You can determine diabetes by paying attention to the symptoms that appear. With this endocrine disease, the state of health worsens. Initially, many patients do not even pay attention to the first symptoms of diabetes mellitus, although in type I pathology they reduce the quality of human life for several days. The later the disease is detected, the more difficult it is to achieve its compensation. Remember the signs of diabetes, this will allow you to consult a doctor promptly if they appear.
Features of the disease
Diabetes mellitus is a serious endocrine pathology in which there is an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin. In the first case, it is not produced by the cells of the pancreas in the necessary quantities, and in the second case, it disrupts 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, then sugar circulates in the blood for a long time. As a result, tissues and organs do not receive the necessary energy.
The pathology is manifested by the development of persistent hyperglycemia. The concentration of sugar is constantly above the norm. In this disease, all types of metabolism are disturbed. Problems arise from carbohydrate, fat, water-salt, protein and mineral metabolism.
Classification
Endocrinologists distinguish the following types of diabetes:
- insulin dependent (type I);
- insulin-independent (type II);
- gestational.
Type I diabetes is insulin dependent. This form of the disease is found mainly in children and young people. The main symptoms in type I pathology are expressed. In this form of the disease, insulin is not produced in the patient's body, so patients must 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 after 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 normalizes, but the woman must 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 primary and secondary. Their appearance is characteristic of both forms of the disease. But insulin-dependent people mostly develop the main symptoms. They become expressed in 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 eating there is no feeling of satiety;
- weight loss - with the development of insulin dependence, 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 are also found in type II of the disease. Their weight increases gradually. Because of this, the patient often cannot say when he first felt changes in well-being. Non-insulin-dependent patients notice the onset of mild symptoms earlier. But many of them can be confused with other diseases, so people do not immediately turn to the endocrinologist.
Secondary symptoms include the following:
- dry mouth;
- itching of the skin and mucous membranes;
- muscle weakness, increased fatigue;
- skin lesions that are difficult to treat;
- visual disturbances;
- constant headaches;
- metallic taste in the mouth;
- numbness of the 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 comprehensive examination for specific reasons. But to clarify the diagnosis, the choice of treatment diagnostics is mandatory.
Type 1 symptoms
People whose cells responsible for producing insulin are destroyed experience constant hunger. As the amount of digested food increases, 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;
- unprovoked bouts of vomiting, nausea;
- the smell of acetone when breathing;
- pain in the region of the heart;
- sleep disorder;
- severe headaches.
The appearance of even 1 symptom should not be ignored. You can find out that there are problems by passing an analysis to determine the level of sugar in the blood. If you do not start insulin therapy when the first signs appear, then the patient's condition will quickly deteriorate, he may fall into a diabetic coma.
Type 2 symptoms
Specific changes that may be suspected in 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;
- decrease in sensitivity to pain;
- weakening of the immune system;
- the appearance on the body of xanthomas - yellow formations that appear in violation of fat metabolism;
- increased growth of facial hair while reducing the number of their legs.
But these manifestations in patients are often mild, so people do not pay any attention to them. Many problems are discovered accidentally during a routine checkup.
Occurrence characteristics
There are no significant differences in the development of the disease in men and women. It starts the same way for both sexes. They can differ only in minor symptoms.
The severity of pathological signs and the speed of development of the disease directly depends on the age of the person. Children and adolescents are diagnosed with type I diabetes. People over 40 develop type II disease.
Non-insulin-dependent pathologies are found more often in patients who:
- lead an inactive lifestyle;
- suffer from excess weight;
- consume large amounts of simple carbohydrates;
- experiences constant psycho-emotional stress.
You can distinguish the types of disease by the symptoms.
In children
Young people mostly develop the insulin-dependent form of diabetes. This diagnosis is given to patients under 30 years of age. Consultation with a doctor is necessary if a child or young person has frequent urination, the volume of the tested liquid has increased significantly.
The probability of developing the disease is higher in those children who:
- have a genetic predisposition to developing diabetes;
- born weighing 4. 5 kg;
- suffer from metabolic disorders (obesity, hypothyroidism);
- suffered a viral infection, as a result of which the cells of the pancreas (rubella, measles, mumps and others) can be damaged.
In a mild form in children, adolescents, symptoms do not always appear, they can be almost invisible. Symptoms will appear only as the disease progresses.
In men
In adult patients, there is a risk of developing pathology of the second type. Men are predisposed to diabetes, in which, when overweight, the volume of the abdomen increases above all. With visceral obesity, the pressure on the internal organs increases, the work of the pancreas is disturbed.
Worrying symptoms are the 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 itching of the mucous membranes. More often women are faced with its appearance - they have unpleasant sensations in the genital area. Most of them turn to the gynecologist with suspicion of infection with infections transmitted through sexual contact. If, according to the test results, there are no sexually transmitted diseases, there are no problems with the microflora, then the doctor may recommend checking the sugar level.
Diagnosis
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 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 taking glucose.
The doctor can recommend donating blood at any time without prior preparation. This is necessary if there are signs characteristic of diabetes.
Which doctor should I contact?
Patients who develop major, minor, or specific signs of diabetes should make an appointment with an endocrinologist. But the therapist can conduct a preliminary diagnosis - he will give a guideline for the necessary tests.
Based on the results of the examination, the endocrinologist can immediately make recommendations regarding nutrition, lifestyle changes, and drug therapy. In type 1 disease, 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 more actively absorb insulin and glucose.