Diabetes: signs and consequences

You can divide diabetes symptoms into short-term, acute signs of disease and long-term, mostly persistent symptoms. While the symptoms of type 1 diabetes often develop rapidly, they are often insidious over months in type 2 diabetes. Here you can read about the signs of diabetes and the long-term consequences of the disease!

diabetes causes symptoms

Acute diabetes symptoms

The acute symptoms of diabetes are mainly due to the derailment of the metabolism and are caused in particular by extremely high blood sugar concentrations. These lead by physical laws to strong shifts in water and mineral balance. At the same time, there is a lack of energy in the body cells and in the central nervous system.

Tormenting thirst and increased urination

With permanently elevated blood sugar levels, increased urinary excretion of sugar (glucose) via the kidneys (glucosuria). Since sugar physically binds water, people with glucosuria at the same time excrete large amounts of urine (polyuria). Although glucosuria can also occur as part of various kidney diseases and during pregnancy, it is considered a typical symptom of diabetes mellitus. Often, those affected have hourly (even at night) large amounts of water. The urine is then usually clear or slightly yellow in color.

At the same time, there is a constant, agonizing feeling of thirst because the organism tries to compensate for increased drinking through the fluid loss through the kidneys, which often does not succeed sufficiently.

Weakness, tiredness, and difficulty concentrating

Inefficiency is also a common diabetes sign. Because in diabetes mellitus is indeed much high-energy glucose in the blood, but can not get into the cells by the lack of insulin action. The result is a lack of energy within the cells, the patients often feel powerless and are physically less efficient.

Especially for the brain, glucose is the main energy source: it burns about 140 grams of glucose per day. Therefore, a lack of glucose in the brain cells affects the normal brain function and can lead to poor concentration and fatigue, even severe disturbances of consciousness and coma.

blurred vision

Not or insufficiently treated diabetes mellitus is not only associated with high blood sugar levels, but also with large fluctuations in blood sugar levels. These strong fluctuations can swell the lens in the eye. This changes their optical power and visual acuity. The blurred vision usually lasts for a few hours and then stops again.

Itching (pruritus)

Other symptoms of diabetes: itching and very dry skin. About 30 percent of those affected suffer from it. One reason for this is the high fluid loss - a result of high blood sugar levels and glucosuria. However, other mechanisms are suspected that may be responsible for an increased itching in diabetics. For example, stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which are released by the adrenal glands in excessively high or low blood sugar in the blood, is currently also discussed whether any changes in the blood vessel walls may also cause itching in diabetics.

Immunodeficiency

The increased blood sugar weakens not yet completely clarified way the immune system against infections. For this reason, diabetics suffer more and more often from bronchitis, pneumonia, dermatitis or various fungal diseases. Flu and pneumococcal vaccines are recommended for the protection of older diabetics.

Long-term diabetes symptoms

Late symptoms of diabetes mellitus occur especially when the blood sugar levels are not well adjusted and often or too high latent. The consequence of the high sugar concentrations is in particular irreversible damage to the blood vessels and nerves with serious consequences for various organ systems and bodily functions.

Nerve damage (polyneuropathy)

Prolonged high blood sugar levels damage the peripheral nervous system. Affected by the damage are both motor (the muscles controlling) and sensitive (feeling) and vegetative (the organs controlling) nerve pathways. Diabetics therefore often have a disturbing sensation of pain and do not perceive, for example, skin injuries or a heart attack as pain. The fine motor control (muscle coordination) may suffer. In addition, the function of internal organs, such as the digestive tract, may be disturbed in diabetes.

Diarrhea or constipation

If the nervous system supplying the digestive tract (autonomic nervous system) is damaged, this can lead to nerve paralysis of the stomach (gastroparesis) or intestine. Possible consequences are bloating and vomiting, bloating, diarrhea or constipation.

Damage to the small blood vessels (microangiopathy)

High blood sugar levels usually lead first to changes in the inner wall layer on the small and smallest blood vessels (capillaries). Because of the small diameter of the blood vessels, these threaten to clog. In addition to circulatory disorders of the skin (poor wound healing) may result from typical, severe organ damage, which is irreversible (irreversible). The most important are:

• Circulatory disorders of the heart muscle: By narrowing or occlusion of small blood vessels, the heart muscle is poorly supplied with oxygen and can be weakened (heart failure) or die in parts.
• Circulatory disorders of the brain: They impair brain function and can cause chronic neurological deficits.
• Retinal damage: Damage to the blood vessels of the retina of the eye (diabetic retinopathy) leads to "flashes of light", blurred vision, limited color vision and finally loss of vision until blindness.
• Kidney damage: In the kidneys, microangiopathy leads to a restriction of the filter function of the kidneys. As a result, metabolic products accumulate in the body (renal insufficiency). If the kidneys fail completely, the patients are dependent on a long-term blood wash (dialysis).
• Circulatory disorders of the skin: By damaging the small blood vessels in the skin, this is more sensitive to the colonization of germs and heals after injuries worse.

Damage to the large blood vessels (macroangiopathy)

Arteriosclerotic changes in the middle and large blood vessels can be particularly noticeable in the heart (coronary heart disease), as well as the arteries of the legs and arms or the cerebral vessels constrict or close. Diabetic macroangiopathy significantly increases the risk of stroke and heart attack. Circulatory disorders of the large and small vessels on the extremities lead in the worst case to the gradual death of the limb (gangrene, "diabetic foot").

Diabetes and depression

Although many diabetics develop depression (about 24 percent of those affected), no causal relationship between depression and diabetes has yet been demonstrated. A typical sign of diabetes-related depression is the so-called "depressive mood". The affected suffer from a depressed mood, but experience in-between times, again and again, good days.

Depression can have a negative impact on patient adherence, as depressive patients can often pay less attention to the causative disorder and treatment. Diabetes and its symptoms may continue to worsen.

Diabetes and impotence

Many male diabetics complain of erectile dysfunction (erectile dysfunction). The reason: Damage to the blood vessels on the erectile tissue of the penis can disrupt the blood flow necessary for an erection. Damage to the autonomic nervous system and sensitive nerve tracts important for erection may also play a role in the development of impotence in diabetes mellitus. Patients should be aware that these are common diabetes symptoms that they can confidently discuss with their doctor.

Diabetes: So dangerous is sugar

Having diabetes is almost normal. Every tenth German suffers, experts estimate. And because more and more people are overweight, there are always more. The disease is not without danger - if the sugar is poorly adjusted, there are some serious complications: the high blood sugar levels damage the nerves and blood vessels. Overview of the most important consequences of diabetes.