You Get Enough Sleep But You’re Still So Tired
Carbohydrates, which your body breaks down into glucose, are your bodys main source of energy. But your body cant effectively use that source of energy when you have diabetes, explains Goundan.
Of course, there are tons of other reasons you could be feeling exhausted, including your diet, stress levels, and how much youve been sleeping.
Still, if you can’t think of any other good reason for your extreme fatigue, and your low energy levels are accompanied by some of these other diabetes symptoms, its worth getting checked out.
Maybe It’s A Different Type
If you or someone you know is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but isnt responding well to the typical treatments for type 2 diabetes, it may be worth a visit to an endocrinologist to determine what type of diabetes is happening. Generally, this requires antibody tests and possibly the measurement of a C-peptide level.
Why You Should Avoid Trans Fats
Consuming trans fats, especially those from hydrogenated oils, increases your LDL cholesterol. This is the “bad” type of cholesterol that clogs and hardens your arteries, leading to a higher risk of blood clotting, heart attack, or stroke.
As there is no real nutritional benefit to including hydrogenated oil in your diet, doctors recommend reducing your intake of trans fats as much as possible. In fact, the FDA recently banned products containing partially hydrogenated oils in the US, as they are one of the most common sources of trans fat.
However, some of these products may still be on the market until 2021: the FDA is allowing companies to sell products that businesses produced before the ban took place. Additionally, if a product has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, food companies can market it as having 0 grams of trans fats, so it’s still important to be aware of foods that may contain it.
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Who Should Be Tested For Diabetes
Anyone who has symptoms of diabetes should be tested for the disease. Some people will not have any symptoms but may have risk factors for diabetes and need to be tested. Testing allows health care professionals to find diabetes sooner and work with their patients to manage diabetes and prevent complications.
Testing also allows health care professionals to find prediabetes. Making lifestyle changes to lose a modest amount of weight if you are overweight may help you delay or prevent type 2 diabetes.
Early Signs And Symptoms Of Diabetes
1. Frequent urination
When your blood sugar is high, your kidneys expel the excess blood sugar, causing you to urinate more frequently. One of the early warning signs of diabetes is frequent urination that is urgent enough to wake you up to go to the bathroom during sleep.
2. Increased thirst
While your kidneys are working overtime and youre urinating more frequently, valuable fluids will be pulled from your tissues. Frequent urination will make you feel constantly thirsty.
3. Fatigue
When your blood sugar is high, your body works hard to get rid of the excess sugar. Not only does this process take a toll on your body, but it also alters the way that your body uses glucose for energy. Excessively high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, has fatiguing effects among other symptoms. Additionally, the dehydration that accompanies more frequent urination is a common cause of fatigue in diabetics.
4. Blurred vision
High blood sugar can cause damage to the small blood vessels of the eye, resulting in a swollen lens that can cause blurred vision. As blood sugar levels rise and lower, your vision may return to normal or worsen, respectively.
5. Increased hunger
When you have high blood sugar, your body is actively looking to get rid of it. Because your body expels so much of the glucose you’re getting from your food, you may have increased feelings of hunger.
6. Unexplained weight loss
7. Slow healing cuts and wounds
8. Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
9. Skin discoloration
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Looking For A Diabetes Prevention Program
You could be eligible for Lark â at no cost to you. Find out in 1 minute!
Lark DPP and Lark for Diabetes offer personalized coaching through your smartphone to help manage prediabetes and lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Your Lark coach is always available to help with lifestyle choices that can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, or complications or symptoms of diabetes. Lark is designed to help you establish healthy habits around areas, such as weight loss, nutrition, physical activity, and even sleep and stress management, that can effectively lower blood sugar and help avoid symptoms of diabetes. Plus, you may even get a free scale or Fitbit!
The entire program could be available at no cost to you if your health insurer participates. to find out if you may be eligible for Lark! Lark is completely convenient and ready to chat whenever you are. You could be minutes away from taking the first steps to managing prediabetes and improving health.
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Find your healthier self
What Are Diabetic Home Tests
Although going in to see your doctor will give you accurate blood sugar readings, it can be a hassle making an appointment, waiting to see your doctor and traveling to and from the office. Instead you can do at home testing, which can help you better monitor and control your diabetes.
There are different types of at-home tests you can complete daily to properly monitor your blood sugar levels. You can do a blood test, urine test or use an A1C kit.
Those who would benefit from diabetic home testing are those with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and individuals who are showing signs of diabetes. By keeping track of blood sugar levels you can gauge how your current treatment and lifestyle habits are affecting your condition.
