Diabetes is one of the most common diseases today, wrecking the lives of countless individuals every year. But unlike in years past, today there are drugs and treatments available to treat the disease so that a diabetic can live a pretty much normal life.

When you have an insulin deficiency, your body is not able to store glucose. As a result the glucose level in your bloodstream begins to rise. Normally, the kidneys can handle excess glucose in the bloodstream by filtering it out. However, when the glucose level reaches 180 mg/dl or above, a tipping point is reached. At this point the kidneys are overloaded and can no longer perform their filtering function. The excess glucose, having nowhere else to go, begins to enter the bloodstream. It’s at this point that diabetes complications usually start to occur.

Usually, due to the overload of blood glucose in their system, people with diabetes manifest a few common symptoms. For one, it causes many diabetics to become thirsty. The reason is that glucose causes water to be extracted from the blood which is then excreted from the body in the form of urine. The loss of water from the blood leads to dehydration and feelings of thirst. Too frequent urination can be a problem because along with the excess glucose, the urine is also carrying out sodium and potassium, important nutrients for the body.

Another symptom that you’ll often hear people with diabetes express is a feeling of fatigue. It’s not surprising because of the effect that glucose has on the body. Normally, the food that people eat is converted into glucose. The insulin in the body then converts the glucose into a fuel source that can be used to power the body. A person with diabetes, however, because they have insulin problems, the glucose in their body can’t be converted to energy. In other words, they have no power - no energy. It’s like putting gasoline into a car where the carburetor or fuel-injector is not working. The car has plenty of fuel, but is unable to convert it into usable form.

One of the symptoms of diabetes for women is an increase in vaginal infections. The reason is that the deficiency in insulin cause glucose level to rise in the blood, including vaginal secretions. Fungi and bacteria love high glucose areas of the body, it’s an excellent food source for them, making it the perfect environment for them to grow.

One of the sad things about this disease is that less than a half of the people with diabetes are aware that they have it. Diabetes, untreated, can lead to serious difficulties such as glaucoma, blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, and more. Of course, if someone is unaware that they have it, they can’t begin treatment. To be tested for diabetes is no longer a big deal. In fact, many doctors include it as part of a normal yearly physical exam. Ignoring a disease that is so easily treated is a mistake that no one should make.

If this is your first pregnancy then you are almost certainly having a wide range of emotions. Your emotions will change as the pregnancy goes on. When you first find you are pregnant you usually feel a huge outpouring of emotions, then as changes start within your body it can be a matter of many emotions in one day.

How will you know if the changes you are experiencing are just part of the pregnancy rather than gestational diabetes or something else that could be even more serious? Well if this is your first pregnancy then it can be difficult to know exactly what you should and should not be experiencing.

Morning Sickness

Most women get this to some degree during their pregnancy, it is often linked to a specific food. If you are having extensive sickness that goes on for long periods of time and it doesn’t stop no matter what you do then you should see your Dr. The constant loss of fluids can be harmful to both you and your unborn baby.

Never Ending Thirst

Being thirsty is known to be one of the signs of diabetes, this also applies to diabetes during pregnancy. This can be a difficult problem to balance. You are carrying a person inside you, that alone will mean that you have to increase your intake of fluids. However if you find that no matter what you do it is impossible to quench your thirst then you should make an appointment with your Dr.

If you think you have diabetes do not panic

There are five symptoms generally associated with high blood sugar, as well as a few other warning signs you should be aware of.

1 — Are you thirsty all the time?

Increased thirst is one of the classic high blood sugar symptoms. There’s a reason for this. Your body is trying to wash the excess blood sugar — also called “blood glucose” — out of your system. Your body needs more fluids to wash the glucose out, so you become thirsty and drink more.

2 — Do you make more visits to the restroom?

Another classic symptom is having to urinate almost as frequently as you get something to drink. This only makes sense, since you’re taking so much fluid in. But remember your body is also trying to wash the blood sugar out — and the fastest way out is to urinate.

Sugar in the urine was one of the earliest tests for high blood sugar and diabetes. It used to be standard to check the urine with glucose test strips, which indicated whether high amounts of glucose were present.

3 — Do you feel generally fatigued or tired?

Fatigue can be a symptom of so many things, even of not getting enough sleep. But if you are thirsty and urinate more frequently, then feeling tired or fatigued might well be associated with high blood sugar symptoms.

The reason for fatigue from high blood sugar is because the blood sugar isn’t going into your cells where you need it for energy. Your cells need glucose for energy to grow and heal, but the glucose isn’t moving into the cells. It’s staying in your bloodstream. When your cells don’t get energy, you aren’t going to feel very energetic either.

4 — Is your eyesight getting blurry?

High blood sugar over time can affect your blood vessels. Some of the more easily affected blood vessels are in your eyes. If your vision changes or becomes blurry for any reason, you should see an eye doctor. Not only for glasses or contact lenses, but their exams can often detect other problems such as high blood sugar.

5 — Do you have changes in your disposition?

I don’t mean the onset of personality disorders or anything like that. But the fatigue that results from high blood sugar is not limited to physical fatigue. It can affect how you feel day-to-day. You can become irritable and touchy. Or emotionally tired and lackadaisical. You may not care as much about things or even people that you ordinarily would feel strongly about.

Some other warning signs to watch out for are:

sudden weight loss –

The reason for this can be the same thing that causes you to feel fatigued. Glucose is not getting into your cells for energy. Your body has to get energy from somewhere, so you start to burn fat for energy. This is usually diagnosed as type 1 diabetes.

