Common symptoms of diabetes: Urinating often. Feeling very thirsty. Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating.
Fasting Blood Sugar Test
This measures your blood sugar after an overnight fast (not eating). A fasting blood sugar level of 99 mg/dL or lower is normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL indicates you have prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates you have diabetes.
Dark urine is deeper in color than urine that is usually straw to yellow in color. Darker urine can be different colors, but is usually brown, deep yellow, or maroon.
Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days. Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general.
Extreme hunger, unintended weight loss, fatigue and weakness, blurred vision, irritability, and other mood changes. If you or your child are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor. The best way to determine if you have type 1 diabetes is a blood test.
“Diabetes starts as a silent disease, advancing painlessly, almost imperceptibly,” says Dr. Ferrer, who sees 25 to 30 diabetic patients per week. “It mainly attacks the small blood vessels, damaging the kidneys, eyes, and nerves.” It can also affect larger blood vessels.
Irritability. Frequently feeling irritated or having changes in your mood is another sign of undiagnosed diabetes. This is because unmanaged diabetes can trigger rapid shifts in blood sugar. You blood sugar levels can contribute to rapid shifts in mood, so levels below or above normal range can impact how you feel.
Symptoms include sexual problems, digestive issues (a condition called gastroparesis), trouble sensing when your bladder is full, dizziness and fainting, or not knowing when your blood sugar is low.
If you have diabetes and are regularly getting genital itching, it could be a sign that your blood glucose levels are too high. Your health team may be able to advise whether this is the case and, if so, how to bring your blood glucose levels under better control.
Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 96 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 80% don't know they have it.
Dry, cracked skin on your feet. A change in the color and temperature of your feet. Thickened, yellow toenails. Fungus infections such as athlete's foot between your toes.
Complications of Diabetes
If type 2 diabetes goes untreated, the high blood sugar can affect various cells and organs in the body. Complications include kidney damage, often leading to dialysis, eye damage, which could result in blindness, or an increased risk for heart disease or stroke.
There is no cure for type 2 diabetes. But it may be possible to reverse the condition to a point where you do not need medication to manage it and your body does not suffer ill effects from having blood sugar levels that are too high.
Nerve damage can affect your hands, feet, legs, and arms. High blood sugar can lead to nerve damage called diabetic neuropathy. You can prevent it or slow its progress by keeping your blood sugar as close to your target range as possible and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Diabetic neuropathy most often damages nerves in the legs and feet. Depending on the affected nerves, diabetic neuropathy symptoms include pain and numbness in the legs, feet and hands. It can also cause problems with the digestive system, urinary tract, blood vessels and heart.
Some people don't find out they have it until they get problems from long-term damage caused by the disease. With type 1 diabetes, the symptoms usually happen quickly, in a matter of days or a few weeks.
Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease (the most common diabetes complication) by about four times in women but only about two times in men, and women have worse outcomes after a heart attack. Women are also at higher risk of other diabetes-related complications such as blindness, kidney disease, and depression.
Some sugar can be stored in the muscles and liver; however, most sugars are stored as fat when they have nowhere else to go. Thus, people with diabetes are more likely to be overweight or obese than those without the disease. While weight gain is one of the most common side effects of diabetes, it is not inevitable.
The Dangers of Undiagnosed Diabetes
If diabetes is not properly diagnosed and treated to control blood sugar levels, the disease can cause serious damage to your heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gastrointestinal tract, and gums and teeth.
Sweet-smelling urine: As the body tries to remove excess glucose via the urine, it may have a sweet scent. Foamy urine: This typically occurs when there is protein in the urine. This may be due to high blood glucose levels from diabetes damaging the kidneys and affecting their ability to filter blood.