Signs of Diabetes in Women That Can Signal Uncontrolled Blood Sugar (And How To Catch Them Early)
It's easy to write off frequent UTIs, but they could point to type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic condition where the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t use it effectively, causing high blood sugar levels. Insulin is crucial for helping the body convert glucose into energy. When insulin doesn’t work properly, glucose accumulates in the bloodstream, leading to increased blood sugar. Over time, this can result in serious complications such as organ damage and a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. That’s why recognizing the early signs of diabetes in women is so important.
“Diabetes can affect every organ system,” says Sanjay Dixit, MD, medical director of cardiometabolic endocrine and wellness clinical solutions at Quest Diagnostics. “Early detection and management of type 2 diabetes is crucial.”
But while diabetes affects around 15 percent of the adult population—and nearly 30 percent of people over age 65—the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than one in five people with diabetes don’t even realize they have it. That’s because type 2 diabetes symptoms in women can be all too easy to miss.
Woman's World Answers
“Common symptoms of type 2 diabetes include excessive thirst, excessive urination, unintentional weight loss and blurred vision,” Dr. Dixit says. “But these symptoms are usually associated with undiagnosed, severe type 2 diabetes.” In early or mild cases, the signs of diabetes are often more subtle.
6 early warning signs of diabetes in women
Early detection is crucial, especially since women face a higher risk of developing serious diabetes complications like heart disease, kidney disease and vision loss. Here are six subtle signs of diabetes in women to watch for:
1. Frequent UTIs are a sign of diabetes in women
Experiencing more urinary tract infections (UTIs) than usual could be an early sign of diabetes in women. High blood sugar creates an environment where bacteria thrive, increasing the risk of UTIs.
“A lesser-known symptom of type 2 diabetes that is more common among women is recurrent UTIs,” Dr. Dixit says. “Women tend to get more UTIs than men in general due to anatomy, but high blood sugar can further encourage bacterial growth in the urinary tract, which can lead to increased infections.” Diabetes can also affect your immune system, he adds, which can make it harder to fight off an infection.
You should also inform your doctor if your urine smells like popcorn. When your body isn’t processing glucose properly, it burns fat for energy instead, creating ketones, which can produce a sweet-smelling odor in the urine.
2. Unexplained fatigue
If you’re constantly feeling tired or fatigued, it could be an early warning sign of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes interferes with your body’s ability to use glucose for energy, leading to fatigue. A study in the Industrial Psychiatry Journal found that people with diabetes were ten times more likely to experience fatigue than those without the condition.
3. History of gestational diabetes is a sign of diabetes in women
If you had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life is much higher. According to research from the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, women who had gestational diabetes have up to a 50 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
4. Worsening menopause symptoms
If your menopause symptoms—such as hot flashes, fatigue, and trouble sleeping—seem more intense than usual, it might be linked to high blood sugar. “Most common menopause symptoms, like hot flashes, fatigue and problems sleeping, conceivably could be exacerbated by persistently elevated blood sugars,” Dr. Dixit explains.
5. Tingling in fingers or toes
High blood sugar over time can damage the small blood vessels that supply the nerves, leading to a condition called diabetic neuropathy. This can cause tingling, burning, or numbness in your hands, feet, or legs. If you notice tingling or numbness in your extremities, it’s important to seek treatment right away to prevent further nerve damage.
6. Slow-healing cuts are a sign of diabetes in women
When diabetes is not well controlled, it can slow down the body’s ability to heal. According to a study in the journal Medicina, about 25 percent of people with diabetes experience slower wound healing, often staying in the inflammatory phase longer. If you have a cut that seems to be healing unusually slowly, talk to your doctor.
How to diagnose type 2 diabetes in women early
Many people don’t experience symptoms in the early stages of type 2 diabetes, which makes regular checkups essential, even if you feel fine. Dr. Dixit recommends asking your doctor for routine blood tests like the fasting blood glucose test, A1C test, or a glucose tolerance test. “Regular screenings help catch type 2 diabetes early, which is when treatment is most effective,” Dr. Dixit adds.
Your doctor can screen for diabetes with blood tests such as a fasting blood glucose test (which measures your blood glucose level after an overnight fast), an A1C test (which measures your average blood glucose level over time) or a glucose tolerance test (which checks your blood glucose at various intervals after consuming a sugary liquid).
“Staying on top of health screenings can help prevent illness, disease and chronic health conditions by detecting type 2 diabetes in earlier stages when treatment is likely to work best,” Dr. Dixit adds.
What should women do if they notice signs of diabetes?
Early warning signs of diabetes in women can be easy to write off as something else. If you do notice them, be sure to schedule a visit with your doctor to get screened. And if you do get a T2D diagnosis, don’t panic. There are simple steps you can take to keep your blood sugar steady and ward off those signs of diabetes in women. Here, a few blood sugar-balancing tips:
- Sip ‘chia water’. Drinking a glass of chia water with a high-carb meal or sweet treat may help you sidestep blood sugar spikes, suggests a study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. When suspended in water, the seeds create a gel-like substance packed with soluble and insoluble fibers. Researchers think this slows down the digestion of carbs, blocking them from flooding your bloodstream with glucose. To make: Stir 1 Tbs. chia seeds into 2 cups water. Let sit for at least 10 minutes until they gel slightly.
- Snack on peanuts. Eat a large handful of peanuts (25 grams) while you’re making dinner and you can enjoy carb-rich sides with more stable blood sugar. Arizona State University scientists say the fat and fiber in the nuts helps food from your meal to stick around longer in the stomach, preventing carbs from flooding your system. This improves your body’s insulin response (its ability to deliver glucose to cells) by as much as 55 percent.
- Cue up a rom-com. It’s no secret that exercise shunts glucose into muscles to keep it from building up in the bloodstream. But research in the journal Diabetes Care suggests the muscle activity triggered by laughing out loud does the trick too. Scientists compared people who laughed over a period of 40 minutes to those who didn’t, and found laughing suppressed blood sugar surges by 48 precent.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Woman's World does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
