Overall, diabetes symptoms are triggered by rising blood sugar levels, and the general symptoms of diabetes include:

• Increased hunger
• Increased thirst
• Weight gain
• Frequent urination
• Blurry vision
• Extreme fatigue
• Sores that don’t heal

Beyond the general diabetes symptoms, men with diabetes may experience a decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction (ED), and oftentimes poor muscle strength.

For women with diabetes, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, and dry, itchy skin are common symptoms.

Most women with gestational diabetes (which would occur during pregnancy) don’t show any symptoms. Oftentimes, the condition is detected during a routine blood sugar test performed between the 24th and 28th weeks of gestation. In some cases, a woman with gestational diabetes will experience increased thirst or urination.

Unlike the conventional medicine approach to diabetes, our goal is to restore blood sugar levels naturally and safely through lifestyle changes... rather than relying on expensive or toxic prescription meds.

Yet many people believe that diabetes medications such as Metformin, Avandia, Actos, Januvia, Onglyza or exogenous insulin will "solve" their issues – despite the fact that these medications don't deal with the root cause of diabetes.

While people experience great success in the first few months of taking these medications, they provide false hope because they fail to work overtime as the root causes of poor glucose management spin out of control.

So here are the things you need to know about diabetes and why education and lifestyle changes can save your life:

• People who have diabetes or pre-diabetes aren't always overweight.
• Just because it "runs in your family" doesn't mean you are destined to be diabetic, health is in your hands.
• Diabetes is a dietary disease and most people who are diabetic are still eating a diet that is very high in sugar
• Many "diabetes experts" recommend foods that spike blood sugar because they are following old dietary science
• Diabetes management isn't a "one size fits all" approach as some people have more sensitive blood sugar or different blood sugar patterns thorough out the day

In Functional Medicine, our approach to diabetes (or any chronic illness for that matter), is to restore your body’s innate healing potential rather than merely managing symptoms with expensive prescription drugs.

We believe that the best way to address a lifestyle-induced disease is by making sensible lifestyle changes – supported by our capable and caring team.

That’s why with diabetes, we have a unique “food protocol” to help you manage your blood sugar, your weight, decrease your general inflammation while avoiding foods that may cause an allergic reaction.

Apart from food, we also examine the interplay between different systems and organs in your body – like your gut, your endocrine system, and your brain. Because for true holistic health, we need to get all your systems to play together.

For example, if you are dealing with other hormone imbalances, this can have a huge impact on how well you can manage your diabetes.

That’s why at Harris Internal Medicine, we run advanced lab testing beyond your standard blood tests so we can recommend  a protocol that brings all your hormones back in balance – from insulin, to cortisol, thyroid and more.

If you suspect your symptoms might be related to diabetes, you should get a FPG and an A1C blood test through your primary care provider.

The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test measures your blood sugar after you’ve fasted for 8 hours, while the A1C test provides a snapshot of your blood sugar levels over the previous 3 months.

We also recommend gut and hormonal testing to get the full picture of anything else that is impacting your insulin levels and causing symptoms. The earlier you get diagnosed with diabetes, the sooner you can start addressing your diabetes – feel free to schedule a free discovery consult to see what the best next steps are for you.