Diabetes Symptoms You Should Look Out For 

0:00
Welcome to the Diabetes Digital Podcast.

I’m Wendy.

And I’m Jess, and we’re best friends, registered dietitians and diabetes educators.

Through our telehealth platform, Diabetes digital.co, we offer accessible and personalized virtual nutrition counseling for people with diabetes and pre diabetes.

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Visit diabetesdigital.co That’s Co to book your first appointment.

We accept insurance and offer affordable self pay options.

Now let’s get into today’s episode.

Welcome back to another episode of the Diabetes Digital Podcast presented by Food Heaven and today is part of our Diabetes series.

0:38
We are talking about some of those silent warning signs and symptoms of diabetes because as we mentioned last week, almost 1/2 of the population has pre diabetes.

I believe the exact stat is about 37 million people and around 11% of the population have diabetes and so many people don’t even know that they have it.

1:00
So today we’re going to talk about some of those warning signs to help us understand if we might be experiencing diabetes.

I want to also put out a disclaimer that this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be a substitute for any medical advice.

1:18
So Wendy, did you know that about one in five people don’t even know that they have diabetes?

I did know that because in creating diabetes digital I am very up to date with the stats.

1:36
And what’s even more alarming is that more than half of the US population has diabetes or pre diabetes.

That is such a significant amount and we know that with all chronic conditions they typically have a disproportionate impact.

1:54
Black and brown communities, US adults overall have a 40% chance of developing type 2 diabetes, but if you’re lucky next your chance is going to be more than 50%.

Also, the risk of diabetes is 77% higher among black Americans than among non Hispanic white Americans.

2:16
So I mean this is something that we of course have experienced first hand growing up in black and brown communities, working with these communities and seeing that aside from there being a disproportionate impact, there’s also just not enough resources.

And so this creates so many barriers to care.

2:33
But yeah, I mean seeing these numbers, it’s it’s just you see them and you’re like, Oh my God, the there’s such a huge disconnect there.

So this episode is all about early detection and our goal is to raise awareness and provide information about diabetes symptoms because early detection is so important for a variety of reasons.

2:55
Number one, this can help us prevent complication.

It allows for us to manage the diabetes because if we don’t know that we have diabetes or that our blood sugars might be really high consistently, how are we going to know to do anything about it, right.

3:11
So managing that is going to help reduce some of the risks of diabetes related complications.

And as we all may know, over time uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious health issues like heart disease, kidney problems, nerve damage and even vision loss #2 We can get effective management if we know that we have diabetes right.

3:33
It is a manageable condition and when detected early there’s a higher likelihood of successfully managing blood sugar levels with lifestyle changes, diet, and possibly oral medications.

But in certain cases, especially with type 2, type one is completely different.

3:48
But with type 2, we can do a lot of these things early.

Yeah.

And also early detection, it helps to delay the progression of diabetes.

We know that diabetes can impact so many aspects of someone’s life down to how you feel, your mood, your energy levels to just like your overall well-being, your social relationships and also your bottom line.

4:11
Because we know going to doctor’s visits, it can really add up with co-pays and deductibles.

So when you have early detection, you’re going to be less likely to have more frequent doctor’s visits because you’re going to have your diabetes symptoms more well managed.

Also, recognizing these symptoms early on, it empowers you to know more about your condition where you’re able to identify what’s happening.

4:35
It kind of puts you in the driver’s seat.

So that’s why, you know, it’s really important to identify the symptoms but also do your blood work so that you’re able to find out what’s going on with your health early on.

Yes.

And now we’re going to talk about some of the common diabetes symptoms and also the lesser known symptoms.

4:55
So when did you want to kind of start out with talking about some of the more common symptoms of type 2 diabetes?

Yeah, of course.

So the most common diabetes symptoms, and by the way, I mean some people have no symptoms at all.

So these are for people who are symptomatic.

5:13
There are people who have type 2 diabetes and their blood sugars are like out the roof and they have no symptoms.

So just want to put that out there too, that the best way really to find out is to go to the doctor and get your blood done.

But if you’re symptomatic, some of the most common ones are going to be frequent urination.

5:32
And so people with type 2 diabetes, they often need to pee more frequently, especially at night.

And this happens because the kidneys, they’re trying to get rid of that extra sugar from the blood, and so they start excreting it in the urine.

5:48
This might also make you more thirsty, because if you’re going to the bathroom often to urinate, chances are you’re going to become dehydrated.

