What are the signs that I have Type 2 Diabetes?
What is Type 2 diabetes? Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which your body cannot lower blood sugar levels as it should.
If you are wondering “how do I know if I have Type 2 Diabetes,” please keep reading. There are several signs and symptoms to watch for if you think that you may have Type 2 diabetes. Treating high blood sugar caused by Type 2 diabetes is very important. Untreated diabetes can damage your vital organs. This includes your kidneys, heart, blood vessels, and nerves.
Risk factors for diabetes
Anyone can develop Type 2 diabetes, but certain factors1 can increase your risk. Risk factors for diabetes include
- Living a sedentary lifestyle
- Being overweight/obese
- Eating an unhealthy diet
- Being 45 years of age or older
- Having a family history of diabetes
- Being of African American, Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Asian America, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander Descent.
What are the warning signs for diabetes?
How do I know if I have the warning signs for Type 2 diabetes? Once you know the warning signs, then you are your way to answering the question “how do I know if I have type 2 diabetes.”
If you think you may have Type 2 diabetes; there are several warning signs to watch out for. Have you noticed any of the following signs and symptoms of Type 2 diabetes? If so, please speak with your doctor about potential diabetes testing.
Read more here about what happens if you don’t do anything about this condition.
Excessive Thirst
Excessive thirst is one of the earliest signs of Type 2 diabetes.
When you have Type 2 diabetes, your body cannot process sugars like it usually should. This causes your kidneys to work harder to get rid of the excess sugar in the bloodstream. Sugar gets excreted into your urine when your kidneys get overworked. This takes water from your tissues and leads to dehydration, causing increased thirst.
Increased Urination
When your body cannot process sugar, your kidneys must work harder than they should remove the extra sugar.
They do this by pulling it into the urine. This causes dehydration. When the sugar gets drawn from the bloodstream, fluids do too. This leads to increased thirst, which causes you to drink more fluids. The more liquid you consume due to the thirst, the more you will urinate.
Fatigue
Type 2 Diabetes can cause fatigue and weakness. This is because the cells in your body cannot convert sugar into energy. Dehydration caused by increased urination can also lead to fatigue.
Blurry Vision
Elevated blood sugars cause damage to small blood vessels in your body. This is especially damaging for those blood vessels found inside your eyes. The damage to these blood vessels can cause blurry vision.
The longer someone goes without treatment for high blood sugar, the worse the damage to the blood vessels will become. Permanent vision loss can occur.
Weight Gain
What happens when the pancreas produces more insulin? This happens as a response to insulin resistance. Excess insulin signals the muscles and liver to store blood sugar. It stores this in the form of fat.
This often leads to excess belly fat. Belly fat is a sign that someone might have prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes.
Slow Healing
Elevated blood sugar in the blood caused by Type 2 diabetes can damage nerves and blood vessels. This leads to poor blood flow and slows down the healing process of minor cuts and wounds. Many people with Type 2 diabetes find that their injuries can take weeks or even months to heal.
Tingling, numbness, or pain in the hands and feet
High blood sugar can affect blood circulation and damage nerves in your hands and feet.
When blood sugars remain elevated, it can cause numbness and tingles in the hands and feet. This is due to decreased circulation and damaged nerves. Some people describe the discomfort as a burning sensation.
Dark skin Patches
Type 2 Diabetes can cause a skin condition called acanthosis nigricans. This condition causes dark patches of skin to form in the creases of the neck, armpits, and groin. The skin patches are usually soft and velvety to the touch.
Frequent Infections
Bacteria grows best when it has access to sugar. High blood sugar can feed and cause bacteria to grow and lead to infections.
What types of infections do people with high blood sugar experience?
Foot infections
Urinary tract infections
Fungal infections
Infections of the skin, nails, and other soft tissues, and pneumonia.
What should I do If I have signs of Type 2 diabetes?
As with any medical condition you’re concerned about, talk to your doctor. Getting an early diagnosis is essential to staying healthy.
If you’re experiencing possible warning signs of Type 2 diabetes a proper evaluation is necessary. Your doctor will likely put in a lab order for A1c and fasting blood glucose. These results will give you and your doctor an idea of whether you are prediabetic. It will also tell you if you already have Type 2 Diabetes.
An early diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes is so important. Type 2 diabetes can be reversed. It can allow you the opportunity to change your diet and lifestyle! This will delay or reverse severe complications of diabetes.
After reading this article hopefully, you no longer have to ask yourself…”how do I know.”
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She helped start and managed a supplement company and has consulted on targeted supplement creation.
She has also served for over 7 years as an admin for very large Facebook groups about health and autoimmune issues.
Anna has years of unique experience seeing which protocols and treatments work for which people, having seen hundreds of thousands of patient experiences and testimonials.
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