November is American Diabetes Month

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also known as blood sugar, is too high. When your blood glucose is too high, it can cause many health problems over time. It is estimated that approximately 10% of Americans have been diagnosed with the disease, which is about 34.2 million people. Of those diagnoses, 90-95% of them are people with type 2 diabetes and develops more often in people over age 45.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms develop over years so someone may have the disease and not even be aware of it. Type 1 diabetes can start at any age, but it often starts during childhood or teen years. The longer it goes undiagnosed, the more damage that can be done to the body, so it is important to know the signs and symptoms.

Some of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are:

• Feeling more thirsty than usual.
• Urinating often.
• Losing weight without trying.
• Presence of ketones in the urine. Ketones are a byproduct of the breakdown of muscle and fat that happens when there’s not enough available insulin.
• Feeling tired and weak.
• Feeling irritable or having other mood changes.
• Having blurry vision.
• Having slow-healing sores.
• Getting a lot of infections, such as gum, skin, and vaginal infections.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to be checked out by a health care provider. They can do a simple blood test to determine your blood glucose levels. The best step to better health is early detection.