Diabetes is becoming an increasingly common disease for many people. If you’ve ever wondered about what that means and what it’s like to have diabetes, M. Regina Castro, M.D., is here to answer your questions. Join her as she provides details on the signs and symptoms of diabetes, as well as the differences between Type I and Type II diabetes, such as:
Classic symptoms:
• Going to the bathroom frequently
• Increased thirst
• Fatigue or muscle weakness
• Numbness in hands or feet
• Blurred vision
People with Type I diabetes will have these symptoms almost always present and will likely experience a sudden onset of these symptoms. Those with Type II diabetes, however, may only show very subtle symptoms or may not show symptoms for years before they are diagnosed. If you are experiencing any or several of these symptoms, we recommend talking to your doctor about checking your blood sugar.
Read the transcript:
What are the signs and symptoms of diabetes? How do I know if I have diabetes? Well it is interesting because it depends on the type of Diabetes that you have. Many people with type 2 diabetes can basically have no symptoms. They may have type 2 diabetes for years before they are diagnosed and have no symptoms — or they may have got accustomed to some of those symptoms and think of them as normal.
However, the classical types of symptoms of diabetes include people who need to go to the bathroom frequently. Because there’s frequent urination they have increased thirst. They may feel tired or fatigued or have some muscle weakness. In some cases they may notice, after some years, that they may have numbness in their hands or feet if they develop neuropathy. Very frequently early on, they may notice at the beginning that they have blurred vision, especially when the changes in the blood sugar occur rapidly. So those are some of the classical symptoms of diabetes.
