Diabetes Symptoms – The Signs To Look Out For

In this report I will tell you the symptoms of diabetes 2, what causes it, how to prevent it and last but not least how to test for it.

Diabetes 2 – The Symptoms

First Of All A Bit About Diabetes 2

Diabetes 2 is a condition where your body is either not making enough of the hormone insulin or the insulin that you are producing is not being used effectively.

Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. Insulin is needed to help our bodies to use the glucose in our blood for energy in our muscles and tissues. Your body takes carbohydrates in food and converts them to glucose (sugar) to be used for energy or fuel. If you have diabetes the level of sugar in your blood is too high. This is because your body cannot use it properly and it builds up in your blood.

The Main Symptoms Of Diabetes 2 Are:

• Passing urine more often than usual, especially at night
• Being more thirsty
• Being extremely tired
• Losing weight with no reason why
• Blurry vision

However, some people who have diabetes do not show any symptoms of Diabetes 2. How do I know? I am the perfect example. Now a bit about myself.

I am an Entrepreneur and I am very active. My main hobbies are running and dancing and as you would probably imagine those are very energetic activities. However, I ran a very profitable franchised company for 15 years but in the latter years the company performed poorly and then went defunct. Now business is also one of my passions and as you can imagine I was distraught and soon went into a depression.

As a consequence I immediately stopped all the activities that I loved (dancing and running) and literally did no energetic activities for 9 years (In fact no activities at all). In this time I did not show any signs of Diabetes 2. However on a routine visit to my GP and a check up I found out that I had Diabetes 2 and soon found out what it was. It was caused by my lack of exercise, something which I did naturally and also rubbish food (I could eat any rubbish food because it was camouflaged by my very active life) Now that I did no exercise and ate rubbish food, Diabetes 2 reared its ugly head.

So even though you may not show any of the above signs of Diabetes 2, it does not mean that you do not have it. Some causes of diabetes 2 are lack of exercise and bad diet as found out to my and which some of you (yes you) are guilty of. So it would be a good idea to test for Diabetes 2 even if you do not show any symptoms of it.

What Causes Diabetes?

You are more likely to have diabetes if you:

• Have severe mental health problems
• Are overweight
• Have high blood pressure
• Have previously had a heart attack or stroke
• Are taking anti psychotic medication

How can I reduce my chance of getting diabetes?

Some risk factors for diabetes are not in your control. However, you are more likely to have Diabetes 2 if:

• • Have pre diabetes
  • History of PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome)

Age – The risk of Type 2 diabetes increases as you age.

• Acanthuses nigricans (darkened, thick areas of the skin around the neck or armpits)
• Inactivity
• Obesity
• Environmental Factors (such as lack of access to healthy food, inability to exercise, and lack of access to healthcare)
• Smoking
• Genetics is also a strong factor in developing Type 2 diabetes. If you have an immediate family member with Type 2, you’re more likely to develop the disease.

• Keep a healthy blood pressure (not)

Should I Get A Test For Diabetes?

Anyone who has symptoms of diabetes should be tested for the disease. Some people will not have any symptoms but may have risk factors for diabetes and need to be tested. Testing allows health care professionals to find diabetes sooner and work with their patients to manage diabetes and prevent complications.

Testing also allows health care professionals to find prediabetes. Making lifestyle changes to lose a modest amount of weight if you are overweight may help you delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. Sometimes just going for a routine GP’s physical health check could diagnose Type 2 Diabetes as has happened to me. The Doctors check blood sugar as part of these routine checks and this diagnosis may come out of the blue as it did for me.

What Glucose And A1C Ranges Are Used For Diabetes Diagnosis?

A diabetes diagnosis can be confirmed in a number of ways such as determining one’s fasting plasma glucose, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), an A1c, and a random plasma glucose test.

A hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test measures the amount of blood sugar (glucose) attached to hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. A random plasma glucose test takes a blood sample which analysed for concentration of Glucose in the blood. There is no need to fast for a random plasma glucose test. The glucose tolerance test (OGTT)also known as the oral glucose tolerance test, measures your body’s response to sugar (glucose). The glucose tolerance test can be used to screen for type 2 diabetes. More commonly, a modified version of the glucose tolerance test is used to diagnose gestational diabetes — a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy.

The fasting plasma glucose checks your blood sugar levels if you haven’t had anything to eat or drink for at least 8 hours. Diabetes is diagnosed if your blood sugar is at or greater than 126 mg/dL. A normal fasting glucose is less than 100 mg/dL and prediabetes is considered to be from 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL(Milligrams per decilitre). Some medical tests report results in milligrams (mg) per decilitre (dL). A milligram is one-thousandth of a gram. A gram is about 1/30 of an ounce. A decilitre measures fluid volume that is 1/10 litre.

The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is conducted by checking your blood sugar levels before and 2 hours after consuming a sweet drink. The test determines how well your body uses carbohydrates. A diabetes diagnosis is confirmed if your blood sugar is equal to or greater than 200 mg/dL after 2 hours. Normal is considered less than 140 mg/dL and prediabetes ranges from 140 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL.

In Conclusion

Now you know the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes, what determines it and the fact that you should get tested irrespective if you have Diabetes 2 systems or not.

That’s it for now.

More about Type 2 Diabetes in coming reports.

Aubrey Schultz

aubrey@diabetessolace.com