Do you know how many adults in this country have Type 2 diabetes? If you have guessed millions, you’d be right. It turns out that well over thirty million adults in the United States have Type 2 diabetes, so if you are one of them, you are not alone. Before you were told that you had Type 2 diabetes, did you know what the signs and symptoms were? Or did you go to the doctor feeling unwell and confused about what was going on inside your own body?
Type 2 diabetes can have a wide variety of symptoms, and not all will affect each person. There are some signs of Type 2 diabetes which are common and affect many people. For instance, people with Type 2 diabetes often feel an increase in hunger and thirst. These two symptoms are very vague, however, and they can be easy to ignore or blame on other things. You may feel thirsty a lot, but since it is warm outside, that is normal, isn’t it? You spend time outside in the late summer afternoon and soak up the sunshine. Being in the warmth and sunshine will make you hot and thirsty, right? And an increase in physical activity can easily make you hungry as well.
When it comes to vague symptoms you must be able to tell if they have a direct cause, such as thirst coming from being in hot weather and hunger coming from increased activity, or if they are more intense than that. It won’t be just a onetime occurrence. You will notice that you are constantly hungry, even shortly after you have eaten a meal. You may notice that you have changed your heating habits from eating regular meals to constantly grazing on snacks to try and stop that hungry feeling. And the same feeling comes with being thirsty. You won’t just be a little thirsty. Instead you will feel parched and in desperate need of a drink, even as soon as you put your cup of water down.
You might think that you are just dehydrated, and that may be the case. Keep track of your water intake and see if you are meeting a good intake amount each day. If you’ve never done this before, you can look online or ask your doctor for a recommended amount of water to drink each day. If you are surpassing the daily requirement of ounces, then it might be time to consider causes for the unusual thirst. You can also do the same for your food intake. Some people have three square meals per day and some have six small meals or three small meals and three snacks. Whatever eating pattern you might have, take note and see if it has changed recently. Are you eating more, and if yes, how much more? Be sure to bring your notes to your appointment, so you can give your doctor all of the details.