Dr Amir Khan has shared five signs to watch out for that could indicate you have type 2 diabetes.
This common health issue, which results in excessively high blood sugar levels, often goes undetected at first but can lead to a host of complications. According to Diabetes UK, approximately 5.8 million people in the UK have diabetes, most of whom will have type 2.
Although 4.6 million cases have been diagnosed, around 1.3 million individuals might be unaware they have type 2 diabetes. Now Dr Khan, who frequently shares health advice online and and television, pointed out the indicators that could suggest someone has the condition.
“Type 2 diabetes is a complex condition where your insulin doesn’t work as well as it should do to keep your blood sugars in check,” he informed viewers in a TikTok video, emphasising that the onset of the disease could be due to a variety of genetic and lifestyle factors.
Feeling tired all the time
“This is the most common symptom I see,” the celebrity GP began. “Because your body’s insulin isn’t working as it should to release energy from your sugars, your body will look for other energy sources such as your protein and fat stores.
“These are harder to break down and you don’t have as much energy in them, so you end up feeling tired.”
Frequent infections
“If you’re not using those sugars, something else will,” Dr Khan warned. He stressed pathogens and bugs could use the sugars in diabetes sufferers’ bodies to thrive, making them more prone to coughs and sneezes or even more serious conditions.
“Whether it’s urinary tract infections, thrush or skin infections, these bugs love sugars to feed off and they thrive.” The doctor also explained that high blood sugar can make your immune system less effective.
Needing to pee frequently
“If your blood sugars are persistently high, your body will try to lower this by making you go to the loo to pee out those excess sugars,” Dr Khan explained.
However, he warned, this also leads to a loss of fluid, which can cause diabetes sufferers to notice another symptom – dehydration.
Unintentional weight loss
Dr Khan stressed that many people do not associate weight loss with diabetes – in fact, the opposite may be true. “Lots of people associate type 2 diabetes with being overweight,” he said.
“Although that is a risk factor, when your sugars are high and your insulin isn’t working to break them down and bring [sugar levels] down, your body starts breaking down those fats and proteins, as I talked about earlier, and you can end up with unexplained weight loss.”
Nerve pain
“We call this peripheral neuropathy,” Dr Khan said. “It usually causes tingling, burning or painful sensations in your toes and feet.”
Dr Khan explained high levels of sugar can damage “those tiny little nerves” in the toes, as well as the blood vessels in those areas. “That makes it harder for them to carry proper nerve impulses,” he added.
The NHS lists the symptoms of diabetes as: feeling very thirsty; peeing more frequently than usual, particularly at night; feeling very tired; weight loss and loss of muscle bulk; itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush; and blurred vision.
Noticing any of these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have diabetes. If you’re worried, it’s important to see a doctor.