According to the Mayo Clinic, you can have prediabetes and not know it. Prediabetic signs can be non existent, or they may be the same as those for diabetes. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse states that in 2007, 57 million Americans suffered from prediabetes. The signs of prediabetes are generally the same as type 2 diabetes. If prediabetes is identified early enough, lifestyle changes, including healthy eating and weight maintenance, along with exercise, may reverse the prediabetic symptoms.
Acanthosis Nigricans
While there are often no signs or symptoms of prediabetes, the Mayo Clinic explains that darkened areas of skin are one of the few signs. Also called acanthosis nigricans, these darkened areas of skin commonly affect the neck, elbows, knees, knuckles and armpits.
Weight Loss
Because your body is not efficiently using glucose when you are becoming diabetic, your body uses muscle and fat as alternative fuel sources. Even if you eat more than usual, you may lose weight as calories are lost through excess glucose in your urine.
Thirst and Urination
Fluid, pulled from your tissues as excess sugar builds up in your bloodstream, causes you to be thirsty. Thirst encourages you to drink more liquid, and with more liquid in your system, you urinate more.
Hunger
With insufficient insulin in your body, your organs and muscles suffer from inadequate sugar, creating low energy levels. In response, your body becomes intensely hungry.
Fatigue
With your body unable to produce enough insulin, your cells are deprived of needed sugar. The result is extreme fatigue and possible irritability.
Infections
Without sufficient insulin, your body's ability to heal is compromised. You may have frequent infections or develop slow-to-heal sores.
Blurred Vision
High blood sugar, the result of your body's inability to produce and use sufficient glucose, may cause fluid to be pulled from the lenses of your eyes. This causes blurred vision and difficulty focusing clearly.
