Do you suffer from symptoms that make you ask yourself “Do I have diabetes type 2"?
More than 400 million people have this disease, so the thought of you having diabetes is not that crazy.
In this article, you will discover 11 signs and symptoms of diabetes that will help you determine whether or not you have the disease.
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When do you have diabetes type 2?
Everyone wonders about their health. You have no doubt wondered whether your weight and diet are healthy. Most people stop there.
But sometimes, you know that you are not 100% healthy. You might notice specific symptoms that you shouldn't have. In such cases, you want to know whether you're sick or not. You might ask yourself:
"Do I have type 2 diabetes?"
These days, this is no longer a strange question to ask. More than 400 million people are currently walking around with type 2 diabetes. Many members of this group are unaware that they have type 2 diabetes. This is because, in the beginning, the symptoms seem relatively innocent.
But if you don't notice the symptoms early on, the consequences for your health can be disastrous.
Purpose of this article
That is why this blog will reveal to you the 11 most common early signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes so that you can nip this terrible disease in the bud.
The more of these characteristics and symptoms you recognize in yourself, the higher the likelihood that you have diabetes. You will then be able to answer your question "Do I have diabetes?"
This blog is actually an online "Do I have type 2 diabetes mellitus" test. It allows you to test the odds of you having type 2 diabetes. As an addition, you can also buy a self-testing kit in a regular store or on the internet.
The online "Do I have diabetes type 2" test
#1 Thirst
Being thirsty is something that most of us experience every day and usually think nothing of it. Being thirsty is the most innocent thing there is... right?
Unfortunately, this is not true. Though thirst is not a problem for healthy people, it is a problem for people with borderline type 2 diabetes.
Because altered blood and insulin levels increase the chance of being thirsty.
I'll explain why in the next tip.
Do you feel thirsty more often than you used to – or more often than other people? Then it certainly won't hurt to test your blood sugar level. Thirst is one of the first symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
#2 Urinating frequently
Urinating frequently is called polyuria in the medical world.
Our bodies usually do everything they can to retain 'fluids.' When you urinate a lot, there is often something wrong.
For example, chemicals such as alcohol can cause you to urinate more often than usual.
Having too little sugar in the body is not healthy but having too much is even worse.
Your kidneys cannot excrete sugar alone. It must be accompanied by lots of water.
The result is that you have to urinate frequently.
This makes you drink more often, which in turn leads to more visits to the toilet. And thus the vicious circle is set in motion.
#3 A dry mouth
Not only will you often be thirsty when you (almost) have type 2 diabetes. You will also experience a dry mouth more often. Why? Because you will urinate all the time to excrete the excess sugars from your body.
Although thirst is not an unusual phenomenon, the frequency and intensity of the dryness will increase.
The mouths of healthy people are rarely dry.
Under normal circumstances, you would only expect to experience a dry mouth if you have been drinking alcohol, if the weather is extremely hot, or if you are ill.
Causes of a dry mouth
With diabetes, your blood sugar levels are too high. To reduce the amount of sugar in your blood, water is extracted from various bodily tissues, including those in your mouth. A dry mouth is therefore caused by two things with diabetes:
So, if your mouth is often dry for none of the usual reasons, the answer to the question "Do I have type 2 diabetes?" is very probably yes.
#4 Being tired
You may be surprised to learn that fatigue and type 2 diabetes go hand in hand.
It's not unusual for people to feel tired when their blood sugar level is on the low side. But with type 2 diabetes you feel tired when your blood sugar level is very high.
Why does this happen?
This is because not only is your blood sugar level disrupted but insulin production in your pancreas is disrupted as well. If you don't make enough insulin, sugar cannot be absorbed from the blood.
Let me explain
It's like having a jerrycan full of gasoline in the trunk of your car, but you can't get it into the fuel tank. Theoretically, you have enough fuel in your vehicle but unfortunately not in the right place. Therefore your car is unlikely to get you very far.
Fatigue is one of the first signs that you have type 2 diabetes or that you are developing it.
I'm sometimes asked the following question: "I am often dizzy. Does this mean I have type 2 diabetes?"
Unfortunately, the answer is likely to be yes, Dizziness is also a form of fatigue.
So listen to your body more often, and don't be too quick to attribute your symptoms to a hard day's work.
#5 Short tempered
When you're tired, you often have a shorter fuse. Leave home one day with an empty stomach and see what kind of a person you turn into. Believe me when I tell you, most people will do their best to avoid you.
If you get signals from people around you that you've been bad-tempered recently, that could easily be due to elevated blood sugar levels.
Because your body can't use the excess sugars as fuel, your brain has less energy than usual.
It starts to function in a more primitive and impulsive way.
You get agitated quickly, and you find it hard to cope with certain situations.
Your behavior can do more harm than you might imagine. It can be stressful for you and everyone around you. It can upset your loved ones and make your condition worse. Especially if no one realizes it's due to type 2 diabetes.
Tip!
If you're not sure whether you're getting agitated more quickly or not, you can always ask the people around. As humans, we're quite slow at noticing lapses in our own behavior. But other people see it much faster because they're often on the receiving end!
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#6 Hunger
Initially, you probably wouldn't associate your hunger with type 2 diabetes. After all, Developing diabetes is the result of overeating, isn't it?
Developing diabetes is the result of eating too many carbs and unhealthy products over a number of years.
