High blood sugar, more commonly referred to as hyperglycemia, is a heightened level of glucose in the blood. This level is ultimately affected by the amount of food you eat and the insulin in your body. When you eat something, the food is broken down and insulin is released to transport sugar from the blood into the cells where it is used as energy or stored as fat in the body. In a person whose body can't make insulin or use insulin as it should--as is the case in types I and II diabetes--the sugar level in the blood can become elevated (or lowered) and certain signs to manifest.
Thirst and Urination
One of the main signs of high blood sugar will basically revolve around the intake and expulsion of water (or a liquid of some sort). The reason this happens in the body senses the elevation in blood sugar. This initiates the kidneys to compensate the only way it knows how--by ridding the body of this extra sugar through urination. Since the body is now sending out so much more fluid, it needs to counteract this, which translates into an intensified thirst.
Weight Loss
Another sign that someone is suffering from high blood sugar is weight loss. The lack of insulin or inability to use insulin essentially deprives the body of glucose (its main fuel source). While the food we've just eaten may break down, the glucose from this food will not be delivered to our cells. Since the body isn't getting the fuel it needs, it will begin to use fat and muscle for energy, which will result in weight loss.
Fatigue
It shouldn't come as a surprise that many people suffering from high blood sugar will become tired, sometimes excessively so. This, much like weight loss, has everything to do with the way insulin is used (or not used) in the body. When your body isn't getting the appropriate amount of fuel it needs, even when it is using stored fat or muscle to feed itself, you will inevitably grow tired, and this fatigue will most likely increase as the days go by. If the elevation in blood sugar is left long enough, it will actually turn into a weakness.
Digestive Problems
Since the body is having a difficult time in relation to the creation of energy, many people, especially in more prolonged cases of high blood sugar, will begin to have issues involving their digestive systems. This will usually manifest as nausea and/or vomiting, but some will begin to suffer from abdominal pains and cramping. And, much like the increase in thirst, people have been known to experience an increased hunger. This has a lot to do with the body not getting the fuel it needs even when you've been eating. On occasion, a person may also undergo bouts of diarrhea. This works a lot like the increase in urination, as the body is trying to regulate itself.
Other Signs
As the body reacts to the elevation in blood sugar, it may manifest in different ways, including a change in vision (blurred), headaches, a change in breathing (rapid), confusion, numbness in the outer extremities (hand and feet) and even impotence.
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