Feeling tired may be the most common early sign of high blood sugar, Dr. Hatipoglu says.
It’s also one that can occur, to a mild degree, with even the mild and normal blood sugar fluctuations that happen in people without diabetes (or with prediabetes) when they consume a large number of simple carbs, like sugar.
Of course, tiredness is a pretty nonspecific symptom and can even be a sign of low blood sugar.
If you notice fatigue regularly occurring right after you eat, though—especially a carb-heavy meal—it may have to do with rising blood sugar levels.
But if you notice that they always affect you in a very specific way that you find troubling a sign you may want to talk to a medical professional.
Increased thirst
This is a natural effect of peeing more, Dr. Adimoolam explains because your body becomes dehydrated.
The dehydration also becomes cyclical, the Mayo Clinic explains: The more you pee, the thirstier you are, the more you drink, the more you pee, and so on.
Recurrent infections
Consistent hyperglycemia can weaken the body’s immune response, according to the CDC.
This makes it harder for your body to fight off some infections, making them more frequent, lingering, or serious.
Diabetes can also make you more prone to UTIs, according to the CDC.
Slow-Healing sores
High blood sugar levels can affect your body’s circulatory system as well.
This impairs blood flow and the body’s ability to heal itself.
Sores that take a while to heal, often on the feet, are a common sign of this decreased circulation, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Dental issues
Glucose is present in your saliva as well as your blood.
When there’s too much of it, it helps harmful bacteria in your mouth grow and combine with food particles to create plaque, the NIDDK explains.
This leads to issues like tooth decay, cavities, gingivitis, gum disease, and bad breath. Swollen, tender, and bleeding gums are some of the first things to look out for.
Headaches
Dehydration from any cause can trigger headaches.
Of course, headaches can be a sign of many different things, but it’s worth getting checked out if it’s something new or coupled with other symptoms here.
The dehydration can also worsen your fatigue in addition to your headaches.
Blurred vision
When there is excess sugar in the blood, it can affect some unexpected areas in the body, like your eyes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Essentially, extra sugar (along with a little water) gets trapped in the lens in the middle of the eye, causing a blurred effect.
This is temporary and not the same as the damage to the eye that can occur in the long term with a condition like diabetes.
Frequent urination
When you have too much sugar in your blood, “your kidneys start trying to pour out more sugar to get rid of it. And as they excrete the sugar, they pull out water with it,” Dr. Hatipoglu explains.
This makes you have to visit the bathroom more than usual.
Tingling hands and feet
Over the years, hyperglycemia can begin to impact nerve function and eventually cause nerve damage, called neuropathy.
The most common kind of neuropathy is peripheral, according to the NIDDK, which affects the extremities.
You might start noticing feelings of tingling, numbness, or burning in your hands, feet, arms, and legs, per the Mayo Clinic.
Loss of Appetite
Hyperglycemia can create a condition known as Gastroparesis when food moves slowly through the digestive tract.
Food cannot move out of the stomach and into the small intestine.
A person with Hyperglycemia will lose his appetite because he has a clogged stomach.
