Type 2 diabetes is a condition wherein the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin or when the body cannot use insulin effectively. This causes your blood sugar levels to increase since insulin is a hormone that regulates your blood sugar levels. This eventually leads to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar levels. And when you have high blood sugar levels persistently, it leads to diabetes. While type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, type 2 diabetes is a condition that develops due to varying factors, which includes genetics, body weight, physical activity and more.According to the World Health Organisation, 14% of adults aged 18 years and older were living with diabetes in 2022. Also, the condition was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths in 2021. Hence, it is extremely important that you manage the condition as it can cause severe damage to the body. One of the ways to treat the condition is recognising the early symptoms of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes usually begins subtly, with symptoms that can be easily mistaken for other common conditions. Spotting these early signs is very important as it can help in timely intervention, which can eventually help prevent serious health complications.
Early Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes
- Excessive Thirst and Frequent Urination
One of the early signs of type 2 diabetes is feeling very thirsty all the time and needing to pee more than usual, especially at night. When blood sugar levels are high, your kidneys tend to work overtime to remove the excess sugar by producing more urine, causing dehydration. This dehydration makes you feel even more thirsty, thereby creating a cycle. These symptoms are often mistaken for dehydration, urinary tract infections, or simply drinking too much water. However, this happens because your body is trying to remove sugar from your blood and excess fluids from your tissues.
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