Diabetes is a serious condition that is characterized by too much glucose in the bloodstream. Diabetes may cause adverse affects if not diagnosed and treated in time. It happens when the hormone needed to remove glucose from the blood--insulin--is absent, insufficient or not being used by the body efficiently. Symptoms of diabetes occur as a result of glucose traveling to all parts of the body via the bloodstream. Therefore, many parts of the body can be affected by diabetes and show symptoms of it.
Early Signs
The two main types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. The initial symptoms type 1 diabetes patients develop are usually extreme. They experience a need to urinate more frequently, increased thirst, constant hunger and severe weight loss. Cases of type 1 diabetes that involve extremely high blood glucose levels, may lead to a coma. Patients with type 2 diabetes usually don't exhibit any symptoms. However, they may experience diabetes signs like increase in urination and thirst as well as numbness in the feet, blurry vision and vaginal infections.
Complications
Although diabetes primarily causes an imbalance in blood sugar levels, it can cause other diseases as well. These diseases are complications of diabetes. Nerve damage, kidney damage, heart disease, and damage to the eyes are examples of problems caused by these diseases. A diabetic patient who develops any of these disease will show symptoms associated with them. Some of the symptoms include problems with digestion, such as constipation, lack of sensation in certain parts of the body, like the feet, leg ulcers that don't heal quickly and angina, which is chest pain resulting from low blood supply to the heart.
Medication Induced Symptoms
Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, may not require insulin therapy, but other medications are used to treat it. Diabetes medications are used to bring blood glucose levels close to what they should be normally. Treatment may reduce blood sugar to such a low level that hypoglycemia results. If a person with diabetes experiences hypoglycemia they will show signs like shakiness, confusion and nervousness, and they may faint.
Sencondary Symptoms.
The University of Washington School of Medicine explains that a person who suffers from diabetes may develop depression and anxiety disorders. This may happen when diabetic patients experience difficulties related to managing their condition, such as monitoring their blood glucose levels and self injecting insulin. It may also be as a result of the lifestyle changes they have to make as part of their treatment.
Considerations
It's important to note that some people may develop diabetes as a result of other medical conditions that they have. Acromegaly, Cushing's disease, pancreatitis,cystic fibrosis and hemochromatosis are all diseases that could lead to diabetes. In cases like these, a person would have symptoms of diabetes along with symptoms of the disease that triggered its development.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Diabetes
- The University of Washington School of Medicine: Diabetes Basics
- "Diabetes For Dummies"; Alan L. Rubin; 2008
