You can determine diabetes by paying attention to the symptoms that appear. With this endocrine disease, the state of health 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 within a few days. The later the disease is detected, the more difficult it is to obtain its compensation. Remember the signs of diabetes, this will allow you to consult a doctor in a timely manner if they occur.
Characteristics of the disease
Diabetes mellitus is a serious endocrine disease characterized by absolute or relative insulin deficiency. In the first case, it is not produced by pancreatic cells in the required quantities, and in the second case, it disrupts the process of interaction of this hormone with target cells.
Insulin is needed so that 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 necessary energy.
Pathology is manifested by the development of persistent hyperglycemia. The sugar concentration is constantly above the norm. In this disease, all types of metabolism are disturbed. The problems stem from the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, water-salt, proteins and minerals.
Classification
Endocrinologists distinguish between 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 detected mainly in children and young people. The main symptoms of type I pathology are pronounced. In this form of the disease, insulin is not produced in the patient's body, so patients have to inject this hormone daily.
In Form II, the first signs do not appear immediately, they are mild. A person may not suspect that he has health problems for several years from the onset of the disease. Insulin is produced in the body, but the target cells become insensitive to it.
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. After childbirth, the condition returns to normal, but a woman should be careful and follow a diet. Patients with this form are at risk of developing type 2 disease.
The first signs of diabetes
All the symptoms of this endocrine pathology are divided into major and minor. Their appearance is characteristic of both forms of the disease. But insulin-dependent people mostly develop the main symptoms. They become pronounced during the period when no more than 20% of the cells responsible for insulin production remain in the pancreas.
Key features include the following:
- polyuria - increased urination, increased volume of urine;
- polydipsia - the appearance of obsessive thirst that cannot be quenched, the patient can drink more than 5 liters of water per day;
- polyphagia - increased hunger, after meals there is no feeling of satiety;
- weight loss - with the development of insulin addiction, people quickly lose weight.
In the first form of the disease, patients can even roughly name the date when they first felt unwell.
But the main symptoms also occur in type II of the disease. Their severity gradually increases. Therefore, the patient often cannot tell when he first experienced changes in well-being. Insulin-independent patients notice the onset of minor symptoms sooner. But many of them can be confused with other diseases, so people do not immediately turn to an endocrinologist.
Secondary symptoms include the following:
- dry 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;
- numbness of limbs.
But the main and secondary signs develop in all forms of pathology. It is possible to understand what type the patient suffers from without conducting a thorough examination for specific reasons. But for the diagnosis specification, the selection of treatment diagnoses is mandatory.
Type 1 symptoms
People whose cells responsible for producing insulin are destroyed experience constant hunger. With an increase in the amount of food intake, their weight may drop. Noticing such changes, it is necessary to immediately donate blood for sugar.
Other symptoms of insulin dependence include:
- increased nervous excitability;
- bouts of vomiting without cause, nausea;
- the smell of acetone when breathing;
- pain in the region of the heart;
- sleep disorder;
- acute headaches.
The appearance of a single symptom should not be ignored. You can understand that there are problems when passing an analysis to determine the level of blood sugar. If you do not start insulin therapy at the first signs, the patient's condition deteriorates rapidly, 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:
- pain in the limbs;
- cramps in the muscles of the legs, arms;
- weight gain;
- deterioration of libido, problems with potency;
- 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 while reducing their number on the legs.
But these manifestations in patients are often mild, so people do not pay attention to them. Many problems are discovered by chance during a routine examination.
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 person's age. Children and adolescents are diagnosed with form I diabetes. People over 40 develop type II disease.
Insulin-independent pathologies are more often detected in patients who:
- leading an inactive life;
- suffer from overweight;
- consume 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 the age of 30. A medical consultation is necessary if a child or young person has frequent urination, the volume of liquid they drink has increased considerably.
The likelihood of developing the disease is higher in children who:
- have a genetic predisposition to develop diabetes;
- born with a weight of 4. 5 kg;
- suffer from metabolic disorders (obesity, hypothyroidism);
- suffered from a viral infection, as a result of which the pancreatic cells (rubella, measles, mumps and others) could be damaged.
With a mild form in children, adolescents, symptoms do not always occur, they can be almost invisible. Signs will only appear as the disease progresses.
At men's
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 of all. With visceral obesity, the pressure on the internal organs increases, the work of the pancreas is disturbed.
The alarming symptoms are weakening of sexual desire and impotence. A characteristic symptom may be inflammation of the foreskin - it occurs due to increased urination. The development of this condition contributes to the active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
In women
One of the symptoms of diabetes is itching of the mucous membranes. Most often, women are faced with its appearance - they have unpleasant sensations in the genital area. Most of them turn to the gynecologist with suspicions of infection with infections transmitted through sexual contact. If, according to the results of the tests, there are no STDs, there are no problems with the microflora, then the doctor can advise to check the sugar level.
Diagnostic
If symptoms of endocrine disorders appear, it is necessary to undergo an examination. Diabetes can be detected by tests that determine:
- fasting blood glucose concentration;
- glycated hemoglobin - shows the average sugar level that the patient had over the past 2-3 months;
- glucose tolerance test - an analysis performed on an empty stomach and repeated after taking glucose.
The doctor can 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 make a preliminary diagnosis - he will give a direction for the necessary tests.
Based on the results of the examination, 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 are prescribed diet therapy, drugs are selected, under the influence of which the target cells begin to absorb insulin and glucose more actively.