Diabetes Mellitus Symptoms

When you have diabetes mellitus, your blood sugar is elevated. When your blood sugar is elevated you may have some, you may have none or you may have all of these signs and symptoms:

Increased Urination (Polyuria)
As your body tries to get rid of the extra sugar that is in your blood stream, water is drawn from your tissues and a increased amount of urine is produced. You may notice that you have to get up several times in the night to urinate or you may notice that a child who was previously "potty trained" suddenly starts to wet the bed at night.

Increased Thirst (Polydipsia)
The increased thirst is caused by the bodys need to replace the fluids lost through increased urination.

Excessive Hunger (Polyphagia)
The increased hunger is caused by the body's need for energy because it cannot move the sugar in the bloodstream to the cells of the body where it is needed.

Fatigue, Weakness And Weight Loss
These symptoms occur when the body can neither use the blood sugar for fuel nor can the body store it.

Infections, Slow Healing Of Wounds
The high sugar environment is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and yeast. A person with a high blood sugar is particularly susceptible to vaginal infections and urinary tract infections

Pain, Numbness Or Tingling In The Extremities
These sensations are caused by a bulldup of sugar on the nerves and small blood vessels in these areas.

Itchy Skin
Sugar crystals just beneath the surface of the skin causes itching.

Vision Changes
Microscopic bleeding in the retina and dehydrtion causes change in the vision such as blurring of vision.

Dehydration
This occurs when fluid is lost and not replaced

Nausea, Vomiting, Abdominal Cramps, Flushed Skin, And A Musty Or Fruity Odour To The Breath

These are the signs and symptoms of very high blood sugar. It is more frequently seen in someone with type 1 diabetes. If you have any of these signs or symptoms, contact your health care professional right away.