Lesson #1

What are signs of diabetes?

There are various signs of diabetes. Some of the most common include extreme thirst, frequent urination, excessive hunger or fatigue, unexplained weight loss, sores that don't heal quickly, itchy and dry skin, numbness or tingling in the feet and blurry eyesight.

Many people have one or more of these signs before being diagnosed with diabetes.

If your doctor suspects that you have diabetes, s/he will perform several tests to confirm those suspicions. The first is a fasting blood glucose test that is performed after a night of not eating. If the doctor still has suspicions, s/he will perform an oral glucose tolerance test to check your body's responsiveness to sugar.

However, some people do not notice these symptoms and develop emergency conditions that need to be treated immediately or else permanent injury and/or death may occur. There are several such conditions including:

• Diabetic ketoacidosis: This will occur over a period of hours. It is most likely to occur in people with insulin-dependent diabetes after you have missed an insulin injection or if an infection is present.

• Hypoglycemic coma (insulin reaction): This will develop over a period of minutes. Trembling, weakness, confusion, dizziness, double vision, lack of coordination or losing consciousness are all signs of an insulin reaction, when your blood sugar levels fall too low. Emergency care is essential.

• Hyperosmolar coma: This condition refers to a gradual loss of consciousness which will occur over a period of days and often occurs in conjuction with another illness, such as a stroke, in an older non-insulin dependent person.

It is imperative to care for your diabetes because in later years, the disease can lead to serious complications for the eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth, and blood vessels. You will learn more about the specific complications in Lesson #4.

There are several types of diabetes. Most people get diabetes when they are over 40 or 50. At this point they usually develop non-insulin dependent, or type 2, diabetes. Treating this type of diabetes requires a special diet and often, diabetes pills. Some type 2 patients require insulin shots. It is important to note that recent studies point to an increase in the numbers of children developing type 2 diabetes. This is most often a secondary condition resulting from obesity.

Some people develop diabetes as children or teenagers. They usually have type 1, or insulin-dependent diabetes. This form of the disease is treated with insulin injections and a strict diet.

There is another type of diabetes that affects women during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes (link to article in pregnancy library) affects 3 to 5 percent of American women during their pregnancy and will usually disappear after delivery.

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