Before you read more about the early signs of diabetes, it is good to begin by talking about the known types of diabetes.  This is because, even though most symptoms are the same, there are some that are only applicable to one type of the disease.  There are three types of diabetes namely: diabetes mellitus 1, diabetes mellitus 2 and gestational diabetes.  A precursor to diabetes mellitus 2 is pre-diabetes.  What is interesting though is that pre-diabetes does not have any signs or symptoms.

There are predisposing factors to diabetes especially diabetes mellitus 2.  These would be what you are sometimes considered the early signs of diabetes.  However, there are instances when some of these factors do not lead to one having the full-blown disease.  The predisposing factors are family history of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, low levels of good cholesterol, obesity and age.

These factors notwithstanding, there are signs and symptoms that are often considered to be the early signs of diabetes.  The most common symptoms are frequent urination caused by the presence of glucose in the urine and increased fluid intake precipitated by rise in thirst.  The other symptoms are severe fatigue, unexplained weight loss, blurred vision, increased irritability, extreme hunger, irritation of the skin in the genital area and slow healing of superficial wounds and cuts.  All these are common to both types of diabetes except for weight loss, which is specific to type 2 diabetes.

The presence of anti-islet antibodies or lack of insulin resistance determined by a glucose tolerance test would be indicative of type 1 diabetes.  These are tests that can be done to check for diabetes and help determine which of the three types of diabetes is involved.

The main cause of type 1 diabetes is excessive production of insulin.  This is as a result of the continuous destruction of beta cells.  These cells are found in the Islet of Langerhans, which is in the pancreas.  This is the place where insulin is produced.  Insulin is the hormone responsible for enabling  the absorption into body cells of glucose ingested into the body and blood through food.  Thus, excessive production of the hormone causes this diabetes.

The main cause of type 2 diabetes is the inability of the body to use up insulin efficiently.  Insulin resistance therefore means your body cells do not respond appropriately when insulin is present.  Unlike type 1 diabetes, the problem here has more to do with absorption.  Hereditary causes and age seem to be the most widespread factors causing diabetes even though often there is more than one factor involved.

The most common test for early signs of diabetes is fasting blood glucose.  It is also known as oral glucose tolerance test.  The other test is random blood glucose tests.  Doctors recommend that you do your tests early to help detect the disease early.  This prevents later complications brought about by the disease existing in your body for long without treatment.  Diabetes can cause sight loss, limb loss and failure of crucial body organs. It is a fatal disease and this can be further compounded if one does not take the necessary steps to pick out the early signs of diabetes.