Prediabetes is used to describe blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. For some people, noticing that urine smells sweet or fruity can be a first sign that something is different, which can lead to being diagnosed with diabetes.
Sweet-smelling urine may be a sign of uncontrolled diabetes or a rare disease of metabolism. Liver disease and certain metabolic disorders may cause musty-smelling urine.
While diabetes medication can cause foul-smelling urine, so can uncontrolled diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes causes sugar in the urine, making it smell sweeter. In healthy individuals, there isn't usually sugar in urine. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).
Urinalysis is used to check your general health. In the past, urine glucose testing was used to screen for or monitor diabetes. But urine glucose testing is not as accurate as blood glucose testing, so blood tests are now more commonly used to diagnose and monitor diabetes.
If you have diabetes insipidus, you'll continue to pee large amounts of watery (dilute), light-colored urine when normally you'd only pee a small amount of concentrated, dark yellow urine.
The health care provider uses a dipstick made with a color-sensitive pad. The color the dipstick changes to tells the provider the level of glucose in your urine. If needed, your provider may ask you to collect your urine at home over 24 hours . Your provider will tell you how to do this.
“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.
Excessive thirst and increased urination
When your kidneys can't keep up, the excess glucose is excreted into your urine, dragging along fluids from your tissues, which makes you dehydrated. This will usually leave you feeling thirsty. As you drink more fluids to quench your thirst, you'll urinate even more.
Foamy, frothy or bubbly urine.
Some people may notice they have to get up every couple of hours during the night to urinate and that they produce more urine when they do go. The presence of excess glucose can also cause the urine to have a sweet smell. This is most common in advanced cases of type 2 diabetes, he says.
Eating a lot of protein
As a result, the ketone level in the blood will rise. When these ketones leave the body in the urine, the urine may smell sweet or similar to popcorn.
Urine that contains a lot of water and few waste products has little to no odor. If urine becomes highly concentrated — a high level of waste products with little water — your urine may have a strong ammonia odor.
Diabetes: People with diabetes often have too much sugar (glucose) in their blood. To get rid of the extra glucose, the body moves it from the blood into the urine. So, when someone has undiagnosed or untreated diabetes, they tend to pee more often. And their urine appears clear.
If your breath smells like acetone -- the same fruity scent as nail polish remover -- it may be a sign of high levels of ketones (acids your liver makes) in your blood. It's a problem mainly of type 1 diabetes but also can happen with type 2 if you get a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Some conditions, such as uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and bladder infections, can give urine an odor that may be mistaken for coffee. Consult a doctor if urine that smells like coffee is accompanied by: pain, burning, or discharge when urinating. an increase in the urge to urinate.
Kidney dysfunction can also cause high bacteria and protein levels in the urine, which will contribute to a foul ammonia smell.
When kidneys are failing, the increased concentration and accumulation of substances in urine lead to a darker color which may be brown, red or purple. The color change is due to abnormal protein or sugar, high levels of red and white blood cells, and high numbers of tube-shaped particles called cellular casts.
Losing weight and reversing prediabetes can take anywhere from a few weeks, to a few months, to a few years, but the window of time to reverse prediabetes after a diagnosis is between 2-6 years – so you have time!
Common symptoms of diabetes: Urinating often. Feeling very thirsty. Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating.
Drinking enough water can help your body eliminate excess glucose through urine. The Institute of Medicine recommends adult men drink about 13 cups (3.08 liters) of day and women drink about 9 cups (2.13 liters).
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.