Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disease wherein the body is not producing insulin as per its needs. It could be producing less than the needed insulin or none at all in which case the patient would be taking insulin medication. This makes it difficult to control the level of blood sugar in the body, and these result in the three classic signs and symptoms of diabetes.
1. Polyuria or frequent urination
The first symptom of diabetes is the urge to run to the bathroom ever so often. This happens because as the blood sugar level in the body rises there is an increase in the osmosis rate of the blood. This results in the drawing out the fluid from the tissues into the bloodstream. This does not help decrease the blood sugar level but does dilute it to a level where it is acceptable to the rest of the body’s cells.
Now all this excess fluid in the bloodstream is cleaned out by the kidneys. This results in the bladder becoming full with urine and so you need to go empty the bladder to relive the pressure you feel by urinating.
This is amongst the most commonly seen signs and symptoms of diabetes.
2. Polydipsia or increased thirst
As fluid from the body tissues is reduced and runs through osmosis into the blood stream there is a call for more fluids to avoid dehydration at the cellular level. This means that your brain gets the signal to drink more water as the body feels thirsty.
As you can see these signs and symptoms of diabetes are related to each other.
3. Polyphagia or increased hunger
The need to eat more solid food than what your caloric needs are, is called excessive eating. It is also amongst the signs and symptoms of diabetes. The main cause of polyphagia in a diabetic would be hypoglycemia. In this the fluctuations in blood sugar lead to an excessive build up of insulin in the blood stream. Now this extra insulin needs glucose in the bloodstream to digest.
The glucose will be released into the blood stream only if the person eats something and so the circle comes around to the person feeling hungry more than usual.
These are the classic signs and symptoms of diabetes which are easy to recognize. If you feel that you are eating more than normal, feeling thirstier than usual and seem to be making more trips to the bathroom to urinate than your customary ones, it may be a good idea to undergo a simple blood glucose test to check for diabetes.