A normal blood sugar reading, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , is between 70 and 140 mg/dL. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia is considered when a reading is below 70 mg/dL and hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar is a reading over 140 mg/dL.
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels not only helps control or prevent diabetes, but it reduces your risk of developing diabetic complications like diabetic coma, eye disease, gum disease, kidney disease and nerve damage.
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What Are Early Signs Of Diabetes
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can generate different physical symptoms. However, those afflicted with either type may experience these common occurrences:
Be on the lookout for any of these symptoms of type 1 or 2 diabetes and dont hesitate to consult with a healthcare professional. When left unattended, certain symptoms of diabetes can cause lifelong issues, even when type 1 or type 2 diabetes gets under control.
Your Breath Smells Awful
Diabetes-related dehydration contributes to dry mouth, and the bad breath that can accompany it.
Whats more, undiagnosed or uncontrolled diabetes can trigger ketosis, a process in which the body uses fat, rather than glucose, for energy. Ketosis releases a chemical byproduct called ketones, which can make your breath smell unpleasantly sweet or fruity, she sayssometimes it might even smell like acetone, since that’s a type of ketone.
Unless you’re on a keto diet , it’s worth talking to your doctor.
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What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Type 1 Diabetes
A person can have diabetes without knowing it because the symptoms aren’t always obvious and they can take a long time to develop. Type 1 diabetes may come on gradually or suddenly.
But kids or teens who develop type 1 diabetes may:
- Need to pee a lot. The kidneys respond to high levels of glucose in the blood by flushing out the extra glucose in urine . Kids with high blood sugar levels need to pee more often and make more pee.
- Drink a lot of liquids. Because they’re peeing so often and losing so much fluid, they can become very thirsty and drink a lot in an attempt to keep the levels of body water normal.
- Feel tired often. This is because the body can’t use glucose for energy properly.
- Lose weight . Kids and teens with type 1 diabetes may have an increased appetite, but often lose weight because the body breaks down muscle and stored fat in an attempt to provide fuel to the hungry cells.
In some cases, other symptoms can be the signal that something is wrong. Sometimes the first sign of diabetes is bedwetting in a child who has been dry at night. Diabetes also should be suspected if a girl who hasn’t started puberty yet gets a vaginal yeast infection.
Adopting A Diabetic Diet
Your vet may recommend you keep the dog on a diet specially made for diabetic dogs. That means that you feed your dog with:
- No table food or any other extras that may trigger the surge in the dogs sugar levels
- Foods with high content of complex carbohydrates and fiber ensure their slow conversion into glucose. This would imply a slow entry of glucose into the dogs bloodstream to maintain low sugar levels. The high fiber content would also initiate the fullness in your dog to reduce the number of eating times.
- A low-fat diet has lower calories to help your obese and diabetic dog cut its weight.
Note: The high fiber diet requires a lot of water during digestion. So, it would be best to give your pup a lot of water to replenish the water lost during urination and avail enough of it for digestion.
Additionally, before you embark on any diabetic dog diet, you should ask your vet about the healthy number of calories that you should give to your dog in a day to avoid excessive calorie intake.
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Common Signs And Symptoms
The most common signs and symptoms of undiagnosed or poorly managed Type 2 diabetes include:
- feeling thirsty all the time – drinking excessive amounts of liquids or unable to quench your thirst
- peeing more than usual, particularly at night
- feeling tired, lack of energy, sleeping more than usual
- losing weight without trying to
- frequent infections, cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
- numbness, pain or tingling in your hands or feet
- blurred vision
- itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush
Yellowish Scaly Patches On And Around Your Eyelids
These develop when you have high fat levels in your blood. It can also be a sign that your diabetes is poorly controlled.The medical name for this condition is xanthelasma.
Take action
- Tell your doctor about the yellowish scaly patches around your eyes.
- Talk with your doctor about how to better control your diabetes. Controlling diabetes can clear the scaly patches.
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Darker Area Of Skin That Feels Like Velvet
A dark patch of velvety skin on the back of your neck, armpit, groin, or elsewhere could mean that you have too much insulin in your blood. This is often a sign of prediabetes.The medical name for this skin condition is acanthosis nigricans.
Acanthosis Nigricans
Often causing darker skin in the creases of the neck, AN may be the first sign that someone has diabetes.
Take action
- Get tested for diabetes
How To Tell If You Or Your Child Has Type 1 Diabetes
With Ilana Halperin MD and Elena Christofides MD
Type 1 diabetes is a permanent condition. That means youll likely have to deal with symptoms at least a few times in your life, no matter how diligently you monitor your blood sugar. Were here to empower you with clear answers to all your pressing Qs.
