Diabetic Coma Can Happen to You

Know the symptoms & prevent

Recently I talked to a lady who was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM-II). In DM-II, the person’s insulin (a hormone) stores are depleted, or the body does not respond to insulin like it did before. This type of diabetes occurs mainly in middle aged adults but can occur in obese teenagers and young adults.

I asked the lady to describe her diagnosis pathway. She voiced that she felt bad, tired, and sluggish. She went to the doctor who suggested vitamins. Anyway, she ended up in the emergency room in a coma because her blood glucose was extremely high. Many people who develop DM-II get diagnosed this same way. Prior to going into a diabetic coma most people had three common symptoms and possibly two symptoms that they may occur later. The first three symptoms you will notice are

1. Excessive thirst-you cannot drink enough water. What is happening is that your body is trying to dilute all that sugar in your blood stream that is not being utilized.

2. Excessive urination which goes hand-in-hand with the above.

3. Excessive hunger because your body cannot utilize the food you are eating, and your cells are hungry, and you feel weak.

The next 2 symptoms occur later and include

1. High blood pressure because all that extra glucose in your blood stream causes your heart to have to work harder.

2. Decreased sexual functioning because your hormonal system is out of whack.

If you are overweight or entering middle age and are experiencing some of these symptoms, make sure you tell your doctor, and he/she will check your blood glucose level and your hemoglobin A1C level. Also, notify your doctor if you have a family history of diabetes.

Remember diabetes can lead to complications like high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, nephropathy, cataracts, and blindness.