When someone has high blood sugar for a long period of time, then type 2 diabetes can develop. It is important to recognize the early symptoms and signs of this chronic illness. This is vital as treatment can begin which can help reduce more serious complications from occurring. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be mild to start off with and many people won’t realize that they suffer from the illness at the start. Today, we will be taking a look at four of the major symptoms of type 2 diabetes to help you see whether you could be at risk.

Blurred Vision

If you have excess sugar in your blood, then it can begin to damage the small blood vessels within your eyes and your retina. This can lead to blurry vision. This change in sight can occur in either one or both of your eyes and may not be there all the time. Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that can develop from this damage. Without treatment, the damage begins to become more severe and can lead to complete blindness.

Drinking and Urinating More

When your blood sugar levels become too high, the kidneys work to try and remove any excess sugar from the blood via a filtration process. As well as this, high blood sugar can also damage blood vessels within the kidneys, making the filtration of water from the blood less efficient. Both of these issues can lead to someone needing to urinate more than usual, particularly during the night. If you are urinating more frequently, then your body will be losing more water. Over time, this can lead to your body becoming dehydrated, which will make you want to drink more than normal.

Increased Appetite and Less Energy

If you’re a diabetic, then the amount of energy you get from your food will be less than someone who isn’t. When food is broken down in our digestive systems, it gets converted into glucose which is a simple sugar. The body will use this glucose for fuel. With diabetics, less glucose will diffuse (move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration) into the bloodstream and into the cells. This is due to there being a high concentration of sugar in the blood, meaning there is no concentration gradient so the glucose won’t move. The result of this issue is the person becoming hungrier no matter when they’ve eaten. The reduced amount of energy from your food can take its toll on how you function and can leave you extremely tired and fatigued as a result. Using the simple blood sugar level guide by VitaMonk is a great way to start if you are unsure of what your levels should be.

Nerve Damage

Having a high level of blood sugar can lead to nerve and blood vessel damage. This will affect your blood circulation. If you have type 2 diabetes, this damage can be experienced as a tingling or numb sensation, or pain in the hands and feet, known as neuropathy. It tends to get worse over time and can cause more complications without treatment. The impact on blood circulation can also slow down your body’s healing process. This means that even the smallest cuts can take weeks, even months to fully heal and can also increase the risk of infection.

It is important that type 2 diabetes is noticed as early as possible so treatment can begin straight away. The sooner someone gets the right treatment and changes their lifestyle appropriately, then the chances of further complications lessen. So, if you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, speak to your doctor as soon as possible.