Prediabetes happens when your blood sugar level is too high but is not high enough to lead to a diagnosis of diabetes. This condition can also be called impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. People with type 2 diabetes are much more prone to prediabetes. Since this condition can be hard to diagnose, often people are not aware that they have it until the condition has progressed.
The symptoms of prediabetes can be mild in most cases. Diagnosis of this condition, however, can help prevent patients from ending up with diabetes.
The symptoms of prediabetes are mild in most cases but might include the following:
The exact cause of prediabetes is not known. Family history and genetics might play a role in the disease, however, damage to the pancreas can also lead to prediabetes.
The risk factors for prediabetes are:
There are a couple of tests that can be done to diagnose patients with prediabetes:
This test requires that patients do not eat for 8 hours. Their blood sugar is then tested. If your blood sugar is 100 to 125 mg/dl, you are considered to be prediabetic. You are considered to be diabetic if your blood sugar is 126 mg/dl or higher.
If you have taken the fasting plasma glucose test, you will likely also be asked to take the oral glucose tolerance test. This test is done by having patients take a syrupy liquid that is full of sugar. After two hours, your blood sugar will be tested. If your blood sugar levels are 140 to 199 mg/dl, you will be diagnosed with prediabetes. If your blood sugar is 200 mg/dl or higher, you will be diagnosed with diabetes.
Prediabetes often responds very well to treatment. Treatment includes eating a healthy diet that is low in sugar. You will also be encouraged to exercise more and to stop smoking if you are a smoker. Your doctor will also test your blood pressure to treat high blood pressure which is a potentially related condition to diabetes.
If your prediabetes does not respond to changes in diet and exercise, you will probably be put on blood sugar medications like insulin for a period of time. You might be able to stop using these medications once your blood sugar levels are back to normal levels.
Preventing prediabetes requires eating a low-sugar diet and making sure that you are staying active. You will also want to quit smoking and reduce your alcohol intake.