Your body’s trying to replace lost fluid, so you might have dry mouth.

You might really be craving water, or any type of fluid for that matter.

6:05
Another common symptom is increased hunger.

And so for people with type 2 diabetes, they might be eating just fine, but they might also be hungry all of the time because their cells are not metabolizing glucose normally.

And so that’s also a common symptom that might occur.

6:23
Another big one is unexplained weight loss.

So for some people with type 2 diabetes, they might lose a lot of weight, especially if their diabetes is untreated because the body is not taking in glucose into the cells, It’s just floating around.

6:42
And so since that energy is not being metabolized, it might lead to weight loss.

So that’s something to look out as well.

And then fatigue.

Like if your blood sugar is running high, you might be tired, you might have a lot of mood swings, you might feel really groggy.

6:58
So those are some of the most common symptoms to look out for him.

Now just tell me about some of the less common.

Yeah.

So there’s a lot of diabetes symptoms that many people don’t know about, and we’ll get into those.

Now, number one, and these aren’t in any particular order.

I’m just saying number one is blurred vision.

7:14
So sometimes having high blood sugar or elevated blood glucose levels can affect the eye’s ability to focus, which can lead to blurred vision.

So definitely something to check out if you’re experiencing that.

Number two is slow wound healing.

So diabetes can unfortunately impair the body’s ability to heal.

7:33
So cuts and sores may take longer to heal, which is why you always here, you know, people with diabetes, sometimes they might get amputations because they stepped on a nail and the wound didn’t heal properly.

And so that part of it is because the diabetes just takes longer for for things to heal.

7:51
And sometimes, sometimes you can’t even feel that you have stepped on something because of some nerve damage.

So which leads me to #3 is tingling and numbness and particularly in the hands and feet.

This is called diabetic neuropathy and this can cause things like tingling, numbness or pain in the extremities.

8:13
For folks who have family members with diabetes, you may be familiar with #4 is recurrent infection.

So people with type 2 diabetes may be more susceptible to infections such as UTI, skin infections or thrush.

And then last but not least, darkened skin patches.

8:31
So this is a condition called acanthosis nigricans, and it can lead to darken and thickened patches of skin that are often found in the neck or the back of the neck, armpits or other body folds.

And that is a sign that your body may be experiencing some insulin resistance.

8:51
All right.

So let’s say that some of these signs and symptoms you feel like you might have, you may be wondering, OK, well how do I get diagnosed?

And there is a few ways to diagnose type 2 diabetes.

Number one, you have to go to the doctor.

That’s the first step and they’ll start by asking you about your medical history.

9:11
So of course, if you have a family history of diabetes, you are going to be at a much higher risk, especially if it parents, siblings, that’s going to play a factor.

And then they’ll also ask you about your physical activity, different lifestyle related questions just to do a full assessment.

9:30
They might also do a physical examination.

Usually they do if you’re doing your annual and they’ll do like your blood pressure, they’ll look at your skin because like just mentioned, maybe you have dark patches around your skin and that could be an indicator as well.

And then there’s the blood work, which is typically to go to.

9:50
The most popular one is going to be the A1C, which we’re going to be talking a lot about in this podcast.

The A1C, it measures your average blood glucose level over the past two to three months.

And if you have an A1C of 6.5 or higher, typically that’s going to result in a diabetes diagnosis.

10:12
Now there’s also the fasting glucose test.

So, you know, that means that you did an overnight fast state hours, then you went in.

And if that level is over 126 or actually if it’s 126 or higher on two separate occasions, it’s typically indicative of diabetes.

10:34
You know, sometimes they do a combination they might do like a fasting, and then they’ll, you know, follow up with an A1C if something looks off.

There’s also the oral glucose tolerance test.

This isn’t really as popular.

It tends to be used more so for women who are pregnant.

10:50
But for this one, you would fast overnight, then you drink a very sweet solution and then your blood sugar is measured over intervals of a few hours.

And you know, there’s different benchmarks and things.

And so that’s also another test that can be used for diagnosis.

11:07
It’s also really important to repeat testing, right?

So within our nutrition counseling platform, Diabetes Digital, we are going to be offering A1C testing every quarter for all the people in our membership program except for folks in New York because New York has its own regulations with doing virtual lab testing.

11:30
So that is something that is really exciting for people who want to be able to stay on top of these numbers which may change you know every quarter and you want to be able to know like what direction you’re going in.

