Determining if you are "on the verge" of diabetes requires a medical diagnosis through a blood test from a doctor, as symptoms are often subtle or non-existent in the early stages, a condition known as prediabetes. You cannot diagnose yourself based on symptoms alone.
Warning Signs and Symptoms
Drinking water won't lower your blood sugar levels, but staying hydrated can help you manage them if you have diabetes. Regularly drinking enough water is healthy, and research has linked it to a reduced risk of high blood sugar and diabetes.
Diabetes often starts with mild symptoms such as feeling very hungry and tired, needing to pee a lot, being very thirsty, having a dry mouth, itchy skin, and blurry vision. Type 1 diabetes symptoms appear quickly and are more severe, while type 2 symptoms develop slowly.
The term early-onset type 2 diabetes is defined as a diagnosis at under 40 years of age. It includes children and adolescents, though younger adults, aged 18–39 years, account for most cases.
The most common symptoms of type 2 diabetes are:
There's no cure for diabetes and no way to completely get rid of it. However, diabetes can be reversed in most people. Reversing diabetes means carefully managing blood sugars to a point where medications are no longer necessary, and staying at that manageable point through a healthy routine of diet and exercise.
Five early signs of diabetes include frequent urination, increased thirst and hunger, fatigue, blurry vision, and slow-healing sores or frequent infections, stemming from high blood sugar levels that affect the body's ability to use glucose for energy, leading to these common symptoms.
Fasting blood sugar test
Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L ) is normal. 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L ) is diagnosed as prediabetes. 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L ) or higher on two separate tests is diagnosed as diabetes.
You can use a device that measures your sugar levels throughout the day and night with a tiny sensor. This is called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Or you can test yourself as needed with a portable electronic device that uses a small drop of blood. This is called a blood sugar meter.
Symptoms of hyperglycaemia
If you have diabetes, caffeine might affect the way your body uses insulin. And that could lead to higher or lower blood sugar. For some people with diabetes, about 200 milligrams of caffeine can cause this change. For others, it may have no significant effect on blood sugar.
Drink more water
“Water helps your kidneys filter out excess sugar through urine,” says Khan. “So, the more hydrated you are, the more urine production you'll have, which flushes out sugar in the body.” Always opt for water instead of sugary drinks, like soda and juice.
According to the American Diabetes Association, for people 45 years old with prediabetes, the 10-year risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is 9% to 14%. The good news is that it's possible to reverse prediabetes with healthy lifestyle changes.
Physical symptoms: reduced activity, low energy, tiredness, decreased physical endurance, increased effort to do physical tasks, general weakness, heaviness, slowness or sluggishness, nonrestorative sleep, and sleepiness.
Prediabetes or Borderline diabetes is a condition in which you have higher than normal blood sugars, but not to a level high enough to be Diabetic. It is a condition that needs monitoring and lifestyle changes.
Five common signs of prediabetes include increased thirst/urination, constant fatigue, blurry vision, dark skin patches (acanthosis nigricans), and slow-healing cuts or frequent infections, though prediabetes often has no noticeable symptoms, making early detection key. These signs often signal higher blood sugar levels, indicating your body isn't using insulin effectively.
The good news is that, as your doctor has advised, a healthy diet and regular exercise can reverse prediabetes. That begins with limiting sugar and other simple carbs and avoiding highly processed foods.
Over time, diabetes may cause nerve damage, also called diabetic neuropathy, that can cause tingling and pain, and can make you lose feeling in your feet. When you lose feeling in your feet, you may not feel a pebble inside your sock or a blister on your foot, which can lead to cuts and sores.
Red flag signs of diabetes symptoms
Urinating frequently. Feeling extremely hungry or thirsty. Feelings similar to drunkenness. Unusual behaviors, which may also indicate low blood sugar.
Avoid sugary drinks whenever possible because not only can they raise blood sugar levels, but they can also contribute many calories to the recommended daily calorie intake.
Three common signs of diabetes are increased thirst and frequent urination, extreme tiredness, and blurry vision or slow-healing sores, often stemming from high blood sugar levels affecting the body. These symptoms, sometimes called the "Three Ps" (polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia), can develop slowly in Type 2 diabetes or quickly in Type 1.
The #1 worst food for blood sugar is sugary drinks (soda, fruit juice, sweetened teas) and other highly processed sweets like candies, donuts, and baked goods, because they contain refined sugar and low-quality carbs that cause rapid, sharp blood sugar spikes with little nutritional value, leading to weight gain and insulin resistance. Fast food, processed snacks (chips), and some energy bars also rank high on the list of offenders.
Physical activity and exercise are not only effective to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in high-risk patients, but these behaviours are also useful to treat patients with type 2 diabetes and even lead to remission in some cases.
Ten key warning signs of diabetes include increased thirst and urination, extreme hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing sores, unexplained weight loss, tingling/numbness in hands or feet, frequent infections, and sometimes dark skin patches (acanthosis nigricans), all indicating high blood sugar levels needing medical attention.