For some people, the signs of diabetes are obvious, but that's not always the case.

"You don't need to have those symptoms to become diabetic or to be diabetic. So if you're not losing weight, if you are not feeling very thirsty or urinating a lot, you can still be diabetic once they do the lab work," DHR Health Endocrinologist Dr. Melany Castillo said.

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Doctors say this can make it tricky to diagnose.

Once someone does get diagnosed, it becomes a lifetime of managing the disease.

"As a person who has diabetes, you have to control your symptoms, because unfortunately eventually you're going to develop the complications, and you're just going to go downhill," South Texas Health Systems Trauma Surgeon Carlos H. Palacio said.

One of the best ways to learn about the risk for diabetes is to check your blood sugar levels with a glucose screening.

HEB and STHS are offering free glucose screenings all month long. For a schedule and locations, click here.