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What are the symptoms of diabetes in women?

The symptoms of diabetes in women

That’s a question we get asked a lot on Diabetic South Africans. The answer is simple: diabetes symptoms in women are exactly the same as they are in men. It is true that there are more women with diabetes in South Africa, though, and that diabetes is the number one killer of women in SA. So if we can spread awareness of the symptoms of diabetes in women, we can help a lot of people. Diabetes is not a lethal condition: it is possible to live a normal, healthy life with diabetes.

symptoms of diabetes in women

5 symptoms of diabetes

There are 5 common symptoms of diabetes – in women and men.

They are:

1. Extreme hunger
2. Extreme thirst
3. Needing to pee a lot
4. Exhaustion
5. Blurry vision

Do any of these sound familiar? If so, it’s a good idea to get your blood sugar checked. Getting your blood sugar checked is quick and simple – the results are immediate and it only takes 5 minutes. You can get your blood sugar checked at your local clinic or pharmacy, and you’ll know right away if you need to be concerned about developing diabetes. Please encourage everyone you know to get their blood sugar checked every year!

Questions about diabetes

Do you have any questions about diabetes? Remember that living with diabetes is manageable – it’s perfectly possible to live a healthy, happy life with diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2). If you are diagnosed early enough with Type 2 diabetes, it is reversible – find out how to reverse Type 2 diabetes here.

If you have any questions at all, please check out our Diabetes Info section and use the search bar to find the answers. Still have a question? Email us and we’ll get our diabetes experts to answer them.

Photo by Molly Belle on Unsplash

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3 Comments

  1. […] It was a couple of weeks before my 14th birthday during the final exams of my grade 8 year. We were training hard for the upcoming athletics season and caught up in a busy schedule. My mom noticed that I lacked some energy and that I was losing weight, but thought it was due to the hard training and exam stress. After a couple of weeks she started noticing how much I drank water and although I was losing so much weight it seemed like I couldn’t stop eating and had little energy. (These are all the common symptoms of diabetes.) […]

  2. […] It was a couple of weeks before my 14th birthday during the final exams of my grade 8 year. We were training hard for the upcoming athletics season and caught up in a busy schedule. My mom noticed that I lacked some energy and that I was losing weight, but thought it was due to the hard training and exam stress. After a couple of weeks she started noticing how much I drank water and although I was losing so much weight it seemed like I couldn’t stop eating and had little energy. (These are all the common symptoms of diabetes.) […]

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Sweet Life is a registered NPO/PBO (220-984) with a single goal: to improve diabetes in South Africa. We are funded by sponsorships and donations from aligned companies and organisations who believe in our work. We only share information that we believe benefits our community. While some of this information is linked to specific brands, it is not an official endorsement of that brand. We believe in empowering people with diabetes to make the best decisions they can, to live a healthy, happy life with diabetes.