'I'm a doctor - the first hidden signs of diabetes can show up at night long before a diagnosis'

Diabetes often creeps in quietly, yet the body has ways of hinting at it long before an official diagnosis is made. According to a physical and medical education lead at Medicheck, Dr Daniel Grant, a broken night’s sleep and a stubborn skin infection are just some of the signs that get blamed on anything but high blood sugar.In fact, for the majority of people, the first sign isn’t fatigue but disrupted sleep. Dr Grant told GB News: “It shows up mainly at night, not at bedtime.”High blood sugar draws fluid into the bladder, triggering repeated trips to the toilet followed by thirst, a drink of water, and another wake-up soon after. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say But it’s the knock-on effect that most people actually notice.“That broken sleep often leaves people foggy the next day, which they put down to poor sleep rather than blood sugar,” Dr Grant explained.This makes it an easy pattern to misread, since exhaustion and brain fog have so many everyday explanations.Skin and yeast

News Aug 7, 2026 0 2 Add to Reading List

'I'm a doctor - the first hidden signs of diabetes can show up at night long before a diagnosis'

Diabetes often creeps in quietly, yet the body has ways of hinting at it long before an official diagnosis is made.

According to a physical and medical education lead at Medicheck, Dr Daniel Grant, a broken night’s sleep and a stubborn skin infection are just some of the signs that get blamed on anything but high blood sugar.

In fact, for the majority of people, the first sign isn’t fatigue but disrupted sleep. Dr Grant told GB News: “It shows up mainly at night, not at bedtime.”

High blood sugar draws fluid into the bladder, triggering repeated trips to the toilet followed by thirst, a drink of water, and another wake-up soon after.

But it’s the knock-on effect that most people actually notice.

“That broken sleep often leaves people foggy the next day, which they put down to poor sleep rather than blood sugar,” Dr Grant explained.

This makes it an easy pattern to misread, since exhaustion and brain fog have so many everyday explanations.

Skin and yeast infections are other overlooked markers, but here too, it’s the pattern that counts.

“These are about recurrence, not timing,” Dr Grant stressed.

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Excessive blood sugar in urine and on the skin creates ideal conditions for yeast, so thrush that keeps returning or skin infections that are slow to clear are both worth paying attention to.

Over time, some individuals develop darkened velvety patches of skin at the neck or armpits due to insulin resistance.

What is the best way to catch diabetes early?

The timing of tests is important for spotting diabetes early, as Dr Grant explained: “A fasting blood glucose reading gives the clearest baseline and is the standard way to catch hidden diabetes early.”

It should be taken before eating or drinking anything but water and at least eight hours after the last meal. Dr Grant is also quick to note that it isn’t a test he would recommend doing casually at home.