Are you glucose intolerant? Do you have abnormal levels of insulin in your body? Here are some symptoms to help you find out.
Glucose intolerance is a more common problem than most people think. Hence, it is essential to know whether you have sugar intolerance so that the problem may be diagnosed in the early stages and steps can be taken to see that it is not exacerbated. Here’s an article on glucose intolerance and its symptoms.
Glucose intolerance is very commonly referred to as prediabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). According to a report by World Health Organization, “IGT denotes a state of increased risk of progressing to diabetes, although it was also noted that many would revert to normal. It is a not clinical entity but rather a risk factor for future diabetes and adverse outcomes. IGT is associated with impaired insulin secretion and impaired suppression of hepatic glucose output. Studies suggest that IGT is associated with muscle insulin resistance and defective insulin secretion, resulting in less efficient disposal of the glucose load in the blood. This term was introduced to remove the stigma of diabetes from the other terms in use at the time to denote the range between ‘normal’ and diabetes. The increased risk of cardiovascular disease in people with IGT was also recognized.”
Normally when a person eats food, the glucose levels in the blood increase due to carbohydrates and sugar consumption. The pancreas produce a hormone known as ‘insulin’ which helps in absorbing the glucose in the blood and turn it into energy. Thus, a while after eating, your glucose levels will come down to normal. In a person who is glucose intolerant, there is a problem of either the under-production of insulin (that results in less glucose absorption by cells) or the over-production of insulin into the blood stream (that makes the cells immune to insulin, resulting in non-absorption of glucose, again). Hence, even a while after eating, the blood sugar levels stay higher than what is supposed to be good for the body. Such a situation need not necessarily be diabetes.
The difference between glucose intolerance and full-blown diabetes is that the blood sugar levels of a glucose intolerant are high, but not high enough to make him a diabetic. According to Wikipedia, sugar intolerance or prediabetes is ‘America’s largest healthcare epidemic’, affecting about 57 million Americans. A person with these symptoms risks not only the eventuality of getting type 2 diabetes, but also runs the risk of suffering from some cardiovascular disease, unless the intolerance is effectively taken care of.
Symptoms
So if you had sugar intolerance, how would you know? Here are some common symptoms to help you diagnose whether you are suffering from this problem. If you notice any of these symptoms, it does not necessarily imply that you are glucose intolerant, but you ought to get a check-up done from a doctor, just in case. The doctor will ask you to take a blood test in order to confirm if there is any problem. So here are some symptoms of prediabetes.
- Constantly feeling thirsty
- Frequent urination
- Insulin resistance
- Dark patches on skin, itching, rashes
- Tingling in the limbs
- Rapid weight loss or weight gain
- Excessive hunger
- Muscle cramping
- Fatigue
- Blurred vision
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Headaches
- Inability to focus
- Bloating
- Increased blood pressure
- Depression
If sugar intolerance is not taken care of, then there is a chance of the patient developing full-blown type 2 diabetes. So in addition to the previously mentioned symptoms, the symptoms of type 2 diabetes are:
- Lethargy
- Constant itching of external genitalia
- Blurred vision
- Erectile dysfunction (in men)
- Vaginal dryness and premature menopause (in women)
You can take the fasting blood glucose test in order to be sure. It is essential that you fix the problem while it is still in its early stages. Otherwise diabetes and all other associated maladies are just around the corner.
