It's easy to assume that the signs of type 2 diabetes are obvious, but that's often not the case. Symptoms of the condition can affect anyone and progress slowly over time, which can spell major trouble down the road.
If left untreated for too long, type 2 diabetes can lead to very serious and potentially life-threatening complications, including permanent nerve damage, increased risk of heart disease and stroke, vision loss, and kidney disease, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
And it's a major health concern in this country: More than 34 million people (about 1 in 10) in the U.S. have diabetes, and approximately 90 to 95% of those people are living with type 2 diabetes, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So, learning to recognize the symptoms-and when they warrant a check-in with your doctor-can make all the difference in managing the condition (or possibly even reversing it). Here's what you need to know.
Whenever you eat or drink, your body breaks down three main macronutrients-carbohydrates, protein, and fat-into compounds that give you energy for everyday tasks and keep your physiological systems running strong. Carbs are broken down into glucose, a form of sugar, which enters your bloodstream to be used as your body's main source of fuel. Your pancreas-a long, flat gland located behind and below your stomach-makes a hormone called insulin, which allows this blood sugar into your cells, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
If you have type 2 diabetes, your cells don't respond properly to insulin, yet your pancreas keeps making more of it. There is a window of time between when the blood sugar is elevated (meaning it's above normal) and the pancreas compensates for it, and that's called prediabetes. Over time, this resistance to insulin by your cells can lead to type 2 diabetes. (It's important to note that this is different from type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition in which the pancreas doesn't make enough insulin.1)
Experts don't fully understand what causes type 2 diabetes, but there are certain risk factors of type 2 diabetes that are known to increase a person's chances of developing the condition. According to the CDC, those include:
People of certain races, including African Americans, Latinx, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Asian Americans are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, although experts don't fully understand all the reasons for this elevated risk.
Some signs of type 2 diabetes can be subtle, because the condition tends to develop slowly over time compared to type 1 diabetes, per the NIDDK. In fact, it may take several years for symptoms to pop up, so you may not realize you have the disease until it causes certain complications, like heart issues or blurry vision.
While having just one on this list isn't a surefire indicator of the condition, pay attention to whether you're experiencing several of these, Hien Tran, M.D., an endocrinologist with Texas Diabetes and Endocrinology, tells SELF. Simply having a dry mouth on its own may not be enough to prompt a doctor's appointment, for example, but if that sign is paired with other symptoms on this list and you also have any of the risk factors mentioned above, it may be worth getting checked out.
Now, here are the type 2 diabetes symptoms to keep on your radar:
Having too much sugar in the blood is tough on the kidneys since those organs are responsible for processing that excess glucose, according to the Mayo Clinic. As a result, they work overtime to eliminate it from the body. As your body loses fluids, you may feel the signs of dehydration creeping in. So, you drink more fluids to make up for it, and the cycle of constantly peeing continues. That's why frequent urination and increased thirst tend to be the two most common type 2 diabetes symptoms, particularly in the early stages.
Despite peeing more often, you may also experience the strong need to go but very little-if any-comes out when you do, which is known as "urgency incontinence," per the NIDDK. Although this is also a big head's up that you might have a urinary tract infection, especially for people with vaginas, it's also common with type 2 diabetes.
As we mentioned, when you pee more often, your chances of getting dehydrated go up, which will often kickstart your thirst response. With type 2 diabetes, the excess glucose in your system also takes fluid out of your tissues, making that thirst more ferocious. That can be exacerbated by having a dry mouth, and the feeling that you simply can't drink enough water or other fluids to switch off that thirsty feeling.
Dry mouth is characterized by feeling a lack of saliva often or most of the time, a dry, rough tongue, pain in the mouth, cracked lips, mouth sores or infections, and problems with chewing, swallowing, or even talking, per the NIDDK. Because of this, dry mouth can raise your risk for certain dental problems, like tooth decay and gum disease.
People with diabetes can also develop diabetic retinopathy, which is a condition that can cause damage to the retina (the thin, light-sensitive tissue that lines the inside surface of the back of your eyes) over time, according to the American Optometric Association. That's because excess blood glucose damages all of the tiny blood vessels in your body, including those in your eyes. This is a problem because the eyes' blood vessels will then break and leak fluids, resulting in complications like cloudy or blurry vision or difficulty focusing.
