Type 2 Diabetes – What Is It, and What Are the Early Signs?

Approximately 35 million Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes. (1) This condition, which leads to elevated blood sugar levels, is preventable about 90% of the time. (2) Your genes may increase your risk of developing this condition. Certain lifestyle and health habits also contribute to the progression of type 2 diabetes. Understanding what the condition is and how to identify early signs of type 2 diabetes can help you get your health under control and prevent or manage the disease.

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What Is Type 2 Diabetes?

Your body is designed to use glucose, which comes from the sugars in the foods that you eat, as fuel. As you digest food, carbohydrates are converted into glucose, which enters your bloodstream. Your pancreas responds to the elevated blood sugar levels by secreting insulin. This chemical allows your cells to use and store the glucose, removing it from your bloodstream.

If you have type 2 diabetes, your cells don’t respond to insulin the way that they’re supposed to. In an effort to correct this, your pancreas secretes even more insulin. Eventually, the organ can’t keep up. Glucose continues to circulate in the bloodstream, which leads to the following complications (3):

  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Kidney disease
  • Nerve damage
  • Eye conditions
  • Skin problems
  • Sleep apnea
  • Delayed healing
  • Frequent infections
  • Cognitive decline

What Are the Early Signs of Type 2 Diabetes?

About 84 million American adults have prediabetes. (4) This means that their blood sugar levels are higher than normal. Their cells are beginning to show signs of insulin resistance.

If you have prediabetes, you may be told that you have one of the following conditions: (5)

  • Hyperglycemia
  • High blood sugar
  • Borderline diabetes
  • Glucose intolerance
  • Impaired glucose tolerance
  • Impaired fasting glucose

Diabetes is diagnosed when your blood sugar is 126 mg/dL after eight hours of fasting or 200 mg/dL two hours after a meal. If you have prediabetes, your blood sugar measures 100 to 125 mg/dL after an eight-hour fast or 140 to 199 mg/dL two hours after eating.

Prediabetes increases your risk of developing diabetes. But it doesn’t typically generate obvious symptoms. (6) Most people don’t know that they have prediabetes. By the time you begin to notice symptoms, you may already be experiencing blood sugar levels that are consistent with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. It’s important to consult with a healthcare provider and evaluate your eating and exercise habits if you notice any of the following signs of type 2 diabetes.

Urinating More Often Than Usual

Are you peeing more frequently than you used to even though you haven’t increased your fluid consumption? When your blood sugar is elevated, your kidneys work hard to expel it. They produce more urine, and you have to use the bathroom more often.

The average person urinates about six or seven times per day. (7) It’s normal to wake up to pee once a night. If you’re going more often than this and you can’t attribute the frequency to changes in your eating or drinking habits, you might want to see a doctor.

Increased Thirst

One reason that people with prediabetes don’t see the increased frequency of urination as a problem is that they have been drinking more fluids. As the kidneys work to pass excess sugar, they pull water from your tissues to produce additional urine. This leads you to feel parched even when you’re drinking water regularly throughout the day.

Constant Hunger

Are you hungry even after eating an adequate amount of food? Does eating fail to quell your hunger pangs? Your body may not be using the energy from food efficiently. When you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, your cells don’t absorb sugar appropriately.

Therefore, you don’t get the fuel that your body needs even though you’re eating plenty of calories and filling your stomach. This may lead you to crave sugar and eat more, which further increases the risk of developing full-blown diabetes.

Ongoing Fatigue

When your body doesn’t get the energy that it needs, it doesn’t function optimally. If glucose isn’t being delivered to your cells, you’ll feel tired and weak.

Moreover, waking several times a night to use the bathroom or feeling your stomach growl as you’re trying to fall asleep can prevent you from getting decent rest. These disruptions to your sleep patterns can also make you feel tired all the time.

Slow Healing

High blood sugar impacts your circulation. When you don’t have enough oxygen-rich blood flowing to your extremities, you may experience delayed wound healing. Instead of closing up within days, even small cuts may take weeks to heal. Because of this, wounds are more susceptible to infection.

Skin Problems

As you age, your skin loses elasticity and moisture. Therefore, the skin problems that show up as early signs of type 2 diabetes may be overlooked.

But people with excessive blood sugar are more likely than others to develop yeast infections. Yeast feeds on sugar, and it proliferates in warm, moist environments. Itchy rashes in the groin, genitals, armpits, mouth and belly button could be indicators of type 2 diabetes.

The overproduction of insulin causes skin cells to reproduce faster than normal. This can create patchy spots of thickened skin, especially in people with darker complexions. This condition, called acanthosis nigricans, is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes. (8)

Could You Have Diabetes?

If you experience signs of type 2 diabetes, you should visit a doctor for a comprehensive examination. A medical professional can take diagnostic tests to help you understand what’s going on with your body.

Getting an early diagnosis gives you a chance to seek treatment and take action to control the disease. It may offer the motivation that you need to lose weight, enhance your exercise regimen or quit smoking. You may even be a good candidate for medication. Controlling your blood sugar now can reduce the risk of developing more severe symptoms and medical conditions.


References
1. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html
2. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/disease-prevention/diabetes-prevention/preventing-diabetes-full-story/
3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193
4. https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Diabetes/Preventing-Diabetes/What-is-the-difference-between-Type-2-diabetes,-pr.aspx
5. https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/prediabetes/prediabetes-vs-diabetes-whats-the-difference
6. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes.html
7. https://www.bladderandbowel.org/bladder/bladder-conditions-and-symptoms/frequency/
8. https://www.healthline.com/health/acanthosis-nigricans