The “three Ps” of diabetes are polydipsia, polyuria, and polyphagia. Respectively, these terms refer to increases in thirst, urination, and appetite.

The three Ps of diabetes are the most common symptoms people may experience just before they’re diagnosed.

Simply defined, these symptoms are:

  • Polydipsia: excessive thirst
  • Polyuria: frequent urination
  • Polyphagia: increased appetite

These symptoms may occur at the same time. Each can be a signal in helping a medical professional diagnose diabetes and treat the condition.

Polydipsia is the medical term for excessive thirst. If you’re experiencing polydipsia, you may feel thirsty all the time or have a persistently dry mouth.

In people with diabetes, polydipsia occurs due to increased blood glucose levels. When blood glucose levels get high, your kidneys produce more urine in an effort to remove the extra glucose from your body.

Meanwhile, because your body is losing fluids, your brain tells you to drink more to replace them, leading to intense thirst.

Persistent feelings of thirst can also occur due to:

  • dehydration
  • osmotic diuresis, an increase in urination due to excess glucose entering the kidney tubules that the body can’t reabsorb, leading to increased water in the tubules
  • mental health issues, such as psychogenic polydipsia

Polyuria is the term for passing more urine than normal. Most people produce about 1 to 2 liters (L) of urine per day (1 L equals about 4 cups). People with polyuria produce more than 3 L of urine in a day.

When blood glucose levels are too high, your body will try to remove some of the excess glucose via urination. This also leads to your kidneys filtering out more water, which causes an increased need to urinate.

Passing atypical amounts of urine can also be associated with other things besides diabetes, including:

Polyphagia is excessive hunger. Although we may all feel an increase in appetite in certain situations — such as after exercise or if we haven’t eaten in awhile — sometimes it can be a sign of an underlying condition.

In people with diabetes, glucose can’t enter cells for the body to use it for energy. This can be due to either low insulin levels or insulin resistance. Because your body can’t convert this glucose to energy, you’ll begin to feel very hungry.

The hunger associated with polyphagia doesn’t go away after consuming food. In fact, in people with unmanaged diabetes, eating more will just contribute to already high blood glucose levels.

Like polydipsia and polyuria, other factors and conditions can also cause polyphagia. Some examples include:

The three Ps of diabetes often occur together, but not always.

They may develop more quickly in people with type 1 diabetes and more slowly in those with type 2 diabetes.

Since the three Ps can indicate higher blood glucose levels, your doctor may consider them when making a diagnosis of diabetes. Your doctor will likely also consider other symptoms and information to determine if you have diabetes. For example, they will most likely order certain diagnostic blood tests.

Learn more about diabetes, symptoms you may experience, and what you might discuss with your healthcare team.

Prediabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than typical, but not high enough to diagnose type 2 diabetes.

People with prediabetes may not experience clear symptoms, such as the three Ps. Often, this condition can go undetected until blood sugars become higher and you develop type 2 diabetes.

Your healthcare team can help you understand if you’re at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and why blood sugar monitoring may be important.

The three P’s of diabetes are polydipsia, polyuria, and polyphagia. These terms correspond to increases in thirst, urination, and appetite.

The three Ps often occur together, but that’s not always the case. They may indicate you have higher blood sugar levels and could have developed a type of diabetes.

If you’re experiencing one or more of the three Ps, it’s best to consult your healthcare team to discuss your symptoms.