Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes in Women

Diabetes in general can be classified into two major categories, type 1 or diabetes mellitus and type 2 or diabetes insipidus. Women who have developed type 1 diabetes early in their lives are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later on than those who never had diabetes earlier. Diabetes is considered to be a serious health condition that needs to be managed with strict vigilance. Considering that elevated blood sugar levels can lead to various lethal complications including permanent organ damage, recognising the symptoms of type 1 diabetes in women during the initial stages, would help in effective management of the illness.

Understanding the Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes in Women

Some of the most common symptoms of type 1 diabetes in women that should ideally prompt you to seek medical advice are:

1. Frequent urination and abnormal thirst: as the blood sugar levels rise, more fluid is absorbed from the tissues. Therefore, you might end up feeling abnormally thirsty and eventually urinate more often as a result of an increase in water intake.
2. Rapid weight loss: diabetes in women is often characterised by abnormal and rapid weight loss. Despite eating more than what you usually do, you can end up losing weight quite fast because when the natural insulin in your body is insufficient for converting the sugars to energy, the muscles lack nourishment. Therefore, they are bound to shrink subsequently and cause weight loss.
3. Increased Hunger: type 1 diabetes can make you feel extremely hungry because when insulin is not present to provide energy derived from sugar intake to your cells and tissues, they keep craving for the same. Therefore, despite binging on heavy meals, you might end up feeling hungry and craving for more.
4. Excessive Tiredness and Fatigue: as your body tissues and cells continue to crave for energy, the result can be perpetual tiredness and associated irritability.
5. Vision Distortion: if you have been witnessing some of these symptoms over time and have been steadily ignoring them, chances are that your blood sugar levels will shoot to alarming levels. In such cases, fluid may be sucked out of your eye tissues thereby, leading to vision difficulties causing blurred vision.

If one or many of these symptoms coexist, the first thing to do is to seek medical advice promptly. Early detection can help in judicious assessment of the disease and administer timely treatments. Being informed about the symptoms is certainly of help.

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