Burning fat instead of glucose for energy makes you lose weight, but it also produces toxic by-products known as “ketones”. If your body is producing ketones, you are in what is called the state of “ketosis”. This can become dangerous rather quickly, becoming “diabetic ketoacidosis,”or “DKA”.

The signs of DKA include a flushed appearance, dehydration, exhaustion, shock, and eventual unconsciousness. Severe DKA requires immediate and expert medical care. If you are experiencing these symptoms then see your doctor right away, as in immediately.

overweight, especially around your abdomen –

The unhappy opposite of weight loss is overweight or obesity. Being overweight can be a result of overeating, not enough exercise, and other causes. But if your cells aren’t getting enough glucose, it may be because you are “insulin resistant”.

In simple terms, insulin is the key that unlocks your cells to let the glucose in. If your cells become resistant to insulin, then they remain locked and the glucose doesn’t get in. So your body produces even more insulin to overcome the resistance.

Some of the glucose gets into your cells for energy. But that still leaves a lot of insulin in your bloodstream. And that insulin is used to store energy as fat. Insulin that doesn’t get used by the cells makes you fatter. Worse than that, when you get fatter, your insulin resistance increases. So it takes even more insulin to do the job next time. This is the cycle that is usually diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

As you can see, high blood sugar symptoms can be warning signs of diabetes. It is very important that you see your doctor as soon as you can. He or she can quickly check your fasting blood sugar levels and determine if further tests are needed. High blood sugar and diabetes can be treated and you can live a full and healthy life. But the first thing to do if you are experiencing these symptoms is see your doctor.

It is often difficult to tell if you have diabetes. The signs and symptoms can easily be confused with some other medical condition, and besides you don’t think they pose serious threats to your life. So you tend to overlook the signs and symptoms, not knowing that your life is at stake.

The two most common types of diabetes are Type I and Type II, and although the situations that result to either type are different, presenting signs and symptoms of both diabetes types are more or less the same. Type I diabetes results from the destruction of cells that produce insulin, and this type of diabetes commonly occurs in children and young adults. In the case of Type II diabetes, insulin is produced but then there is an inability of the cells this time to make use of the insulin. This type of diabetes is common among the older generation.

Notwithstanding the type of diabetes, it is very important that you know how to spot the warning signs of diabetes for you to be able to immediately take the necessary precautions. Remember that the earlier diabetes is diagnosed, the better are the chances of controlling it, thereby reducing risks of complications.

If you happen to go to the bathroom more often than before, that should already cause you to wonder if you have diabetes. You see, when you have diabetes, the insulin produced by your body may not be enough for the kidneys to filter the sugar back to the blood. To compensate, the kidneys become overactive and there is a need to extract more water from the blood. The extra water makes the bladder full, the reason why there is an urgency to urinate when you have diabetes.

With frequent urination comes another tell-tale sign of diabetes — thirst that cannot be quenched. In response to the extra water that is extracted from the blood and out of the system in the form of urine, the diabetic drinks more water than necessary.

Rapid weight loss can also occur especially in the case of Type 1 diabetes when not enough insulin is produced by the pancreas. Thus, instead of using insulin to produce energy, the body makes use of fat cells, and because the cells are starved of energy, fatigue can be a common problem.

Slow healing of wounds, itchy skin and blurry vision also occur with diabetes.

Lastly, there may be numbness or tingling of the hands and feet. This symptom usually develops over a period of time.

Other warning sign of diabetes are itchy skin, slow healing cuts and blurred vision.

I’m not going to give you too many facts on diabetes, other than it is life threatening and can harm your body, not to mention your mental state.

I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in August of 2009. I knew something was wrong but was so afraid to go to the doctor. I became dizzy a lot of the time. I was weak and had no energy. I had a thirst I could not quench. It seemed the more water I drank the more I wanted. I couldn’t get enough to eat; therefore I gained a lot of weight. Which I did not need because I was already overweight.

I would go to the grocery store and could not stand the noise. I was so irate to people. I yelled at a mother with a screaming child. I am not like that. I stopped right then and there and said to myself something is terribly wrong. When you know your body, it speaks to you. I just ignored the signs, thinking it was old age creeping up on me. I just couldn’t get anything going in my life.

I didn’t think I was depressed, I’ve been down that road. My husband finally talked me into going to the doctor. As we never had health insurance, we finally had it. So I went. Please don’t let that stop you. I did and it cost me.What a shock I received when the doctor told me I had diabetes. Nothing had ever been wrong with me. I was usually in good health most of my life. I sat there in his office for about 10 minutes and cried. I was scared, very scared.

I have never been so scared in my life. I have friends that have Type II diabetes, and I felt sorry for them. Not really knowing much about the disease, I didn’t know what to do. My emotions ran from being scared to being in shock. My whole body went into distress mode. Why? What happened to my body?

Being adopted I did not know my health history. I did find out and my natural father had diabetes and died from it. Boy did that wake me up. I then told my doctor let’s do what needs to be done. He was wonderful. He got me on the right pills and I am now getting better. My blood sugar is down, as well as my blood pressure and have lost 83 pounds. Thank you Lord and my doctor.

Start exercising, now! Eat your veggies and fruits. Learn to enjoy eating all over again, this time the right way. Take your medicines. You can do it. I did and am glad I did.

So if you have any of the symptoms, run don’t walk to your doctor. Have them run the tests you need and get on medication. Please don’t wait, it could kill you, it almost did me. Talk to him and get educated. Look it up on the internet. There is a wealth of information. Education on diabetes is your best form of keeping alive and living a good life. Good luck to you.