If type 2 diabetes goes untreated, new blood vessels may form in your retina as a response-but because they're so fresh, they're more prone to leaking as well, causing the eye tissue to swell. Over time, if type 2 diabetes continues to go untreated, your risk of vision loss goes up.
Even if you have a big meal, you might walk away feeling hungry, the Mayo Clinic says. That's because insulin resistance is preventing glucose from reaching your cells to give you the much-needed energy boost that food provides-so your brain and muscles keep sending hunger signals as a result.
The blood sugar spike you experience after eating can cause major fatigue because the glucose isn't being processed effectively in your body. Dehydration can also make you feel tired, the Mayo Clinic says, and so can trouble sleeping if your symptoms (like dry mouth or constantly needing to pee) are causing discomfort.
Plus, as your blood sugar fluctuates, so can your mood. Fatigue also naturally lends itself to irritability. All of this can boost stress, which can spike your blood sugar levels even more, creating a vicious cycle, according to the CDC.
Diabetes can affect your circulation, which means blood moves more slowly through your body, per the Mayo Clinic. When that happens, your body has a harder time delivering fresh blood and immune cells where they're most needed.
High blood sugar that isn't controlled can also weaken your immune response in general. So, for some people with type 2 diabetes, wounds become highly problematic because they don't heal at all. You may also become more susceptible to infections because the cells that typically fight them off either don't function correctly or aren't produced in sufficient amounts, per a 2020 review of research published in the journal Current Diabetes Reviews.2
Each person's body has unique needs, so weight can be a complicated subject when it comes to any health condition. However, gaining or losing a significant amount of weight can be a sign of type 2 diabetes for various reasons. First, many of the symptoms above-hunger, dehydration, fatigue, irritability, or sleep issues-can cause big swings in your appetite, prompting you to eat more or less (cue the weight fluctuations).
What's more, if insulin is failing to guide glucose into your body's cells, your body will try to make its own energy by burning fat or muscle instead, which is why weight loss can be an early sign of type 2 diabetes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Interestingly, type 2 diabetes can have a very noticeable impact on your skin. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, consistently high blood sugar levels can cause:
We've all felt numbness or tingling before-say, after sitting in an awkward position for too long or pinching a nerve.
However, about half of all people with diabetes experience some kind of nerve damage, according to the ADA. High blood sugar can impair the function of your nerves, leading to symptoms like numbness, tingling, or pain, often in the feet and sometimes in the hands. You may have a harder time feeling temperature changes, experience a burning sensation, or feel weakness in the area, too.
If this continues, it may permanently damage nerves, leading to a condition called diabetic neuropathy, which may lead to digestive issues, mobility problems, paralysis, and joint pain, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Similar to prediabetes, the largest risk factor for type 2 diabetes is having a family history of the condition, Kathleen Wyne, Ph.D., M.D., an endocrinologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. That means even if you don't have symptoms at all-which she says can happen-it's still important to mention that to your doctor, so you can work together to figure out the best screening plan for you.
If you do have symptoms, it's even more important to make an appointment and get the tests you need-which includes an A1C test to measure average blood sugar levels over three months and a fasting plasma glucose test to look at your blood sugar in a single point in time, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
"Management for type 2 diabetes brings together a number of elements, which may include medication but also several lifestyle changes that can be meaningful," says Dr. Wyne. For example, diet changes and blood sugar tracking become essential, as well as getting more exercise, lowering stress, and improving sleep.
Even moderating your carb intake more effectively can help in type 2 diabetes treatment, she adds, but it's one part of a larger strategy that's designed to avoid potentially serious health complications.
Type 2 diabetes is considered a lifelong disease that has no cure-but it can be successfully controlled and you can go into remission with glucose levels in a normal range. That's why recognizing the signs of type 2 diabetes early is so crucial. The sooner you can spot any unusual symptoms, the sooner you can develop a treatment plan that you can stick to for the long haul.
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