Is Increased Appetite A Symptom Of Diabetes?

Posted on Sun, 27 Sep 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 27 Sep 2015 Answered on

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : The past six or so weeks I have been experiencing hunger. I eat, then one hour or so later, I'm hungry again. My father and sister (both deceased) had diabetes. Is hunger a symptom?
Why is it taking so long to get an answer? Is hunger a symptom of diabetes?

Answered by Dr. Shehzad Topiwala (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Possibly

Detailed Answer:
Increased hunger is one of the symptoms of diabetes.

There are several others such as increased thirst, frequency of urination and unintentional weight loss.
Often there are no symptoms at all until blood glucoses rise very high, for example in the 300 plus range.

So it is best to get blood glucose levels checked in a laboratory. If your fasting glucose exceeds 125 or if your random glucose is 200 or more, it is likely you have diabetes

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar