What are early signs of Diabetes?

[Johncarry]

Hey everyone..
I am curious to know the early warning signs of Diabetes?

 

[Caeseji]

Hey everyone..
I am curious to know the early warning signs of Diabetes?

Usually things like excessive thirst, urination, recurrent infections or thrush along with dizzy spells and so on. Always better to get a doctor to do a blood test if you're worried.

 

[Patrick66]

My Mum had overwhelming thirst and was always tired, two "classic" signs..

I had neither.

Some of us seem to get quite obvious signals that something isn't quite as it should be and for some of us it comes out of the blue..

 

[Deleted Account]

If you are interesting in learning about diabetes, I recommend visiting www.diabetes.co.uk (not just the forum).
There is a huge library of easy to digest articles on diabetes.

Under the Type 1 and Type 2 menus, there are links to articles describing the symptoms for these two different conditions.

 

[Guzzler]

The classic symptoms are excessive thirst, excessive urination and fatigue. There are other symptoms such as dry mouth etc but some people experience no outward symptoms whatsoever. My T2 Diabetes was picked up on a routine MOT and my levels were very high without symptoms.

May I ask if you have been diagnosed as T2 having had the results from two blood draws from the arm?

 

[Rachox]

Hi John,
Here’s a link you might find useful:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-symptoms.html
I have to say I’m puzzled why you ask, as you state on your profile that you are diabetic, or are you like me and have been diagnosed without symptoms?

 

[Member496333]

Hyperinsulinemia, but as no one ever seems to test for insulin then the next best thing, albeit about a decade late, is elevated HbA1c. Failing that, in terms of symptoms - which I understand is what you’re asking - the first thing you’ll know about it is very probably excessive thirst and urination. Perhaps mild peripheral neuropathy.

EDIT: excessive insulin secretion is obviously not a factor in autoimmune diabetes. Quite the opposite.

 

[Listlad]

Issues relating to the feet seem to be common and that is one of the key symptoms that I had developed without realising it till it was eventually pointed out by my GP about 4.5 years ago. There are quite a number of foot disorders that can be tied back to diabetes. Thankfully a lot of mine have gone now.

 

[Member496333]

Issues relating to the feet seem to be common and that is one of the key symptoms that I had developed without realising it till it was eventually pointed out by my GP about 4.5 years ago. There are quite a number of foot disorders that can be tied back to diabetes. Thankfully a lot of mine have gone now.

The problem here also is that peripheral numbness is a slow progression and can often go unnoticed in the individual. The real issues with my feet began when my diabetes control got markedly better. The numbness subsided and left behind pain. My god, the pain...

 

[Listlad]

The problem here also is that peripheral numbness is a slow progression and can often go unnoticed in the individual. The real issues with my feet began when my diabetes control got markedly better. The numbness subsided and left behind pain. My god, the pain...

I see. Yes, I can imagine.

I had some of the early warning signs. I went through a phase after initial diagnosis / identification with an HbA1c of 49 where i was a frequent visitor to my local surgery for a range of reasons, probably several times a month. The nurse and the GP drew my attention to some of the early signs in my feet, such as flaky skin, darkening of the skin and also fungally driven ingrown toenails. So I kind of caught it relatively early. Slight tingling too.

It helped that the surgery was a 10 minute walk from where I worked.

 

[KK123]

Hi @Johncarry, do you have any symptoms that are worrying you? It's a hard question to answer because it can range between none and loads. I had no symptoms when diagnosed as pre diabetes but 3 years later I had plenty when diagnosed with type 1, these included extreme tiredness, unquenchable thirst, constant urination, and itchy skin. Means nothing to you really though as any symptoms you may have may be different or down to something else. I am presuming you are worried about something so I would suggest you go to your Doctors first and foremost. x

Edited to add; Just noticed you are type 2 and on metformin already?

 

[Guzzler]

For T2 weight gain or weight loss without effort can be a symptom. Blurred vision is another, sometimes a visit to an optician can flag up signs in which case the optician advises a visit to a GP.

 

[Diakat]

@Johncarry your profile says you are T1 on oral meds. How much have you been told about diabetes?