Nearly a quarter of a billion people in the U.S., and a staggering 90 percent of those have type 2 diabetes. Perhaps more startling is that an estimated 6 million of those living with type 2 diabetes don’t even know they have it.
What you don’t know about diabetes can kill you. In fact, diabetes is often referred to as the “silent killer” because symptoms are easy to write off.
Here are the top 10 “silent” symptoms of diabetes:
Increased urination and excessive thirst
It’s true that increased thirst and excessive urination would logically go hand-in-hand, but if you’re getting up multiple times alight to use the restroom, that could be a sign that your kidneys are working in overdrive to rid your body of the extra glucose in your blood.
Excessive thirst is the result of your body trying to make up for the fluids lost through urination.
Unexplained weight loss
Most people would be excited to lose a few pounds, but if you’re losing weight rapidly, like 10-20 pounds over a few month period, something might be wrong.
“Because the insulin hormone isn’t getting glucose into the cells, where it can be used as energy, the body thinks it’s starving and starts breaking down protein from the muscles as an alternate source of fuel. The kidneys are also working overtime to eliminate the excess sugar, and this leads to a loss of calories (and can harm the kidneys),” ABC News reported.
If your appetite has increased and you’re still losing weight, alarm bells should be blaring.
An increased appetite can be a sign of blood sugar spikes. As your blood sugar levels drop, your body thinks it’s hungry and needs to be fed.
Which leads us to our next symptom….
Crabbiness and fatigue
Blood sugar spikes and constant hunger can make us cranky and getting up multiple times a night to urinate interrupts our sleep cycle.
Changes in skin
People with diabetes often have itchy, dry or pale skin or discolored patches around the neck or armpit area.
Diabetes 2 often slows the healing of infections, cuts and bruises. This is classic symptom of diabetes occurs because blood vessels are being damaged by excessive glucose in the veins and arteries, which makes it harder for blood to reach areas of the body, which slows down recovery time.
Distorted vision or floaters may be a sign of high blood sugar levels.
Tingling or numbness
Tingling and/or numbness accompanied by pain or swelling may be signs that your nerves may be damaged by diabetes.
If these symptoms are recent, the damage may be reversed, but don’t let symptoms like this continue for too long.
If you have any number of these symptoms, please seek medical attention.
Type 2 diabetes, if caught early, is easy to control with diet, exercise or medication.
Could You Have Type 2? 10 Diabetes Symptoms originally appeared on Health.com.
Source: ABC News