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Dog Diabetes Life Expectancy
So how long can a dog live with diabetes? The answer will vary based on how consistent the owner can be with treatment, as well as how early the condition was detected.
When a diabetic dog is receiving daily insulin injections and following an approved diet, these pups have the chance at a long and healthy life. Some experts even state that diabetic dogs can have a normal life span if their condition is properly managed, giving many pet owners hope for a wonderful future.
Just like any other medical condition, following the guidelines that are set by your veterinarian will help your pup live a full life. If you try your best to stick to an approved routine, you are offering your dog everything they could need.
However, there are a few factors that can affect a diabetic dogs life expectancy. First, if you are unable to manage your dogs condition with daily insulin, your pup will likely decline rapidly. A dog that does not receive treatment for their diabetes will eventually go into DKA, which is a serious condition that eventually leads to death. If you do not want to treat your pup once they are diagnosed with diabetes, you can expect most dogs to pass within 2-8 months. Dogs with untreated diabetes will often stop eating, lose significant weight, become weak, and eventually pass due to their complications.
What Happens In Diabetes
Our bodies break down the foods we eat into glucose and other nutrients we need, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract. The glucose level in the blood rises after a meal and triggers the pancreas to make the hormone insulin and release it into the bloodstream. But in people with diabetes, the body either can’t make or can’t respond to insulin properly.
Insulin works like a key that opens the doors to cells and lets the glucose in. Without insulin, glucose can’t get into the cells and so it stays in the bloodstream. As a result, the level of sugar in the blood remains higher than normal. High blood sugar levels are a problem because they can cause a number of health problems.
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Recognizing Signs And Symptoms Of Diabetes
Why Should You Choose Ucf To Help With Your Diabetes Needs
UCF Health Services are expansive and include the treatment of endocrine disorders. Regardless of the type of diabetes you may be experiencing, our expert doctors can help get you back to optimal health. While there is currently no cure for diabetes, Orlando Endocrinology Services have vast experience in caring for patients with diabetes or other endocrine disorders.
Endocrinology experts at UCF Health spend years studying the bodys delicate endocrine system. They have seen a variety of patients from all walks of life and work with a team of other knowledgeable medical professionals to ensure each patient receives robust, correct health care. Disorders of the pituitary gland are no joke and can severely affect ones quality of life.
To discuss insurance coverage or make an appointment, visit our patient portal today. We make it easy to get our patients the health care access they need.
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How To Know If I Have Diabetes
Diabetes is a range of disorders derived from prolonged high blood sugar, usually caused by the pancreas not producing enough insulin. The are two main types, the differences between which we discuss below, but the symptoms can be difficult to diagnose. With type 2 diabetes particularly, the condition may have developed without you even noticing. If left untreated, diabetes can cause serious health risks as well as greatly affect your overall quality of life. This why is you are wondering how to know if you have diabetes, you need to pay attention to your body and be careful of lifestyle choices. oneHOWTO shows you what to look for as the main signs of this condition, but also recommend visiting a doctor to ensure a correct diagnosis.
Tingling Numbness Or Pain In The Hands Or Feet
High blood sugar levels can affect blood circulation and damage the bodys nerves. In people with type 2 diabetes, this can lead to pain or a sensation of tingling or numbness in the hands and feet.
This condition is known as neuropathy, and it can worsen over time and lead to more serious complications if a person does not get treatment for their diabetes.
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Diabetes Sick Day Rules
If you need to take insulin to control your diabetes, you should have received instructions about looking after yourself when you’re ill known as your “sick day rules”.
Contact your diabetes care team or GP for advice if you haven’t received these.
The advice you’re given will be specific to you, but some general measures that your sick day rules may include could be to:
- keep taking your insulin it’s very important not to stop treatment when you’re ill your treatment plan may state whether you need to temporarily increase your dose
- test your blood glucose level more often than usual most people are advised to check the level at least four times a day
- keep yourself well hydrated make sure you drink plenty of sugar-free drinks
- keep eating eat solid food if you feel well enough to, or liquid carbohydrates such as milk, soup and yoghurt if this is easier
- check your ketone levels if your blood glucose level is high
Seek advice from your diabetes care team or GP if your blood glucose or ketone level remains high after taking insulin, if:
- you’re not sure whether to make any changes to your treatment
- you develop symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis
- you have any other concerns
Read more about sick day rules