Health · Diabetes · Preventive Care
If you've been feeling unusually thirsty, tired, or making more trips to the loo than normal and put it down to a busy few weeks, it's worth pausing on that.
This guide covers the early signs Diabetes UK recommends looking out for, why so many cases get missed, and what to do if this sounds familiar.
The official list — what Diabetes UK says to look for
According to Diabetes UK, a lot of people don't get noticeable symptoms of type 2 diabetes at all, or don't notice them until someone points them out. When symptoms do show up, they typically include:
Extra glucose in the blood makes the kidneys work harder, pulling more fluid along with it.
Losing more fluid through urination leaves you thirstier, even if you're already drinking plenty.
When the body can't use glucose properly for energy, tiredness creeps in without any real change to sleep or activity.
Unexplained weight loss, especially alongside other symptoms here, deserves attention.
Overlooked more than most, but high blood sugar makes thrush more likely — sometimes one of the earlier signs in women.
High blood sugar can affect circulation and the body's ability to repair itself.
Excess glucose can cause the lens of the eye to swell temporarily, affecting focus.
Blood sugar swings can affect mood in ways that are easy to blame on stress or a bad week.
None of these on their own means you have diabetes. But several together, especially if they've been building for weeks rather than days, is a reasonable enough reason to see a GP.
Why so many cases go unnoticed
Type 2 diabetes tends to develop gradually, sometimes over years, rather than announcing itself all at once. That's exactly what makes it so easy to miss.
Tiredness gets blamed on work. Extra thirst gets put down to warm weather or exercise. Needing the loo more often gets waved away as “just one of those things.” Each symptom on its own has a dozen ordinary explanations, and it's only when you step back and look at the whole pattern over a few weeks that diabetes starts to look like the more obvious answer.
The surprising group most likely to be undiagnosed
Here's something that goes against the usual assumption: it isn't older adults who are most likely to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. It's younger ones.
Analysis from the Office for National Statistics found that half of adults aged 16 to 44 with type 2 diabetes were undiagnosed, compared with 27% of those aged 75 and over. Older adults are, on average, more likely to have already been checked and treated — while younger adults, who don't fit the usual mental picture of “someone with diabetes,” are less likely to get tested even when symptoms are there.
Weight follows a similar pattern. Being overweight or living with obesity does raise the risk, but 8% of adults in England who weren't in either category were found to have prediabetes — a stage where blood sugar sits higher than normal without yet being in diabetic range. Prediabetes overall affects around 12% of adults in England, roughly 5.1 million people, most of whom have no idea.
Age and weight are real risk factors. They're just not the whole story. The symptoms are worth paying attention to whether or not you fit the stereotype.
What HbA1c has to do with these symptoms
If a GP suspects diabetes from your symptoms, or you're checking your risk before anything's gone wrong, the test that confirms it is called HbA1c — a blood test measuring your average blood sugar over the past two to three months, rather than a single snapshot.
You don't need symptoms to ask for this test. If diabetes runs in your family, or you fall into a higher-risk group, it's reasonable to ask your GP about checking proactively rather than waiting to feel unwell.
What to do if this sounds familiar
If several of these symptoms have been around for a few weeks, the next step is straightforward: book a GP appointment and describe what you've noticed as specifically as you can. Not just “I've been tired” — when it started, how it's changed, what else has come alongside it.
Diabetes UK also has a free online tool called Know Your Risk, which takes a few minutes and gives you a general sense of whether you're in a higher-risk group — useful if you're not sure whether it's worth a GP visit yet, though it isn't a diagnosis and shouldn't stand in for one.
Try not to self-diagnose from a list, and try not to panic either. Most of these symptoms have other, more ordinary explanations. Paying attention isn't about assuming the worst — it's about catching things early enough that, if it does turn out to be diabetes or prediabetes, it's caught at the stage where it's easiest to manage.
How Hea helps you notice patterns, not diagnose
Hea isn't a medical device. It doesn't track blood sugar and it doesn't diagnose anything — that's not what it's there for. What it does is simpler: each day, you can tell Hea through WhatsApp how you're actually feeling — your energy, your sleep, anything on your mind — and note any changes you've noticed as you go.
The value isn't in any single conversation. It's in the questions themselves — specific ones, not a vague “how are you?” — which gradually help you see what you might otherwise miss day to day. A symptom that seems minor in the moment is much easier to spot as a real pattern once the same things — tiredness, thirst, a nagging worry — keep coming up in conversation with Hea, rather than trying to remember how long it's “sort of” been going on.
“I'd been feeling wiped out for what felt like ages but kept blaming work. It was Hea's actual questions — not a vague ‘how are you’, but ‘how did you sleep’, ‘are you thirstier than usual’ — that made me realise something wasn't right. I suddenly saw it hadn't been one bad week, it had been six. That's what finally got me to book a GP appointment. Turned out to be prediabetes, caught early enough to do something about it.”
Sarah, 52
Questions specific enough to notice a real pattern
Hea checks in each day through WhatsApp — not a vague “how are you”, but specific questions that make six quiet weeks impossible to miss.
See how Hea worksFrequently asked questions
Can you have diabetes and not know it?
Yes, and it's far more common than most people think. Around 30% of type 2 diabetes cases in England are currently undiagnosed — roughly a million adults. Symptoms often build up so slowly that they get mistaken for tiredness, stress, or simply getting older.
What are the early signs of diabetes in women specifically?
The core symptoms — increased thirst, needing the loo more, tiredness, unexplained weight loss — apply to everyone. Genital itching or thrush is one Diabetes UK highlights specifically, and it can sometimes be one of the earlier, more noticeable signs in women, since it's harder to explain away than general tiredness.
Is diabetes only something older or overweight people need to worry about?
No. Age and weight are genuine risk factors, but ONS data shows younger adults (16–44) are actually more likely to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes than those over 75, and a meaningful share of people with prediabetes aren't overweight or living with obesity. The symptoms are worth taking seriously whatever your age or size.
What test confirms a diabetes diagnosis?
HbA1c — a blood test measuring average blood sugar over the past two to three months rather than a single reading. It's used both to diagnose diabetes and, for people already diagnosed, to monitor how it's being managed over time.
Sources
- Diabetes UK, Type 2 diabetes symptoms — diabetes.org.uk/about-diabetes/type-2-diabetes/symptoms
- Diabetes UK, 30% of people living with type 2 diabetes in England are undiagnosed, ONS analysis shows — diabetes.org.uk
- Office for National Statistics, Risk factors for pre-diabetes and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in England: 2013 to 2019 — ons.gov.uk
- GOV.UK, Diabetes profile: statistical commentary, March 2025 — gov.uk
- Diabetes UK, Know Your Risk tool — diabetes.org.uk
