| Other than tracing one’s own family history to find out whether any relations have diabetes, how can a person know whether he or she has diabetes without first having a medical check-up? This is the type of question people usually asked when they suspected that they might have diabetes. Like all diseases, diabetes does have its symptoms. In this article, I shall highlight the more common ones and relate my own experience to it. Like in all diseases, diabetes symptoms may resemble other diseases. So before I proceed to discuss about the symptoms, I would advise that if you or any of your family members even suspected that you might have diabetes, go for a medical check-up. Early detection will help a person to manage the disease better and to prevent it from becoming serious. One common symptom is frequent urination. Do not be confused if you tend to urinate more when you drink lots of water. For me, I did not realize that my frequent urination was due to diabetes. This was because I habitually drink about 3 to 4 liters of plain water in one day. So my frequent urination did not bother me as I thought it was due to the water I drunk. Of course, I was proven wrong. I already had diabetes, and due to my ignorance, I did not seek early treatment. Excessive thirst is a diabetes symptom to watch out for. Earlier I said that I drank 3 to 4 liters of water per day, I did not realize that it could be due to diabetes. I thought that it was due to the dry environment as the office I was working in was air-conditioned. I was surprised by this fact when I read up on diabetes. Coupled with this symptom, if ants are found to be near where you usually urinate, it may indicate that you have sugar or glucose in your urine. This is another indication to take note of. In the past, I constantly felt my hands and feet tingling and going numb. I did not pay much attention to these feelings as I thought that it was due to cramps and pins-and-needles as I have a tendency of sitting too long in a static position and not moving. To make a long story short, this was also attributed to diabetes as diabetes has an impact on blood circulation. Ever felt that you do not have sufficient sleep for the past few months? Feeling lethargic and tired practically on most days? Be careful as this could possibly point to diabetes. For no rhyme or reason, I was feeling very tired day in and day out, morning to night. I had 8 hours of sleep, yet when I am at work I find that I do not have sufficient energy to see me through the day. What makes it worse is that usually after lunch, when I have a high carbohydrate intake, I would feel more lethargic and tired. In fact, I got to the extent whereby I will go into a daze for about 10 to 15 minutes and everything seems to be moving at a slow pace. I consulted a doctor on this, but he could not diagnose what is wrong. Then I did not think about telling the doctor about my excessive thirst and frequent urination. Another symptom to be on the lookout for is very dry skin. Of course, dry skin could be due to some other diseases and not necessarily be due to diabetes. But if taken into consideration with all the above symptoms, it is most likely that a person may have diabetes. When a sore developed, take notice of it. If it heals slowly, it can be an indication of diabetes if the above symptoms are also present. I suggest that this person should seek medical help. Other symptoms to be aware of is where there is unexplained weight loss, especially if you do not exercise or diet. There may also be instances of extreme hunger even though you are experiencing such weight loss. As there are lots of symptoms that point to diabetes, to be certain, please consult your doctor. By TYC |
