Type 1 Diabetes

How you know you have it

Type 1 diabetes has a sudden onset, meaning, it presents with obvious signs usually over a period of a few days. Contrast that with type 2 diabetes, which may not be diagnosed for 8 – 10 years. However, like type 2, these are the most common symptoms:

• Blurry vision
• Excessive hunger
• Excessive thirst
• Frequent urination
• Tingling or numbness in your feet or fingers
• Unexplained weight loss
• Unusual infections, such as skin or yeast infection
• Unusual tiredness

The symptoms above may go unnoticed, or you and your family may attribute them to something else. So, if blood sugar continues to rise, you may experience these signs:

• Deep, rapid breathing
• Dry skin and mouth
• Flushed face
• Fruity breath odor
• Nausea or vomiting, and inability to keep down fluids
• Stomach pain

These are symptoms of a deadly complication of acute high blood sugar called diabetic ketoacidosis. This calls for emergency treatment to lower your blood sugar and stabilize your fluid and electrolyte balance.

Your doctor will confirm the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes by one of these blood tests:

1. A1c >6.5% (A1c tests blood sugar control over the past 2-3 months)
2. Fasting blood sugar >126 mg/dl
3. Random blood sugar >200 mg/dl