Diabetes is a disease in which the body of a healthy adult or child cannot process or produce enough insulin. Insulin is an important chemical which helps the body digest sugars and starches and turn them into energy. The symptoms of diabetes can be subtle.

Diabetes is a treatable disease, but without a proper diagnosis it can be deadly. There may be 7 million people or more in the United States who have diabetes but don’t even know it. One of the first ways to be on the lookout for this disease is to know some of the more common symptoms:

Extreme hunger and thirst: Since insulin controls how your body digests food, your body, and especially your kidneys, may start working overtime if it doesn’t have enough insulin. Since your body isn’t getting the full effect of the food you’re digesting, your body may feel as though it needs more. Since your kidneys are working hard and trying to eliminate extra sugar through urination, you’re losing a lot of liquid and may feel as though you have to keep drinking to replenish your body’s water.

Increased need to urinate: The increased thirst of diabetes often leads to increased liquid intake which obviously means more urination. Some diabetes sufferers don’t notice the increased urination until they have a night time accident. Indeed, adult bedwetting is one symptom which usually means there is something going on in the body other than simple carelessness.

Increased Fatigue: There are a number of reasons you may feel unusually fatigued, but the extra work your body is spending just to process sugar may be one of them. Since diabetes limits your ability to turn sugar and starches into energy it means your body is not able to use food to its fullest advantage.

Diabetes is a treatable but serious disease which can worsen if left undiagnosed and untreated. There are many subtle symptoms of diabetes, and this list is just a small sampling of what you may feel or experience if you have the disease. Talking to a qualified medical professional is always the best course of action if you are not feeling well.