You Could Have Diabetes and Not Know It

Diabetes is a significant disease because it can go undetected for years if you don’t recognize the signs. While the only true way to determine if you have diabetes is with a blood test, it’s never a bad time to familiarize yourself with the early and often ambiguous signs and symptoms. 

November was National Diabetes Awareness Month to acknowledge the roughly 37 million Americans who live with the condition. In its wake, you might be wondering what you can do to be proactive against diabetes or to recognize its signs if they affect you. 

Our primary care specialists at Zalwango Health & Wellness in Skokie, Illinois, provide updated information on diabetes and offer chronic disease management services to improve your quality of life with the condition. With telemedicine services and house calls available when you need them, getting treatment for diabetes has never been more convenient. 

It is possible to have diabetes without realizing it, but keeping up with necessary primary and preventive care can help you detect it early or prevent it from affecting you. 

Identifying the signs

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes share similar early symptoms besides having fundamental differences in how they develop. Type 1 is typically diagnosed during childhood or adolescence because your pancreas naturally cannot produce the hormone insulin to convert glucose into energy. Type 2 diabetes tends to show up later in life, often after a prediabetes diagnosis, because of insulin resistance. 

Regardless of your age, you should watch out for common diabetes signs and symptoms such as:

• Increased thirst
• Increased urination
• Fatigue
• Increased hunger
• Blurry vision
• Slow-healing sores
• Recurrent infections

Over time, symptoms like these become more pronounced to indicate that something is wrong. But you might not notice them, or you might not take them seriously in the earliest stages. 

The consequences of forgoing the care you need

It’s essential to connect with our team, even if it’s just for a routine annual wellness visit. While you might feel awkward mentioning symptoms like increased urination or might assume you’re imagining the changes in your vision, being as detailed as possible in your account of your health is crucial. 

Some of your routine visits involve blood tests that could lead to a diabetes diagnosis even if you’re unaware of your symptoms. This is one of many reasons why our providers stress the importance of routine care. 

If you have diabetes but don’t realize it for a long time, the consequences for your health could be dire. Permanent vision decline can occur, and peripheral neuropathy can cause widespread numbness and discomfort. In worst-case scenarios, your lack of feeling in your legs can prevent you from detecting a wound that becomes an ulcer and sustains an infection. That is why you occasionally hear about people with diabetes getting leg or foot amputations. 

Get the testing and treatment you need from our experts

Don’t let diabetes go undetected. Make your metabolic health a priority today. Schedule your next primary care visit over the phone or online at Zalwango Health & Wellness at any time.