Diabetes Symptoms

The symptoms of diabetes mellitus is due to hyperglycemia. The sustained increase in blood sugar produces the three cardinal symptoms: polyuria (increased urination), polydipsia (increased thirst and therefore the intake of large quantities of water or liquids) and polyphagia (like eating nonstop). Consequently, there is a first phase in weight loss, nausea and vomiting appear and the patient’s general fatigue. Continued increases in blood sugar are the acute complications:

• Ketoacidosis: until recently was accepted that appeared only in type 1 diabetes, but can also occur in type 2. The disorder can be diagnosed leading to diabetes. Appears rather quickly as nausea and vomiting, constant thirst and urination, abdominal pain and rapid, shallow breathing, to coma. To develop diabetic ketoacidosis necessary the complete or almost complete deficiency of insulin and an excess of hormones with anti-insulin effects, mainly glucagon, a hormone that is also manufactured by the pancreas. These two conditions are often present in the individual with diabetes not yet known to which is added an acute illness (infection, myocardial infarction, etc..), And the individual with diabetes and known but not given insulin error or because the device fails continuous insulin administration.

• Ketosis without acidosis: Occurs in individuals (usually older) with type 2 diabetes in which there is even a complete failure of insulin production but hyperglycemia affects water loss through the urine that are not offset intake liquids or foods. Presents with significant dehydration, mental confusion, drowsiness and seizures, but typically no nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and rapid, shallow breathing that did appear in the box ketoacidosis explained above. This condition is often precipitated by a severe concurrent disease, such as myocardial infarction, stroke or infection.

 Less severe manifestations, polyuria, polydipsia and weight loss can occur at any time during the course of diagnosed diabetes. Generally occurs excess food intake, reduced physical activity, presence of intercurrent illness (infection or other) and the reduction of insulin dose.

The elevation of blood sugar is maintained, together with the changes associated with diabetes (abnormal blood fats, high blood pressure, obesity), low physical activity and smoking produce a wide range of symptoms and signs in the body although they appear long-term (years). They are the chronic complications of diabetes and, in cases of type 2 diabetes, may be the way to make the diagnosis. These chronic complications begin to appear after 15-20 years of disease progression (not from diagnosis). Injured arteries, nerves, retina, kidney and other internal structures, causing the following clinical manifestations: 

• Kidney damage up to the complete loss of kidney function.
• Impaired vision until blindness.
• Nerve damage with numbness and tingling in the feet, burning pain or burning in feet, and weakness in the limbs.
• Obstruction of blood flow in the heart (causing angina pectoris and myocardial), legs (with intermittent claudication, foot ulcers and amputations) or brain (with strokes).
• Delayed emptying of the stomach (nausea and vomiting, early satiety and bloating of the abdomen), and loss of bowel mobility (with constipation or diarrhea and abdominal pain).
• Difficulties in urination (urinary retention and ease of repeated urinary infections).
• Decreased blood pressure when getting up from bed.
• Inability to adequately detect hypoglycemia (hypoglycemia unnoticed), for which the patient is exposed to a risk of severe hypoglycemia.
• Male erectile dysfunction and female sexual dysfunction (decreased sexual desire, pain with intercourse).
• Skin dryness and cracking, which increases the risk of foot ulcers, slow healing of wounds and skin ulcers.
• Pneumonia and urinary tract infections and skin.