Type 2 Diabetes: Signs and Symptoms that Should not be Ignored

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases that are becoming increasingly common in the present day. It is a disorder that develops along with many other types of infections or severe conditions in your body, for instance, if you have health disorders such as obesity, cardiac diseases, pulmonary diseases, and so on. Type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a type of disorder that creates a lot of other types of health disorders among people such as respiratory health issues, kidney malfunctioning, symptoms of hypertension, and so on, and can make you suffer from many chronic conditions.

There are certain types of symptoms and early signs that your body will have if you have a chance of developing type 2 diabetes. These symptoms will help you to identify the risks of diabetes in your body and thus you will be able to take the necessary steps to get rid of the occurrences of diabetes. This article will discuss in detail about type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes and illnesses that indicate its occurrences:

We all know that type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that occurs in your body when there is an excess of glucose or sugar levels in your bloodstream. The blood glucose levels in the case of diabetes mellitus result from the lack of enough amount of insulin levels in your body, along with other factors such as insulin resistance. So, if a person is about to develop diabetes, then he or she might face health issues, that are linked to high levels of blood glucose in the body. Several types of illnesses indicate that a person might have a chance of developing diabetes mellitus in the future. Experts and healthcare professionals are now claiming that among a group of adult individuals having people who are both with and without the symptoms of type 2 diabetes or high blood sugar, those who are matched by age and gender, the average age of getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is almost around 50.

Though there are chances that a person might develop type 2 diabetes in his or her middle ages, the prior illnesses that indicate the occurrences of this disease are found to develop much earlier.

The health issues that begin to develop much before the occurrence of type 2 diabetes include the following ones:

• Cardiac and cardiovascular conditions (also include signs of heart damage)
• High levels of bad or LDL cholesterol
• Obesity
• Kidney problems
• Hypertension and high levels of blood pressure
• Respiratory tract infections
• Infections in the eyes, nose, throat, and so on
• Symptoms of asthma

These are some of the most common conditions people are known to have just before developing diabetes mellitus. Healthcare experts are now claiming that the symptoms of diseases such as respiratory tract infections, cardiac issues, and respiratory tract infections are common among those who later develop type 2 diabetes.

Risks of cardiac diseases and type 2 diabetes are intrinsically related because when the amount of glucose levels in the blood increases as a result of chronic conditions in the body, the risks of cardiac damage increase, and thus insulin resistance increases as well. However, it is not correct to conclude that occurrences of these symptoms can only lead to type 2 diabetes, these diseases might happen without diabetes as well.

Inflammatory disease: Is it a precursor to type 2 diabetes?

Several healthcare experts believe that type 2 diabetes is often preceded by the occurrences of chronic inflammatory conditions. Many professionals are now suggesting that subacute inflammation, which develops as a result of genetic recombination or comorbidities can serve as one of the major precursors of developing inflammatory conditions before a person gets diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Apart from this, there were cases of occurrences of other chronic diseases that might develop after a person gets diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, for instance, people might suffer from symptoms of chronic kidney disease or CKD, cardiac health issues, asthma, retinopathy, and other types of infections, the signs of which did boost up spiked for a couple of years before they gradually dropped.

Besides these, we need to note one fact, that is, when a person has a long-standing medical history of developing type 2 diabetes, a long time before the diagnosis of the disease refers to the fact that soon, there would be chances of developing some further severe conditions and they must take steps and change their lifestyle practices to healthier ones so that they can stay fit and healthy, and thus can effectively reduce the risks of developing such severe health conditions.

Why do people with type 2 diabetes have several other types of illnesses?

It is already clear that people who later get diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or have high levels of blood sugar levels can already have symptoms of other diseases beforehand. Moreover, people who already have type 2 diabetes can suffer from other types of health disorders as well. However, it is very important to know the reason why people with diabetes mellitus get other types of diseases.

Among other conditions, people who have high levels of blood pressure and obesity, are at more risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. The increased amounts of calories in your body, which usually develops as a result of obesity is often considered as one of the major causes behind the occurrences of type 2 diabetes. Moreover, smoking and consumption of alcohol and high-calorie foods are also factors that highly increase the risks of type 2 diabetes later in the future. As per recent studies (1) and research works, there are certain types of illness, for instance, cases of chronic inflammation that are often left unrecognized but are still the major causes behind developing type 2 diabetes.

What are the early signs of developing type 2 diabetes?

Several types of health disorders are often considered as the early signs of developing type 2 diabetes. Some of those warning signs of type 2 diabetes are the following:

1. Hunger and feelings of exhaustion: When you are likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life, you might feel extreme fatigue and hungrier than usual as some of the earliest signs. This happens because the physiological functioning converts the food you take into the blood glucose. This converted glucose is later transformed into energy that the body utilizes for different types of activities. But if the body does not produce enough insulin or if the amount of glucose exceeds the insulin capacity to take in the blood glucose, there will be a risk of insulin resistance in your body and this will make you more tired from a lack of enough energy in your body and you will feel more tired.

2. Blurry eyesight: Blurred vision is a very common early symptom of developing type 2 diabetes. Such a condition develops because there is a gradual change in the fluid levels of your body and as a result of this, the lens of the eyes may swell up leading to hazy vision and changing the focus of your eyes.

3. Frequent thirst and increased urge to urinate: There is an excess urge to drink water and urinate than in normal conditions, when your blood glucose levels go up, mostly because the kidneys do not function properly and the body takes in more fluid to make more urine.

4. Dryness in the mouth and itchy skin: Increased urge to urinate and the body’s use of the increased amounts of fluids make the mouth dry and thus reduce the moisture levels of your skin. So, there are higher chances of getting dehydrated easily and developing dry, flaky, and itchy skin.

Apart from these, there are some other signs as well that indicate that you might develop type 2 diabetes shortly, some of which are as follows:

• Extreme urination at night
• Unwanted loss of body weight
• Exhaustion and fatigue
• Wounds do not heal quickly
• Feelings of numbness and tingling in your fingers and your feet
• Frequent urinary tract (UTI) or yeast infections
• Slow healing

There are certain types of early symptoms of type 2 diabetes that are often considered the warning signs of the complications related to this disease. Some of those symptoms are:

• Recent weight gain
• Appearance of velvety, dark patches on the armpit, neck, and groin, known as acanthosis nigricans
• Itchiness in the vaginal or groin area
• Erectile dysfunction or ED.