It’s important to pay attention to the signs and signals the body gives us. Diabetes has a number of early signs, but because they’re rather subtle, you might not notice. But the longer you go without managing diabetes, the greater at risk you are for serious complications like blindness, amputation and heart disease.
Don’t let fear of the disease control you – instead, control it by being aware of these three early symptoms.
1. You’re urinating more often, and frequently feel parched.
The average person typically has to urinate between four and seven times in a 24-hour period. Those with diabetes tend to go a lot more. That also makes one feel a lot more thirsty – then, you drink more, and pee more too.
2. You feel shaky and crave high-carb, sugary foods.
If you have diabetes, it’s common to start feeling shaky and experience an immediate need for high-carb, or sugar-filled foods. That’s because when you have high blood sugar, the body has a problem regulating glucose. When your cells don’t get the glucose they need, they become starved. Starving cells will crave sugar and carbohydrates, because this is your body’s preferred energy source.
3. Your vision is blurry.
If your vision suddenly seems blurry, thankfully it doesn’t mean impending blindness. In the early stages of diabetes, the lens of the eye has difficulty focusing because glucose builds up in the eye.
Other Pre-Diabetes Symptoms
In addition, pay attention if you find yourself feeling drowsy or lethargic; pain or numbness in your extremities; fruity or sweet-smelling breath which is one of the symptoms of high ketones; and experiencing nausea or vomiting—as these are additional signs that something is not right.
As many of us know, living with diabetes means much more than A1C targets and finger pricks. In fact, successfully managing diabetes is a balancing act — between those things you want to do and those you need to do to keep your blood sugar stable.
Plus, many factors don’t fit the bill of traditional diabetes management. There’s also mental health, coping with stigma, and navigating low-carb diets and alternative treatments.
It’s not always easy, but with support, thriving with diabetes is possible. It is even possible to reverse type 2 diabetes. Click here to understand how.
