You might not have any symptoms that you have type 2 diabetes when you get it. In fact, researchers think that the average person already has it for 10 years when a doctor diagnoses it. This type of diabetes comes on slowly. I didn’t have any symptoms, but the fact that I was way overweight should have given me the warning so that I could start to manage the disease.

Warning Signs You Might Have Type 2 Diabetes 

Unusual thirst

Are you thirsty a lot of the time? Having diabetes means that sugar builds up in your bloodstream causing fluid to be pulled from your body. As a result you will probably be more thirsty than normal.

Frequent urination

Having to pee a lot is another of the most common warning signs that you may have type 2 diabetes 

You may notice this more at night when it interrupts your sleep. This is connected of course with being more thirsty and therefore drinking more. What goes in must come out.

Blurred vision

When you get diabetes, the sugar in your blood gets too high. This can pull fluid from the lenses of your eyes making it harder for your eyes to focus. Blurred vision seems to be the third most common warning sign that you have diabetes.

Sores that heal slowly or not at all

Diabetes affects your body’s ability to heal. This can happen because all that sugar in our bloodstream damages our blood vessels. Some of the most common symptoms of diabetes -- and at the same time the most dangerous -- can hurt your feet. Because of your diabetes, you may not even feel the sores until it’s too late.

 Frequent infections

As we get older, most people get fewer infections because we build up immunity. But when you get diabetes, you get more infections because this disease makes it harder for your body to resist infections.

Yeast infections

One of the most common infections that people with diabetes get is yeast, or candida. Both fungi and bacteria thrive because of all the sugar tied up in our bloodstream. Women are particularly susceptible to this type of infection.

More hunger

When you get type 2 diabetes, much of the sugar that your body makes stays in your bloodstream. It doesn’t get in your cells where you need it. So your muscles and your internal organs don’t have enough energy. That can make you awfully hungry.

Losing weight

Most people with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes weigh too much. But some people actually lose weight before someone diagnoses their diabetes. It’s not a healthy way to lose weight because it can damage your kidneys. It can happen even when you eat more than you normally do. When you aren’t able to metabolize sugar well, your body has to use alternative fuels stored in your muscles and fat. This symptom is usually a result of type 1 diabetes.

Greater fatigue

When you are getting diabetes, you can feel more tired than usual. That’s because the cells of your body aren’t getting the sugar they need. The solution certainly isn’t to eat more sugar, which only makes it worse, because that sugar will also stay in the bloodstream.

Patches of skin that get dark

A somewhat less common symptom of type 2 diabetes is a condition that our doctors call acanthosis nigricans. Some of your skin may turn brown or black and may look velvety. It usually shows up in the armpits and neck and can be a result of the insulin resistance that type 2 diabetes causes.
Other skin problems

Your skin may feel itchy or it may tingle. Even worse, you may not be able to feel it at all. Your feet or hands may have burning pain and swell up. These are signs that your diabetes has already begun to damage the nerves of your body. The good news is that you reverse every one of these symptoms and the conditions that they cause.