Diabetes can be loosely termed as a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood rises to dangerously high levels, either because your body isn't making the amount of insulin it needs to metabolize the glucose or if it does not acknowledge the presence of insulin and is thus unable to use the glucose as energy. This glucose, which then accumulates in your blood, is responsible for a gamut of complications, some of which can even be life-threatening. However, what makes diabetes one of the most threatening of all diseases is the fact that its initial stages are very hard to detect, leading victims to ignore them until the more severe conditions set in. and although there is no foolproof sign to determine if you have diabetes or not, without submitting to a laboratory test, there are a few initial indicators that characterize diabetes, and the fact that it is on the prowl!

The first and most common indicator is the tendency to urinate a lot more than you are accustomed to, even though you aren't drinking any more water than usual. This may be a sign of high glucose levels in your blood that your kidney is trying to filter out. As the glucose in your body is redundant, given the impaired performance of insulin, your body has to purge it out, which it tries to do by diluting the sugar with large amounts of water, which is then discarded via your kidneys.

As your body discards the glucose, it also eliminates a lot of the water in your body, making you parched and dehydrated. Hence you will find that you feel a lot thirstier than is usual and in spite of the unnaturally large quantities of water you consume, you remain as thirsty as ever. This can be directly attributed to the high amounts of urine you excrete; your increased intake of water is also coupled with abnormally high levels of urine. And hence, even though you may be consuming several times the amount of water than you normally do, you are still running a huge risk of severe dehydration.

When your body's glucose utilizing capacity decreases, the cells in your body are starved of the energy they depend on the glucose for. And hence, even though you aren't eating any less than you are accustomed to, you will still find that you feel lightheaded, faint and giddy. Although this is one of the most easily discernable signs of diabetes, this is also the most easily misunderstood. Many people account this weakness to fatigue and try to rest it away, which lets the disease continue on its silent path.

The high-levels of sugar in your blood are particularly damaging to the nerves in your body, bringing about a feeling of numbness or a loss of sensation over a period of time. This damage particularly afflicts the extremities of your body, namely your fingers and feet, and increases as the levels of glucose continue to rise unchecked a condition termed as Diabetic Neuropathy.

Diabetes is also responsible for hindering the circulation of blood in your body, because of the thickening of veins it brings about. And so, any cuts and wounds on your body will take a lot longer to heal and will also be particularly prone to infection. The latter is caused by the high blood glucose levels, which are fertile breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, which bring about a number of skin infections and allergies.

These conditions, though tremendously severe in their own right, are only a precursor to diabetes. The Pre-Diabetic Phase, as this period is known, is unpredictably volatile or sedate. in certain cases, individuals are known to have suffered from pre-diabetes for a major part of their life, without this disease ever advancing into its more destructive stage, while in some others, diabetes was immediate to catch on with pre-diabetes lasting for merely a couple of months. Pre-Diabetes is a lot easier to control and treat than diabetes in itself, and if diagnosed in time, can be arrested at this phase for the remainder of the victim's life. And so, if you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, don't hesitate to contact your physician immediately. As the adage does, it's better to be safe than sorry and in this case, it may even save you your life!