Diabetes is when your body is unable to keep your blood sugar levels within a target range. Signs of diabetes result from changes in the body as it tries to manage irregular sugar levels. There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.
You might not know you have diabetes unless you get a blood test from a doctor. If you are at risk for diabetes, a doctor might recommend testing. If you have prediabetes, you can prevent developing type 2 diabetes with lifestyle modifications. However, there is no way to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Some early signs of diabetes include increased thirst, wounds that won’t heal, and unusual weight changes.
Early signs of diabetes
Signs of diabetes are similar between type 1 and type 2. However, the onset of symptoms is much quicker with type 1.
It can take just a few weeks or months for symptoms to develop with type 1 diabetes, while the process can take several years with type 2. Some people with type 2 diabetes do not notice any symptoms.
In type 1 diabetes, the sudden increase of sugar in the urine leads to excessive urination. As a person is peeing a lot, they will become much more thirsty. These symptoms might take some time to appear with type 2 because the onset is slow and progressive.
About 1 in 3 adults in the United States have prediabetes, where blood sugar levels are high but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Many people with prediabetes can go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
Prediabetes might not cause physical symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting your blood sugar tested if you have risk factors such as:
- you have overweight or obesity
- you are age 45 years or older
- you have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
- you are physically active less than three times per week
- you have previously had gestational diabetes
- you have given birth to a baby who weighed 9 lb or more
Lifestyle interventions like losing weight and following a healthy lifestyle can help prevent prediabetes from developing into type 2 diabetes.
Common early signs of type 1 and type 2 diabetes include:
1. Peeing more often
You might experience an increase in needing to pee as your body is making more urine. The kidneys do not reabsorb all of the sugar and send it back into the bloodstream when they make urine, leading to excess sugar in the urine. When there’s more sugar in the urine, it draws more water from the body to create urine.
2. Fatigue
The role of fatigue in diabetes is complex. The relationship is bidirectional, which means diabetes can cause fatigue, and fatigue can also make it more difficult to manage diabetes. Both conditions may worsen each of them.
Researchers don’t know exactly why diabetes causes fatigue, but one hypothesis is that, with insulin resistance, the body uses fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. This slows the rate of energy production in the body.
3. Weight changes
Unexpected weight loss, even when you are eating more, is a symptom of type 1 diabetes. This happens because the body cannot use food for energy. When there is not enough insulin, the body can no longer process carbohydrates for energy and begins to process fats instead.
Although not a symptom of diabetes, frequent weight fluctuations as repeated cycles of weight gain and loss might increase the risk of developing type 2, according to a 2019 study.
4. Blurred vision
Vision changes are a sign of a complication of diabetes called diabetic retinopathy. In this condition, high blood sugar leads to damage to the blood vessels that supply the retina, which is part of the eye. Blurry vision is a symptom of advanced-stage diabetic retinopathy.
Vision changes are also a sign of high ketones. Ketones are a byproduct of when the body starts to use fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. High levels of ketones can lead to an excess of acid in the blood and can be life threatening.
Blurry vision during hyperglycemia may also be due to changes in the lens of your eye.
5. Slow-healing wounds
High blood sugar can affect how blood flows through the body. It can also cause nerve damage. This damage to nerves and the immune system impacts how quickly the body heals and recovers from injury. As a result, sores or cuts that heal slowly can signal diabetes.
6. Increased thirst
The feeling of thirst has a direct connection to peeing more often. As your body is making more urine due to high blood sugar levels, you might become dehydrated. This signals your body to make you feel thirsty, so you will drink more to replace your fluids.
Diabetes treatment
Treating diabetes, whichever type you have, usually involves a combination of:
- eating healthy food
- increasing physical activity
- regularly monitoring blood sugar levels
Blood sugar monitoring allows you to develop a care plan based on how your sugar levels respond to certain foods, medications, and physical activity.
People with type 1 diabetes usually take more than one type of insulin to help manage blood sugar levels. If you have type 2 diabetes, you might also need insulin.
There are also many other medications to help manage blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, including:
- metformin (Riomet)
- dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors like alogliptin (Nesina) and saxagliptin (Onglyza)
- glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists like semaglutide (Ozempic) and dulaglutide (Trulicity)
- dual GLP-1/gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP) receptor agonists like tirzepatide (Mounjaro)
- sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors like canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), and empagliflozin (Jardiance)
- sulfonylureas like glimepiride (Amaryl) and glyburide (Micronase)
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Get free cardComplications
Like type 1 and type 2 diabetes, prediabetes can lead to heart disease and stroke.
Other complications of unmanaged diabetes include:
- kidney failure
- blindness
- heart attack
- loss of legs, feet, or toes
If you have prediabetes, you can help reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The CDC has approved lifestyle change programs available across the United States. Participants who lost 5–7% of body weight and increased physical activity by 150 minutes per week reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes by 58%, according to the CDC.
Lifestyle changes can also reverse prediabetes.
Summary
Early signs of diabetes include frequent urination as the kidneys expel sugar. You might also experience an increase in thirst as the excessive urination makes you dehydrated.
Symptoms come on more quickly in type 1 than in type 2 diabetes. You might not have any symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
If a doctor confirms you have prediabetes, you can help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes with healthy lifestyle practices. These include following a healthy, balanced diet and increasing physical activity.
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