8 of 10 People with Prediabetes Don't Know They Have It — Continued

Early signs of diabetes

You can have prediabetes for years without noticing any clear symptoms, so it is often not detected until further health problems develop or until you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

If you have more than one risk factor for prediabetes, it is important to watch for early signs of diabetes. These include:

• Feeling constantly thirsty
• Feeling hungry even after eating
• Increased urination or urinary tract infections
• Dry mouth
• Unexplained weight loss
• Headaches and fatigue
• Blurred vision or trouble seeing
• Nausea
• Skin infections or slow-healing wounds
• Tingling or loss of feeling in hands or feet

Diabetes can also cause loss of consciousness if it goes undiagnosed. This is called a diabetic coma and is life-threatening. Early diagnosis can prevent you from suffering a diabetic coma.

Signs of diabetes in women

Though men are more likely than women to have prediabetes, new cases of diabetes are diagnosed equally between the genders. Studies have found, however, that while rates of death for men with diabetes are declining women are still as likely as ever to die from the disease.

One reason is that women can display different symptoms of early diabetes, which are often undiagnosed.

In addition to common symptoms of diabetes, signs of diabetes in women may include:

• Vaginal or oral yeast infections
• Painful intercourse due to vaginal dryness, yeast infections, or urinary tract infections
• Lowered sex drive due to nerve damage
• Polycystic ovary syndrome

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