Types of Diabetes

The types of diabetes are Pre-Diabetes, Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, and Gestational diabetes. The symptoms of diabetes includes: Increased thirst (polydipsia) and dry mouth, Frequent urination, Fatigue, Blurred vision, Unexplained weight loss, Numbness or tingling in your hands or feet, Slow-healing sores or cuts or Frequent skin and/or vaginal yeast infections.

Pre-Diabetes

Prediabetes is defined as having blood sugar glucose (sugar) levels that are higher than normal, but not yet at point that defines diabetes. Researchers estimate that 84 million adults in the U.S. have diabetes. It affects more than 1 in 3 adults under age 65 and half of people over 65 in the U.S. More than 80% of people with pre-diabetes don't know they have it, as often has no symptoms.

Several factors can contribute to insulin resistance, including:

Genetics
Excess body fat, especially in your belly and around your organs (visceral fat)
Physical inactivity
Eating highly processed, high-carbohydrate foods and saturated fats frequently
Certain medications, like long-term steroid use
Hormonal disorders, like hypothyroidism and Cushing syndrome
Chronic stress and a lack of quality sleep

For the few people who do experience symptoms of prediabetes, they may include:

Darkened skin in your armpit or back and sides of your neck (acanthosis nigricans)
Skin tags
Eye changes that can lead to diabetes-related retinopathy

Most people with prediabetes don’t have any symptoms. This is why it’s important to see your primary care provider regularly so they can do screenings, like a basic metabolic panel, to check on your blood sugar levels. This is the only way to know if you have prediabetes.

For more information, visit: Prediabetes: What Is It, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition which is believed to be an autoimmune condition. In this condition, the pancreas makes little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone the body uses to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults but can be diagnosed at any age, and symptoms often develop quickly. Different factors, such as genetics and some viruses, may cause type 1 diabetes. Although type 1 diabetes usually appears during childhood or adolescence, it can develop in adults.

Even after a lot of research, type 1 diabetes has no cure. Treatment is directed toward managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications.

Type 1 diabetes symptoms can appear suddenly and may include:

Feeling more thirsty than usual
Frequent urination
Bed-wetting in children who have never wet the bed during the night
Feeling very hungry
Losing weight without trying
Feeling irritable or having other mood changes
Feeling tired and weak
Having blurry vision
Diet and lifestyle to prevent complications.

Over time, type 1 diabetes complications can affect major organs in the body. These organs include the heart, blood vessels, nerves (neuropathy), eyes and kidneys (nephropathy). Having a normal blood sugar level can lower the risk of many complications.

Diabetes complications can lead to disabilities or even threaten your life.

Heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes increases the risk of some problems with the heart and blood vessels. These include coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke, narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and high blood pressure.
Nerve damage (neuropathy). Too much sugar in the blood can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that feed the nerves. This is especially true in the legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain. This usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and spreads upward. Poorly controlled blood sugar could cause you to lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs over time.

Damage to the nerves that affect the digestive system can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. For men, erectile dysfunction may be an issue.
Kidney damage (nephropathy). The kidneys have millions of tiny blood vessels that keep waste from entering the blood. Diabetes can damage this system. Severe damage can lead to kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease that can't be reversed. End-stage kidney disease needs to be treated with mechanical filtering of the kidneys (dialysis) or a kidney transplant.
Eye damage. Diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the retina (part of the eye that senses light) (diabetic retinopathy). This could cause blindness. Diabetes also increases the risk of other serious vision conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma.
Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of some foot complications. Left untreated, cuts and blisters can become serious infections. These infections may need to be treated with toe, foot or leg removal (amputation).
Skin and mouth conditions. Diabetes may leave you more prone to infections of the skin and mouth. These include bacterial and fungal infections. Gum disease and dry mouth also are more likely.
Pregnancy complications. High blood sugar levels can be dangerous for both the parent and the baby. The risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects increases when diabetes isn't well-controlled. For the parent, diabetes increases the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, diabetic eye problems (retinopathy), pregnancy-induced high blood pressure and preeclampsia.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes starts out as insulin resistance. This means your body cannot use insulin efficiently, which causes your pancreas to produce more insulin until it cannot keep up with demand. Insulin production then decreases, which causes high blood sugar.

The exact cause of type 2 diabetes is unknown. Contributing factors may include: genetics, a more sedentary lifestyle and higher weight or obesity.

Common Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes:

Urinating often
Feeling very thirsty
Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating
Extreme fatigue
Blurry vision
Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet

Some of the complications from Type 2 diabetes are hypertension, renal disease or kidney disease, loss of vision, and nerve damage

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. This type of diabetes only happens during pregnancy. It is often seen in people with preexisting prediabetes and a family history of diabetes. About 50 percent of people diagnosed with gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes. Women with gestational diabetes often have no symptoms, which is why it's important for at-risk women to be tested at the proper time during pregnancy. Maintaining a healthy weight, diet and exercising are important to assist in prevention.

Type 3 Diabetes

Type 3 diabetes is a controversial name sometimes used to refer to Alzheimer's disease, a type of progressive dementia. Strong links have been made between the two conditions, most notably that dementia may be triggered by a type of insulin resistance occurring specifically in the brain. The symptoms of the proposed type 3 diabetes condition may include symptoms of dementia, such as those seen in early Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, these symptoms can include:

memory loss that affects daily living and social interactions
difficulty completing familiar tasks
misplacing things often
decreased ability to make judgments based on information
sudden changes in personality or demeanor

Information was retrieved from the following sources:

healthline.com

Newly Diagnosed with Diabetes | ADA