Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease caused by the fact that the body cells become resistant to insulin, a hormone that metabolizes glucose. The result is an increase in the blood sugar level that leads to all sorts of complications. People can live with type 2 diabetes for years without knowing it because in the early phases they don't have any symptom at all. However, sooner or later, patients will start experiencing symptoms, mild in the beginning, while the blood sugar is not extremely high. They need to be consulted by a physician if there are any suspicions that they might be suffering of type 2 diabetes.
The most common symptoms of this disease include increased thirst, increased hunger, fatigue and slow-healing sores. Because sugar is not metabolized and it keeps on piling up in the blood, fluid from the tissue is being pulled out. This leads to increased thirst and to frequent urination as well. Since the body does not produce enough insulin for sugar to be carried to cells, the muscles and the internal organs will start being deprived of energy. The direct consequence is the fact that the patient will constantly feel hungry. As a paradox, instead of putting on weight, he or she will start losing pounds because in order to replace the energy that was supposed to be provided by sugar, the body will start using resources previously stored in fat and muscle. Depriving the body of energy also results in constant fatigue and it increased irritability.
Fluids being pulled out from the tissue does not only lead to feeling thirsty, but can also cause blurred vision. As water is being pulled from the eye lenses, the patient will lose his or hers ability to focus clear.
Other symptoms of type 2 diabetes include recurrent infections and slow-healing sores. A high blood sugar level prevents the body from fighting infections and this is why they keep on reappearing. The most common ones are the skin infections. Some patients also have areas of the skin that are darker, especially where the skin folds, in the armpits or on the neck, condition called acanthosis nigricans.
Symptoms of diabetes type 2 shouldn't be ignored because if the blood sugar is not kept under control, when it reaches very high levels, it can have serious consequences like kidney failure, blindness, gangrene or cardiovascular problems due to the deterioration of the blood vessels.
