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 in a matter of 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 see a doctor in a timely manner if they occur.
Characteristics of the disease
Diabetes mellitus is a serious endocrine pathology in which there is an absolute or relative insufficiency of insulin. In the first case, the pancreatic cells do not produce it in the required quantities, and in the second case, it disrupts the process of interaction of this hormone with the target cells.
Insulin is necessary so that the 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, the 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 arise from the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, water-salt, proteins and minerals.
Classification
Endocrinologists distinguish 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 in type I pathology are pronounced. 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 from the onset of the disease. Insulin is produced in the body, but target cells become insensitive to it.
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. After childbirth, the condition returns to normal, 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 major and minor. Its appearance is characteristic of both forms of the disease. But insulin-dependent people predominantly 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.
Main features include the following:
- polyuria: increased urination, increased urine volume;
- polydipsia - the appearance of an obsessive thirst that cannot be quenched, the patient can drink more than 5 liters of water a day;
- polyphagia - increased hunger, after meals there is no feeling of satiety;
- weight loss - with the development of insulin dependence, people rapidly lose weight.
In the first form of the disease, patients can even name approximately the date they first felt unwell.
But the main symptoms also occur in type II of the disease. Its severity gradually increases. Therefore, the patient often cannot say when she first felt changes in well-being. Insulin-dependent patients notice the appearance of minor symptoms earlier. 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;
- skin lesions that are difficult to treat;
- visual disturbances;
- persistent headaches;
- Metallic flavor in the mouth;
- numbness of the extremities.
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 full examination for specific reasons. But for the specification of the diagnosis, the selection of the treatment diagnosis 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 absorbed, your weight may decrease. Noticing such changes, it is necessary to immediately donate blood for sugar.
Other symptoms of insulin dependence include:
- increased nervous excitability;
- causeless attacks of vomiting, nausea;
- the smell of acetone when breathing;
- pain in the region of the heart;
- Sleep disturbance;
- sharp headaches.
The appearance of even 1 symptom should not be ignored. You can understand that there are problems with passing an analysis to determine the level of sugar in the blood. If insulin therapy is not started when the first signs appear, the patient's condition will rapidly deteriorate and he or she 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:
- limb pain;
- cramps in the muscles of the legs, arms;
- weight gain;
- impaired 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 usually mild, so people do not pay attention to them. Many problems are discovered by chance during a routine exam.
Characteristics of occurrence
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 the pathological signs and the rate of development of the disease directly depend on the age of the person. Children and adolescents are diagnosed with form I diabetes. People over the age of 40 develop type II disease.
Insulin-dependent pathologies are detected more frequently in patients who:
- lead an inactive lifestyle;
- suffer from overweight;
- consume simple carbohydrates in large quantities;
- experience constant psychoemotional stress.
You can distinguish types of the disease by symptoms.
In children
Young people develop a predominantly insulin-dependent form of diabetes. This diagnosis is given to patients under 30 years of age. A doctor's consultation is necessary if a child or young person urinates frequently, the volume of fluid they drink has increased significantly.
The probability of developing the disease is greater in those children who:
- have a genetic predisposition to develop diabetes;
- was born weighing 4. 5 kg;
- suffer from metabolic disorders (obesity, hypothyroidism);
- suffered from a viral infection, as a result of which 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 appear only with the progression of the disease.
in men
In adult patients, there is a risk of developing type 2 pathology. Men are prone to diabetes, in whom, with weight gain, the volume of the abdomen increases first of all. With visceral obesity, pressure on the internal organs increases, the work of the pancreas is disrupted.
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.
between women
One of the symptoms of diabetes is itchy mucous membranes. More often, women are faced with its appearance - they have unpleasant sensations in the genital area. Most go to the gynecologist on suspicion of infection with infections that are 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:
- blood glucose concentration on an empty stomach;
- glycated hemoglobin - shows the average level of sugar that the patient had for the last 2-3 months;
- glucose tolerance test - a test that is done 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 give immediate 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 target cells begin to more actively absorb insulin and glucose.