How Do You Know If You Have Diabetes
Diabetes is often a preventable disease and one which can be be survived, but that survival rate largely depends upon proper diagnosis and treatment. When a person has diabetes his or her body has a difficult time producing enough insulin. Insulin is a critical chemical in the body which helps turn sugar and starches into energy the human body can use. The symptoms of diabetes can be subtle at first.
Nearly 18 million people have diabetes in the United States, though many doctors and health professionals feel that that number is actually inaccurate due to the large number of people who have diabetes but have never been diagnosed. Knowing the symptoms of diabetes can help you decide if you need to see a doctor or not for a full diagnosis and treatment. Here are some of the more common symptoms of diabetes:
Increased hunger and thirst: Because diabetes affects how your body digests and handles food, you may actually feel more hungry after a big meal than before you began eating. Since your body isn’t getting the full effect of the food you’re digesting, your body may feel as though it needs more. Thirst may also be increased due to sugar building up in you body.
Increased need to urinate: The increased thirst of diabetes often leads to increased liquid intake which obviously means more urination. Some diabetes sufferers don’t notice the increased urination until they have a night time accident. Indeed, adult bed wetting is one symptom which usually means there is something going on in the body other than simple carelessness.
Increased Fatigue: There are a number of reasons you may feel unusually fatigued, but the extra work your body is spending just to process sugar may be one of them. Since diabetes limits your ability to turn sugar and starches into energy it means your body is not able to use food to its fullest advantage.
Diabetes is a serious disease that can grow worse if not diagnosed early and treated properly. The good news is that diabetes is a disease which doesn’t have to kill you. You can live and even thrive with diabetes as long as you take care of yourself with some common sense treatments and actions.
