The first thing that comes to mind for most people when the discussion of health and high blood sugar is brought up is diabetes. It’s an extremely dangerous and deadly condition, but long before the individual is diagnosed with it, the body gives away signs that their blood sugar level is very high.
Because many people’s diets consist of artificial and processed foods, the number of people suffering from high blood sugar is dramatically increasing. The only way to put a stop to this is to educate ourselves and watch for the signs that our body is providing us. This will help us stay as healthy as possible.
Now, keep reading to find out what the most important signs are that tell you your blood sugar level is too high, as well as symptoms to look out for if you think you may have diabetes.
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Let’s first talk about the 16 signs that your blood sugar is high, please note that these signs are from various scientific studies and from people with high blood sugar level.
16. Excessive Urination/Urinating During the Night
If you drink high amounts of water before you go to bed, there is a good chance you’re waking up in the middle of the night to urinate. But if your blood sugar level is too high, you could pick up a urinary tract infection which can result in excessive urinating.
15. Blurred Vision
Don’t overreact and go buy a pair of glasses if you begin to have temporary blurred vision. In most cases, it’s high blood sugar, which causes the lens in the eyes to swell up.
Recognize any of these signs? Think you might have diabetes? Well, keep reading till the end, because after we give you signs that mean your blood sugar is too high, we’ll fill you in on some symptoms of diabetes you should look out for!
14. Difficulty Concentrating
When the body is lacking insulin, it’s unable to remove glucose from the bloodstream into the cells. This doesn’t allow the body to properly function. This is why you feel tired and can’t concentrate properly. High blood sugar levels can dehydrate you because the body is trying to remove excess glucose through urination.
13. Dry Mouth
Because of the high glucose levels in your blood and saliva, which are caused by high blood sugar levels, your mouth becomes dry.
12. Impotence
This issue, which only refers to men, stems from problems that are caused by poor long-term blood sugar control. This damages the nerves and the blood vessels.
11. Recurrent Infections
There are several recurring infections that need to be monitored. Also, watch out for numerous diseases in the pancreas and a severe increase in blood glucose.
10. Slow Healing Wounds
If you find that the smallest cuts and bruises are taking longer than usual to heal, high blood sugar levels could be the cause. It affects the nerves and can lead to poor blood circulation, making it tough for blood – needed for skin repair – to reach the wounded area.
9. Stomach Problems
When you have high blood sugar levels, emptying the food from your stomach could be delayed. This can lead to bloating, distention, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting.
8. Constant Fatigue or Extreme Tiredness
If your thyroid level is low, there is a good chance you are going to feel tired, sleepy, or depressed. In order to fight infections, it takes energy, which can result in constant fatigue and high blood sugar levels.
7. Thirst
When you have high blood sugar levels, your kidneys are forced to work overtime to filter and absorb the excess sugar. In order to achieve that, liquids need to flow through the body in order to urinate the sugar.
6. Dry and Itchy Skin
When there is poor blood circulation flow through the body, it causes itchy skin. The most common areas of the body that become the itchiest are the lower parts of your legs.
5. Always Hungry
You may be one of those people that have a big appetite, and that’s fine. However, for people who normally do not have a large appetite, this could be because you’re lacking a hormone called incretin. Incretin reduces the flow of sugar from the liver after consuming a meal. If you lack this hormone, food empties quicker, and you’ll be hungry again shortly after dinner, which increases your blood sugar level.
4. Excess Abdominal Weight/Fat
This is one of the most common signs that you have high blood sugar levels. The food that you have consumed was not all able to get into the cells as energy to nourish the cells, so in turn, you feel hungry again.
3. Nerve Problems
Simply put, if your blood sugar levels are high, it can damage the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the nerves, which can lead to nerve problems.
2. Skin Changes
If you begin to experience discoloration and certain growths on your skin, your blood sugar level may be high. Also, you may notice dark, thick areas of skin beginning to form on the back of your neck and your hands as well.
1. Tingling and Numbness
This goes hand-in-hand with nerve damage. If you experience tingling and numbness in certain areas of your body, your blood sugar level may be high. This type of nerve damage is called neuropathy.
Signs that your blood sugar is probably too high
Now that you know about some signs that your blood sugar is probably too high, here are some symptoms to look out for that you may have diabetes!
8. Fatigue & Hunger
The food that you eat is converted into glucose, which your cells use as energy. But to do this, your body needs insulin. According to WebMD, if the cells resist the insulin, the energy cannot get to the cells. This means you have no energy.
7. Frequent Urination
The average person urinates 4-7 times in a 24-hour span. WebMD states that this occurs because diabetes pushes your blood sugar up. The kidneys may not be able to bring the blood sugar down, so the body needs more fluids, which leads to more urination.
6. Weight Loss
The Mayo Clinic states that when you lose sugar from frequent urination, you also lose calories. Also, diabetes may prevent sugar from your food from reaching your cells. Together, both of these can cause weight loss.
5. Dry Mouth
When you urinate, your body uses a lot of fluids. So if you’re urinating frequently, there is less moisture for other things. This can cause you to dehydrate, and you may have a dry mouth, according to WebMD.
4. Blurred Vision
High levels of blood sugar can take fluids from certain tissues, your eyes included. The Mayo Clinic indicates that if left untreated, diabetes can cause new blood vessels to form in your retina and damage established vessels.
3. Cuts Are Not Healing
High blood sugar can affect your blood flow over time. WebMD mentions that this can cause nerve damage, which makes it hard for your body to heal wounds.
2. Tingling In the Hands & Feet
The Mayo Clinic indicates that excess blood sugar can cause nerve damage. Nerve damage can cause tingling and pain in the hands and feet.
1. Dark Patches of Skin
Everyday Health indicates that acanthosis nigricans, which is a skin condition that creates dark patches of skin commonly on the neck or armpit, is a sign of diabetes.
According to the CDC, 30.3 million of the U.S. population has diabetes. This includes 23.1 million who are diagnosed and 7.2 million who are undiagnosed. The CDC also states that 33.9% of the U.S. population has prediabetes.
With that said, it’s important to recognize the early symptoms of diabetes. The difficulty is that most early symptoms of diabetes can be so mild that most people just brush them off. The issue with this is that when they finally get problems, it’s usually caused by long-term damage.
Do you have high blood sugar or diabetes? What are some ways you can tell that your blood sugar is too high? And what are some things you do to ensure that your health is in good condition? Let us know in the comments section below!