Warning Signs for Diabetes

Warning Signs for Diabetes

How can you tell if you have diabetes? Most early symptoms are from higher-than-normal levels of glucose, a kind of sugar, in your blood.
The warning signs can be so mild that you don’t notice them. That’s especially true of type 2 diabetes. Some people don’t find out they have it until they get problems from long-term damage caused by the disease. With type 1 diabetes, the symptoms usually happen quickly, in a matter of days or a few weeks. They’re much more severe, too.

This list of warning signs for diabetes was taken from several sources and is not a self-diagnosis list by any means.

If you have more than one of these, it could be Warning Signs for Diabetes. For peace of mind, ask your physician about a glucose test.

  • Frequent urination.
  • Frequent or excessive thirst.
  • Slow-healing cuts and bruises.
  • Numbness or tingling in hands and arms or legs and feet.
  • Drowsiness.
  • Fatigue.
  • Frequent infections.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Unintended weight loss.

Without insulin, a person will find that they lack energy for their everyday tasks and they will see numerous unwanted effects from increased blood sugar. Sugar can be very destructive when it is allowed to build up, causing nerve damage and more.

Some people do not exhibit any symptoms at all for diabetes. Sometimes, the disease is found when the doctor is looking for something else. But many diabetics exhibit one or more of the above symptoms.

The warning signs can be so mild that you don’t notice them. That’s especially true of type 2 diabetes. Some people don’t find out they have it until they get problems from long-term damage caused by the disease. With type 1 diabetes, the symptoms usually happen quickly, in a matter of days or a few weeks. They’re much more severe, too.


Both types of diabetes have some of the same telltale warning signs.

The process of type 2 diabetes begins years or even decades before the diagnosis of diabetes, with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the beginning of the body not dealing well with sugar, which is the breakdown product of all carbohydrates. Insulin tells certain body cells to open up and store glucose as fat. When the cells stop responding your blood sugar rises, which triggers the release of more insulin in a vicious cycle. Insulin resistance is associated with abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and low HDL (“good cholesterol”). When these occur together, it is known as metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes. It is a risk factor for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

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