Symptoms of Diabetes

The major symptoms of diabetes include a classic triad that almost always signals that a patient has the disorder. These three symptoms of diabetes are:

  1. Polyuria – frequent urination resulting in fluid loss
  2. Polydipsia – increased thirst resulting in increased fluid intake
  3. Polyphagia – increased appetite resulting in increased food intake

Aside from these three common signs, there are several other symptoms of diabetes. Many individuals will experience extreme weight loss no matter how much more they consume. Extreme, unending fatigue is another symptom of diabetes. Additionally, individuals more often than not experience dehydration. This symptom of diabetes is caused by water being transferred from body cells into the blood stream in an attempt to resolve the lost blood volume. Many diabetes sufferers also experience blurred vision to due to changes in the eye’s lens shape. This symptom of diabetes is the result of increased glucose absorption due to prolonged hyperglycemia.

Both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia are symptoms of diabetes. Hyperglycemia is an abnormally high level of glucose in the blood; hypoglycemia is an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood. For patients suffering from diabetes, hypoglycemia can result from too little food intake, too much exercise, too much diabetes medication and/or alcohol intake. Symptoms of diabetes caused by hypoglycemia include:

  • Hunger
  • Nervousness
  • Shakiness
  • Sweating
  • Dizziness/Lightheadedness
  • Sleepiness
  • Confusion
  • Speech problems
  • Anxious or week feeling
  • Tingling in hands or feet

Additional symptoms of diabetes are skin problems and gastroparesis. Skin problems experienced by diabetes patients include bacterial infections, fungal infections, itching, diabetic dermopathy, necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum, diabetic blisters and eruptive xanthomatosis. Gastroparesis manifests in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes; it is nerve damage or nerve failure caused by the stomach’s inability to empty in a timely manner. Symptoms of diabetes with gastroparesis include heartburn, nausea, vomiting undigested food, early feeling of fullness, weight loss, abdominal bloating, lack of appetite, gastro esophageal reflux and stomach wall spasms.

Severe cases, generally found in type 1 diabetes patients, may present symptoms of diabetes common to diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis is an extreme state of metabolic dysregulation caused by a near complete absence of insulin in the body and increased level of stress hormones. This coexisting disorder is characterized by several symptoms of diabetes:

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