Symptoms of diabetes mellitus and its acute to chronic complications

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Wirawan Hambali, an internal medicine specialist from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, explained the common symptoms experienced by people with diabetes mellitus and its complications, from short-term (acute) to long-term (chronic).

“So, if we talk about the classic symptoms of diabetes, they are the ‘4Ps’: high blood sugar and weight loss, increased appetite, frequent urination, and excessive thirst,” said Wirawan during a media briefing in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Wirawan explained that a significant increase in blood sugar levels and drastic weight loss can occur because sugar cannot enter the body’s cells due to a lack of insulin. As a result, the body’s cells become starved, causing people with diabetes mellitus to eat continuously.

“That’s why we can see that in patients with advanced, untreated diabetes, who were initially overweight, their weight gradually decreases. Why? Because glucose cannot be utilized by the cells,” he said.

The next symptom is increased appetite or polyphagia. This symptom makes sufferers feel excessive hunger or have an abnormally increased appetite.

People with diabetes mellitus will also urinate frequently. According to him, the urine they pass is often visited by ants. This indicates that the increasingly high blood sugar is also excreted through the urine.

“The urine of people with diabetes contains sugar, so it has high osmotic pressure, which actually draws fluid from the body. That’s why people with diabetes urinate a lot,” he said.

The intensity of urination above normal limits eventually makes people with diabetes feel thirsty quickly (polydipsia).

He also explained that the complications of diabetes mellitus can be classified into two categories: short-term and long-term.

Short-term complications generally occur due to drastic changes in blood sugar levels that are too high or too low in a short period of time, which can trigger medical emergencies such as diabetic coma.

Long-term complications, on the other hand, occur due to uncontrolled high blood sugar levels, which can damage small blood vessels, large blood vessels, and non-blood vessels.

Disorders of small blood vessels can lead to blindness and kidney disorders. Disorders of large blood vessels can lead to coronary heart disease and stroke.

Meanwhile, long-term non-blood vessel complications include fatty liver and impaired intestinal peristalsis.