Yet, hunger is a common symptom of (early) type 2 diabetes. How come?
Just as with fatigue, the problem lies in the body's inability to absorb and burn all those sugars to produce the energy it needs. It's like this:
Binge eating can arise spontaneously and seldom satisfies your hunger. Why? Because eating again, only causes more sugar to enter your blood, where there is already too much and it's not getting to the parts that need it.
Your cells will continue to scream "We need more energy!" Which means you're back where you started from.
#7 Bad healing wounds
When you have a high blood sugar level, you will experience a number of strange symptoms not unlike the ones you've read about above, which seem to be fairly innocuous.
These are mainly signals from the body that 'something' is not quite right. It only becomes a real problem when your body is actually affected.
One of the first signs of this is the bad healing of small wounds. The massive amounts of sugar in the blood clog the millions of tiny capillaries in your body. Because of this, your body has poor blood flow. The result is far from pleasant.
Explanation
Your body may be less able to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your cells. Also, the body's waste-removal system becomes less effective.
Among other things, this is reflected in the poor healing of wounds, which can only heal well when there is adequate blood flow.
Blood provides the affected area with essential healing components such as red and white blood cells. In the case of an open wound, your immune system also needs to respond to any bacteria that may enter the body.
You will notice that this problem occurs in your extremities – your fingers and toes, for example.
#8 Blurred vision
Retinopathy is the medical name for 'eye disease.' This is one of the symptoms you can experience when you have type 2 diabetes.
Your eye is a very fragile organ. It is small and therefore the blood flows through many capillaries. Because of this, it is susceptible to damage from diabetes.
With type 2 diabetes, although going blind is definitely a hazard in the long term, it is, fortunately, unlikely in the short-term.
However, blurred and worsening eyesight may occur. Why exactly?
Explanation
The "visual acuity" (clarity), of what you see depends on the way light is refracted in your eyeball. When you have diabetes, the lens of the eye, which plays an important role in refraction, can swell due to excess blood sugar levels, and this causes blurred vision.
In other words: fluctuating blood sugar levels cause parallel fluctuations in your visual acuity.
Blurred vision can be caused by a few other things besides type 2 diabetes. If you catch it early enough, blurry/bad vision can even be reversed with a diabetes-friendly diet and medication.
Do you suffer from blurred vision and any of the other symptoms mentioned above? Then, I'm sorry to say, you have the answer to the question: "Do I have diabetes?".
#9 Weight loss
You read earlier that your body can be constantly hungry at the onset of type 2 diabetes. Because your body cannot absorb sugars, it will have frequent energy shortages.
Weight loss with type 2 diabetes is therefore not very crazy.
Because you can't take in any sugars, your body has no option but to burn fats and proteins (muscle) in order to function.
Some of this will come from your diet, but a large proportion will also come from your fat and protein reserves.
In practice, you can lose 10 to 20 pounds in 3 months without eating any less than usual.
Although you may see this as a 'blessing in disguise,' it is, in fact, not something to be happy about.
Weight loss that has no explanation may be due to an imbalance of blood sugar and insulin. So, if you experience unexpected weight loss, be sure to have your blood sugar level measured.
#10 Itching
Feeling itchy is another characteristic of type 2 diabetes. This is caused by excessive yeast growth (fungus) in the body. Especially in the pubic area.
Although the connection between type 2 diabetes and itching may not be obvious to you at first, in this case, there certainly is one: Yeast (as in beer) thrives on sugar.
And what does someone with diabetes have in abundance?
This makes the body of a type 2 diabetes patient an incubator for yeasts. Although you can get itchy all over your body, your pubic area will mostly suffer. This is also called a fungal infection.
Symptoms of a fungal infection
Common symptoms are:
Because of the increased blood sugar level, you also have an increased risk of all kinds of infectious diseases. Although the question “Do I have diabetes?” may not be the first to spring to mind, it is indeed a possibility. So it's important to have your blood sugar level measured as soon as possible.
#11 Bladder infections
Not only is your blood full of sugar but your urine is as well. Your kidneys try to lower your blood sugar level at all costs. The only thing your kidneys can do is to expel large quantities of sugar.
The result: more bladder and other urinary tract infections (UTIs).
As with itching, so with bladder infections, the question "Do I have diabetes" may not occur to you at first, but it is certainly a possible explanation.
Also, in later life, when people are more likely to get bladder infections for a variety of reasons, it's more difficult to recognize them as symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
Tip!
If you are experiencing frequent bladder infections, it certainly won't hurt (no pun intended) to have your blood sugar level checked. Especially if you recognize one or more of the symptoms above.
OK. I have diabetes ... what now?
You have now done the online self-test for the question: "Do I have diabetes type 2?" And it shows that you may have the beginnings of diabetes.
What now?
Let the doctor check your blood sugar to determine type 2 diabetes. Then you can make a plan of action.
The way that you approach your diet is extremely important.
It has recently been discovered that it's possible to reverse type 2 diabetes. And you can find all the necessary resources in your local grocery store.
You can reverse type 2 with one powerful principle. It's something I call "The Diabetes-Free Secret." I have written several pages about this secret that will change your life forever. You will learn:
Enter your e-mail address below and I will send you the E-book for free.
Greetings,
Ben Kuiper
PS: Which symptom(s) answered the question "do I have type 2 diabetes" for you? Leave a comment below