So we definitely want to repeat that A1C test every three months especially if you are somebody who has diabetes or pre diabetes and you are making changes.

11:52
And in some cases, additional tests may be ordered to assess diabetes related complications, such as a lipid profile to check cholesterol levels and some kidney function tests as well.

Now with pre diabetes in terms of symptoms, there usually aren’t any.

12:10
And you know, I said that this is the case for type 2, but especially with Pre diabetes, there aren’t any because you’re kind of like in the middle, right?

Like your blood sugars are not completely out of whack, but they’re a little higher than usual.

However, you know, even though it is a silent condition, someone still might experience the diabetes symptoms that we mentioned, like the thirsts or excessive hunger, going to the bathroom often to urinate, Those are all things that could also be happening.

12:37
It’s just not as common.

Yeah, last week that I had pre diabetes during the pandemic for various reasons including some hormonal issues that I was experiencing and aside from the excessive urination, there was no diabetes symptoms for me whatsoever.

12:56
So I feel like for many people, most people you’re not going to experience, sometimes you just kind of have to stay on top of the testing and ask your doctor for the test, especially the A1C that Wendy mentioned.

Yeah, and I also wanted to mention that stress can play a huge factor in your blood sugar levels.

13:14
I’ve worked with so many people where they might be going through just like a really hard time, especially like with grief.

Or let’s say they lost someone and it’s just like it’s really taken a toll on their mental health and their body and like, their blood sugars will completely spiral.

13:30
And this might happen for someone who may have had normal A1C and then it just kind of shot up and it was triggered by stress.

Perhaps they already had like a predisposition.

Maybe, you know, they had like those risk factors there.

They had family members.

And then something like that might have triggered it.

13:47
So it’s really important to think about stress levels and sleep and just trying to do your best to take care of yourself in all ways because they do have an effect on your blood sugars.

Yeah, exactly.

And let’s not forget the burnout of it all because I feel like for me it was a combination of I was having hormonal issues and then I was having severe stress which led to burnouts.

14:14
And then of course like Pandemic where working from home where, you know, just kind of more sedentary, I was burnt out from cooking.

So it’s so many different factors that can be at play.

And the good thing is, you know, a lot of these are modifiable, right, because there’s two types of risk factors.

14:30
There’s modifiable and there’s risk factors that are non modifiable.

And those might be things more like when you said genetics or a predisposition, but with the modifiable actors like our physical activity, which again maybe not everyone’s able to participate in physical activity or the same levels of physical activity.

14:50
But for the most part, right, we can have a little bit more control over certain things.

So if you are somebody who is looking for a personalized approach to diabetes management, to diabetes nutrition, we have the answer for you and it is diabetes Digital That is our online platform committed to transforming the way you navigate your diabetes journey.

15:14
And we are excited to share our unique approach with our podcast audience.

So on our first episode of the Diabetes Digital Podcast, we kind of revealed field that we started this new company Diabetes Digital and talked about how our goal is to have culturally humble weight, inclusive, thorough and holistic diabetes and pre diabetes nutrition counseling.

15:38
And we have a team of diverse dietitians and diabetes educators who have extensive experience working with diabetes and pre diabetes to help you on your journey and to give you reliable, to give you reliable guidance and accurate information.

15:55
So if you’re interested in learning more signing up, definitely visit our website diabetesdigital.co that’s Co and use our get started link to begin your journey.

We’ll ask you a few questions and see if you’re a better fit for our membership program, which is self pay and you can try to get super bills to get that reimbursed or you can use your FSA or HSA accounts.

16:22
So that’s one path.

And then the other path is insurance, which we are so excited to make this accessible to folks with insurance including people who have Blue Shield of California, Aetna, Medicare, Health Net United, so many Cigna, New York Ship, American Specialty Health.

16:42
And I believe we’re also working on getting on the Empire plan of New York.

We’re not in network with all these plans in every single state.

So you’re going to have to go on the website and see.

But again we have the affordable membership for people who may not be in network.

So definitely check us out Diabetes digital.co.

17:00
Thanks for joining us for today’s episode.

If you’re interested in nutrition counseling with one of our expert dietitians to help improve your pre diabetes or diabetes, visit us@diabetesdigital.co.

Also, if you found our conversation helpful, do us a favor and rate and review this podcast on iTunes.

17:18
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Dot Co and TuneIn every Wednesday for practical, inclusive and culturally humble diabetes insights.

We’ll catch you later.

Bye.