You can determine diabetes by paying attention to the symptoms that appear. With this endocrine disease, the health status worsens. At first, many patients do not even pay attention to the first symptoms of diabetes mellitus, although with type I pathology they reduce the quality of human life in a matter of days. The later the disease is detected, the more difficult it is to get compensation. Be aware of the signs of diabetes, this will allow you to see a doctor in a timely manner if they occur.
Characteristics of the disease
Diabetes mellitus is a serious endocrine pathology in which there is an absolute or relative insufficiency of insulin. In the first case, it is not produced by the pancreatic cells in the necessary amounts and, in the second case, it interrupts the process of interaction of this hormone with the target cells.
Insulin is needed so that the glucose that enters the body can be absorbed by the tissues. If the hormone does not perform its functions, sugar circulates in the blood for a long time. As a result, tissues and organs do not receive the energy they need.
The pathology is manifested by the development of persistent hyperglycemia. The sugar concentration is constantly above the norm. In this disease, all kinds of metabolism are disturbed. Problems arise from the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, water-salt, proteins and minerals.
Classification
Endocrinologists distinguish the following types of diabetes:
- insulin dependent (type I);
- insulin independent (type II);
- gestational.
Form I diabetes is insulin dependent. This form of the disease is mainly detected in children and young people. The main symptoms in type I pathology are pronounced. In this form of the disease, insulin is not produced in the patient's body, so patients need to inject this hormone daily.
In form II, the first signs do not appear immediately, they are mild. A person may not suspect they have health problems for several years from the onset of the illness. Insulin is produced in the body, but the target cells become insensitive to it.
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. After delivery, the condition returns to normal, but the woman needs to be careful and follow a diet. Patients with this form are at risk of developing type 2 disease.
The first signs of diabetes
All symptoms of this endocrine pathology are divided into major and minor. Its appearance is characteristic of both forms of the disease. But insulin-dependent people predominantly develop the main symptoms. They become pronounced during the period when no more than 20% of the cells responsible for producing insulin remain in the pancreas.
Key features include the following:
- polyuria - increased urination, increased volume of urine;
- polydipsia - the appearance of an obsessive thirst that cannot be quenched, the patient can drink more than 5 liters of water daily;
- polyphagia - increased hunger, after meals there is no feeling of satiety;
- weight loss - with the development of insulin dependence, people lose weight quickly.
In the first form of the disease, patients can even say approximately the date when they first felt unwell.
But the main symptoms also occur in type II of the disease. Its gravity gradually increases. Therefore, patients often cannot say when they first felt changes in well-being. Insulin-independent patients notice the occurrence of minor symptoms earlier. But many of them can be confused with other diseases, so people do not immediately turn to an endocrinologist.
Secondary symptoms include the following:
- dryness in the mouth;
- itching of the skin and mucous membranes;
- muscle weakness, increased fatigue;
- difficult-to-treat skin lesions;
- visual disturbances;
- persistent headaches;
- metallic taste in the mouth;
- limb numbness.
But the main and secondary signs develop in all forms of pathology. It is possible to understand what kind the patient suffers from without carrying out a comprehensive examination on specific reasons. But for the specification of the diagnosis, the selection of the treatment diagnosis is mandatory.
Type 1 symptoms
People whose cells responsible for producing insulin are destroyed experience constant hunger. As the amount of food absorbed increases, your weight may drop. Noticing such changes, it is necessary to immediately donate blood for sugar.
Other symptoms of insulin dependence include:
- increased nervous excitability;
- attacks without cause of vomiting, nausea;
- the smell of acetone when breathing;
- pain in the heart region;
- sleep disorders;
- sharp headaches.
The appearance of even 1 symptom should not be ignored. You can understand that there are problems by having an analysis to determine your blood sugar level. If you do not start insulin therapy when the first signs appear, the patient's condition will quickly deteriorate, he may fall into a diabetic coma.
Type 2 symptoms
Specific changes that may be suspected for the development of the non-insulin dependent form of the disease include the following:
- limb pain;
- cramps in the muscles of the legs, arms;
- weight gain;
- deterioration of libido, potency problems;
- decreased sensitivity to pain;
- weakening of the immune system;
- the appearance on the body of xanthomas - yellow formations that occur in violation of fat metabolism;
- increased hair growth on the face, reducing its number on the legs.
But these manifestations in patients are usually mild, so people do not pay attention to them. Many problems are discovered by chance during a routine exam.
Occurrence characteristics
There are no significant differences in the development of the disease in men and women. It starts the same way in both sexes. They may differ only in minor symptoms.
The severity of pathological signs and the rate of development of the disease directly depend on the age of the person. Children and adolescents are diagnosed with form I diabetes. People over age 40 develop type II disease.
Insulin-independent pathologies are most often detected in patients who:
- lead an inactive lifestyle;
- suffer from excess weight;
- consuming simple carbohydrates in large quantities;
- experiencing constant psycho-emotional stress.
You can distinguish the types of the disease by the symptoms.
in children
Young people develop a predominantly insulin-dependent form of diabetes. This diagnosis is given to patients under 30 years of age. Medical consultation is necessary if a child or young person urinates frequently, the volume of fluid they drink has increased significantly.
The likelihood of developing the disease is greater in children who:
- have a genetic predisposition to develop diabetes;
- born weighing 4. 5 kg;
- suffer from metabolic disorders (obesity, hypothyroidism);
- suffered a viral infection, as a result of which pancreatic cells (rubella, measles, mumps and others) can be damaged.
With a mild form in children, adolescents, symptoms do not always occur, they can be almost invisible. The signs will only appear with the progression of the disease.
in men
In adult patients, there is a risk of developing type 2 pathology. Men are prone to diabetes, in which, when gaining excess weight, the volume of the abdomen increases first. With visceral obesity, the pressure on Organs internal organs increases, the work of the pancreas is interrupted.
Alarming symptoms are a weakening of sexual desire and impotence. A characteristic symptom can be inflammation of the foreskin - it occurs due to increased urination. The development of this condition contributes to the active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
among women
One of the symptoms of diabetes is itchy mucous membranes. More often, women face their occurrence - they have unpleasant sensations in the genital area. Most go to the gynecologist with suspected infection from infections that are transmitted through sexual contact. If, according to the test results, there are no STDs, there are no problems with the microflora, then the doctor may advise checking the sugar level.
Diagnosis
If symptoms of endocrine disorders appear, an examination is necessary. Diabetes can be detected by tests that determine:
- blood glucose concentration on an empty stomach;
- glycated hemoglobin - shows the average level of sugar that the patient has had in the last 2-3 months;
- glucose tolerance test - an analysis that is performed on an empty stomach and repeated after glucose ingestion.
The doctor may recommend blood donation at any time without prior preparation. This is necessary if there are characteristic signs of diabetes.
Which doctor to contact
Patients who develop major, minor, or specific signs of diabetes should make an appointment with an endocrinologist. But a therapist can carry out a preliminary diagnosis - he will guide you to the necessary tests.
Based on the test results, the endocrinologist can immediately give recommendations on nutrition, lifestyle changes, and drug therapy. With a disease of the first type, insulin injections are indispensable. Patients with type II diabetes receive dietary therapy, drugs are selected, under the influence of which target cells begin to more actively absorb insulin and glucose.