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Signs of Type 2 Diabetes: 10 Common Symptoms to Know - SELF

Signs of Type 2 Diabetes: 10 Common Symptoms to Know - SELF

Signs of Type 2 Diabetes: 10 Common Symptoms to Know - SELF
Dec 02, 2021 2 mins, 19 secs

It’s easy to assume that the signs of type 2 diabetes are obvious, but that’s often not the case.

If left untreated for too long, type 2 diabetes can lead to very serious and potentially life-threatening complications, including permanent nerve damage, increased risk of heart disease and stroke, vision loss, and kidney disease, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Your pancreas—a long, flat gland located behind and below your stomach—makes a hormone called insulin, which allows this blood sugar into your cells, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

There is a window of time between when the blood sugar is elevated (meaning it’s above normal) and the pancreas compensates for it, and that’s called prediabetes.

Over time, this resistance to insulin by your cells can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Some signs of type 2 diabetes can be subtle, because the condition tends to develop slowly over time compared to type 1 diabetes, per the NIDDK.

Now, here are the type 2 diabetes symptoms to keep on your radar:.

Having too much sugar in the blood is tough on the kidneys since those organs are responsible for processing that excess glucose, according to the Mayo Clinic.

People with diabetes can also develop diabetic retinopathy, which is a condition that can cause damage to the retina (the thin, light-sensitive tissue that lines the inside surface of the back of your eyes) over time, according to the American Optometric Association.

Over time, if type 2 diabetes continues to go untreated, your risk of vision loss goes up.

All of this can boost stress, which can spike your blood sugar levels even more, creating a vicious cycle, according to the CDC.

When that happens, your body has a harder time delivering fresh blood and immune cells where they’re most needed.

What’s more, if insulin is failing to guide glucose into your body’s cells, your body will try to make its own energy by burning fat or muscle instead, which is why weight loss can be an early sign of type 2 diabetes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, consistently high blood sugar levels can cause:.

High blood sugar can impair the function of your nerves, leading to symptoms like numbness, tingling, or pain, often in the feet and sometimes in the hands.

If you do have symptoms, it’s even more important to make an appointment and get the tests you need—which includes an A1C test to measure average blood sugar levels over three months and a fasting plasma glucose test to look at your blood sugar in a single point in time, according to the U.S.

That’s why recognizing the signs of type 2 diabetes early is so crucial.

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