by David Cowley

Created on: February 17, 2010

Diabetes is one of the most common conditions in the world. There are millions of people diagnosed with diabetes around the world each year and that includes men, women and even children. Diabetes is a disease that is characterized by high glucose levels in the blood. There are actually a few different types of diabetes a person can develop. There is type 1 and 2 diabetes, which are the most commonly diagnosed types but then there is also the gestational diabetes condition which develops in pregnant women.

One of the main known causes of diabetes is genetics so if someone in your family has the disease you will need to make sure you get tested for it. It will then be especially important to watch for the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. This way at least if you are able to notice the symptoms you can get in to your doctor and get treatment as soon as possible. Diabetes can be serious and even potentially life threatening if proper steps for treatment are not taken soon enough.

What Are The Symptoms?

There are a few symptoms of type 2 diabetes to watch for. Increased thirst is one of the first symptoms that people with type 2 diabetes report feeling. If you notice that your mouth is dry and you are thirsty more throughout the day it is definitely worth considering getting checked out. Especially if you are not any more physically active than usual and it is the temperature is not warmer than usual, there is even more chance that it is something to do with your health and quite likely is a symptom of diabetes.

Blurred vision and frequent urination are other common symptoms that you may experience at the onset of diabetes. Or you may notice that you feel more fatigued, have unexplained weight loss or gain, or that you have been having strange headaches lately.

These are just a few of the most noticeable symptoms of type 2 diabetes. You know your body better than anyone else so if you feel that something is wrong, it is always better to be safe rather than sorry. Even if you get in to your doctor for tests and they find out nothing is wrong, at least you took that next step.

If you report any of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes to your doctor they will run blood glucose and other tests to determine whether it is actually diabetes you are dealing with. Diagnosis of a condition like diabetes can often be difficult just because the symptoms are so general and can be caused by an array of other conditions. Doctors respond quickly when patients report symptoms of diabetes because this is such a serious condition.

The oral glucose tolerance test is one of the most commonly relied on tests for the diagnosis of diabetes. This test has the gold standard for being able to test for type 2 diabetes and is very simple to perform. If your doctor recommends this test for you, you will have to fast overnight and then drink an oral solution that has a specific amount of glucose in it. Doctors then give your body adequate time to react and see how the glucose levels in the body react. In someone who has diabetes, their glucose levels would rise up really high really quickly and then take a lot more time to come back down to a normal level. This is different than a person without diabetes because in a healthy person their glucose levels would rise just a bit and then come back down quickly.

Treatment of the type 2 diabetes can vary from one person to the next. Everyone is different and can respond differently from one treatment to the next. It is important for doctors to treat every diabetic patient on a case to case basis for the best results.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.

Learn more about this author, David Cowley.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.