You might be experiencing some type of symptoms in your health that are new to you. You might even be thinking about either going to see your doctor or planning a new diet and exercise.
You might not even be aware that the symptoms you are experiencing could be borderline diabetes; that you are at risk of developing type-2 diabetes.
If this is you, we are going to look at what this borderline prediabetes is, because there are some warning signs, serious warning signs of type-2 diabetes that you simply cannot afford to ignore.
Borderline diabetes can easily lead up to type-2 diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, there are an estimated 10-23% of people who have borderline diabetes and who will develop type-2 diabetes in the next 5 years.
In fact, the onset of type-2 diabetes might have been gradual for you, you might not even have been aware that you were starting to develop it. This is because the symptoms can be so mild in the early stages – that’s why so many people don’t even realize they have the condition.
Let’s look at the early warning signs:
- Are you urinating frequently? When your blood sugar levels are high, your kidneys will be trying to remove all the excess sugar by trying to filter it out of your blood – this will automatically lead to you running to the toilet to urinate more. This can show up more at night-time.
- Are you becoming thirstier? When you urinate frequently to remove the excess sugar from your blood, this can result in your body losing more water, right? And over time, this can cause you to become dehydrated and lead to you feeling more thirsty.
- Not only thirsty but hungry too? Those who do have diabetes do not usually get enough energy from the foods they eat – the digestive system’s job is to break down food into simple sugar which is known as glucose – this the body uses as fuel.
But when it comes to diabetes in people, not enough glucose moves from the bloodstream into the body’s cells. That means you feel constantly hungry, despite even having eaten recently.
- Always tired? When you have type-2 diabetes, your energy levels get sapped, and you just simply feel fatigued and tired. Why so? Because there is insufficient sugar moving from your bloodstream into your body cells, kind of depriving your body of getting the energy it needs to get through the days.
- Not seeing clearly anymore? When you have an excess of sugar in your blood, this can easily damage those tiny little blood vessels in your eyes – that can cause blurry vision. It might not be constant and it can either be in both eyes or just one.
Unfortunately though, if you are showing the warning signs of type-2 diabetes, and you have realized these above symptoms and you ignore them, you can further damage the blood vessels in your eyes, and then permanent vision loss can eventually occur.
We said 5 warning signs, but there are even more:
- Are your wounds and cuts taking longer to heal? Once again, when you have high levels of sugar in your blood, the nerves and blood vessels can become damaged enough to impair your blood circulation.
Because of this, even little wounds and cuts can take much longer to heal; maybe weeks and even months. And that brings an added mishap in that any wounds that are slow to heal stand the risk of becoming infected as well.
- Are your hands and feet feeling tingly and maybe even numb? When your blood sugar levels are high, your blood circulation can be affected – your body’s nerves can even get damaged.
If you are someone with type-2 diabetes, you could end up with pain and a feeling of numbness and tingling in your feet and hands. This condition is called neuropathy. It can worsen over time, leading on to even more serious complications if you don’t get your symptoms treated a.s.a.p.
- Noticing patches of dark skin? Look at the areas where your skin creases, like in your neck, your armpit areas, the groin areas; you might notice patches of dark skin in these areas – these are also warning signs of type-2 diabetes. Check how these patches look; they might be velvety and soft.
There is even a name for this too; it’s called acanthosis nigricans.
- Yeast infections and itching on the rise? If you have excess sugar in your blood as well as your urine, it is easy for yeast infections to develop, and this can lead on to infection.
A yeast infection enjoys moist, warm areas on the skins, like your mouth, the armpits, and the genital areas. These affected areas can become itchy and you could also experience those areas being red, with soreness and burning symptoms.
It’s vital to get an early diagnosis
In order to avoid any further complications, you need to recognize type-2 diabetes warning signs so that you can immediately get a diagnosis and start treatment sooner than later. This will allow you to make the necessary lifestyle changes to control your blood sugar levels.
In this way, you can greatly improve your health and quality of life. If you avoid treatment, and you have consistently high levels of blood sugar, you are knocking on the door of some serious life-threatening complications.
These can be things like:
- Stroke
- Heart disease
- Nerve damage, known as neuropathy
- Foot problems
- Eye disease and loss of vision
- Kidney disease to the point where you might need dialysis treatment
- Sexual problems in both men and women
Unfortunately, if you leave type-2 diabetes as untreated, it can further lead on to hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome (HHNS) - a big name, bringing with it just as big problems if you don’t heed the warning signs. It’s an emergency; when your blood sugar levels are very high, probably over 600 mg/dl.
Often when you become ill, the illness will trigger off HHNS, which can end up with you needing hospitalization. And the longer the blood sugar levels remain out of control, the higher the risk of developing other health problems.
These are the risks factors for type-2 diabetes
Even though anyone can develop type-2 diabetes, there are certain factors which can increase your risk. These are:
- If you are older than 45
- If you smoke
- If you live a sedentary life, without doing any exercises
- If you are overweight or obese
- If you eat unhealthy diets, i.e. processed foods, sugar, unhealthy fats, etc., cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse
- If you have members of your family or relatives with diabetes
- If you have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome)
- If you have a medical history of gestational diabetes, stroke or heart disease
- If you know you have been pre-diabetic
- If you are an African American, a Latino or Hispanic person, Alaska Native, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.
Tomorrow's prevention, today
With early detection and treatment of type-2 diabetes, you can improve your quality of life and also reduce the risk of further severe complications.
Pre-diabetes and type-2 diabetes are reversible, so says the very well-known Dr. Axe. But you can nip it in the bud by starting immediately with a balanced, nutritious diet which moderates sugar intake, and with regular exercises.
Not only will exercising and making the necessary dietary changes prevent you from contracting type-2 diabetes, but you also protect your heart against future diseases.
Borderline diabetes is the stage just before type-2 diabetes develops. People with prediabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, although doctors don’t consider them to have diabetes yet.
If you don’t nip the prediabetes in the bud, in 5 years you can count on developing type-2 diabetes, and if you have type-2 diabetes symptoms already, you need to act TODAY.
