulin, you get a high blood sugar reading.  People with diabetes often complain of having the following ailments or diabetic symptoms:

”    Weight loss
”    Deep breathing
”    Extreme hunger and thirst
”    Tiredness or fatigue (beyond the ordinary)
”    Urination that’s frequent
”    Vomiting or nausea
”    Sores that take longer than usual to heal
”    Itchy skin
”    Blurred vision
”    Numbness in feet or hands
”    Pain in the abdomen
”    Yeast infections in skin, vaginal area, or gums
”    Skin rashes

Gestational Diabetes Symptoms

This is also called GDM, or Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.  It resembles type 2 diabetes symptoms because of insufficient insulin production and unresponsiveness.  About 2-5% of pregnant women get it and after giving birth, the symptoms may disappear or lessen.  Up to 50% of women who develop GDM while pregnant, and who deliver babies over 9 pounds, will likely develop type 2 diabetes symptoms later in their life.

Type 1 Diabetes

This occurs when pancreatic beta cells are lost and the body stops making insulin, or makes too small an amount of it.  Approximately ten percent of diabetes in the US is this type of the disease.  It usually affects adults and children and is commonly called juvenile diabetes.  Older people, who have had their pancreases removed because of alcoholism or damage from an injury, can also get type 1.  Daily insulin is necessary for these patients, in order for their survival.

Type 2 Diabetes

With type 2, the pancreas makes insulin but the body cells are resistant to its effects.  This makes the insulin useless either part of or all of the time, as it’s ignored.  Type 2 may also be called insulin resistance.  In a person with type 2 diabetes, the body tries to make even more insulin than normal because it thinks there is a lack of it.  Because the production of insulin is not meeting the needs of the body (it thinks), the pancreas struggles with production of it.  This results in type 2 diabetes.  Approximately 90% of diabetics in the US are people with type 2. This is why it is so important to know diabetes 2 symptoms.

During the initial stages of diabetes, a patient becomes insulin sensitive.  During this stage, a few measures can be taken or medication given to improve upon the insulin sensitivity, or reduced glucose production by the person’s liver.  When diabetes advances, insulin production fails altogether, and an insulin replacement may be necessary in some patients.

Warning Signs of Diabetes You May Not Notice

Some of these symptoms can be very subtle or even seem harmless.  You may also have diabetes symptoms for months or years, along with no symptoms at all.  Two top warning signs are the increased need to take in fluids, along with the increase need to urinate.  When your kidneys are working overtime to filter out excess sugar, it can build up in your blood.  Any extra sugar that cannot be processed is excreted along with fluids.  This is the trigger for excessive urination.  In turn, this can leave you dehydrated.  When you drink more because you’re thirsty, you’ll keep increasing the visits to the bathroom.

You can feel tired for many reasons.  If you’re dehydrated, then you may feel tired.  Also, since your body is less able to use sugar for energy, you get tired more easily.  Blurred vision is another indicator for diabetes, some of the time.  Blood sugar at high levels pulls fluid from your tissues, including your eyes.  You cannot focus properly.  If left untreated, diabetes may cause some new blood vessels to form in your retina.  If you gain weight, then also watch out for these early signs.  Most people won’t have lasting effects from these early symptoms.  However, if changes progress and are undetected, diabetics may suffer blindness and vision loss.  It is in your interest to not to ignore any diabetes symptoms that you may have as the sooner you are diagnosed the sooner you will feel a lot better.