Prediabetes is a condition in which the person has higher than normal levels of blood sugar, but they aren’t as high to be categorized under diabetes. If left untreated, the situation can turn into full-blown type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or even stroke.
The good news is that prediabetes can be reversed. Those who make lifestyle changes and work to defeat the situation comprehensively are usually successful. Those who ignore the warning signs end up suffering from diabetes within a decade.
The exact reason why prediabetes as a condition develops in an individual is still a mystery. In a healthy body, when the food is eaten, it is broken down into glucose molecules. These are the smallest units that the body can use to release energy. The pancreas produces a hormone, insulin that is responsible for delivering the glucose molecules to the cells. As the food gets digested, the blood sugar levels increase, and this triggers the pancreas to release insulin. As insulin courses through in the bloodstream, the glucose gets delivered to the cells and energy is released.
In those who have this condition, either the body becomes resistant to insulin, or it doesn’t produce it in enough quantities. This leads to high blood sugar levels. If the situation is not controlled, it can snowball into diabetes.
A condition in which blood sugar is high, but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. Without intervention, it’s likely to become type 2 diabetes within 10 years.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka – MBBS, MD(Pediatrics)
Many risk factors contribute to the condition.
People usually mistaken appearance of black velvety patches on neck, behind the neck, elbows, inner thighs, armpits etc. These are early signs of insulin resistance which need blood sugar testing.
Dr. Arpit Verma, MBBS, MD (Pharmacology)
While there are no apparent symptoms of prediabetes, there are certain warning signs. Darkened skin on the body, especially, neck, armpits, knees, elbows and knuckles region. Other warning signs are:
High blood sugar levels are responsible for creating a more dehydrated environment in the body. This makes the person very thirsty.
Since the person ends up drinking so many fluids, the body throws out the excess water as urine. Another reason why frequent urination happens is that there is a high level of blood sugar. This creates toxicity in the body and signals the kidneys to throw out the excess sugar as urine.
Since the person cannot utilize the glucose released from food, he continually feels fatigued and has low energy levels.
Fluctuating sugar levels lead to a blurring in the vision. The eyes can look because of a lens present in them. This lens bends and stretches to form images. Due to a high amount of glucose in the blood, the lens loses its flexibility. In most cases, if the sugar is brought under control, it leads to the restoration of vision.
Women identified with prediabetes in early pregnancy have been reported to have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared with women with lower HbA1c levels, it should usually go away after the pregnancy, but a close follow-up is very necessary.
Dr Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.
Those women who have prediabetes suffer from frequent UTIs. The high sugar in the body provides a conducive environment for viruses and bacteria to prosper leading to frequent infections in the genital organs.
It can be diagnosed with the help of simple blood tests. The following tests can be conducted:
This is the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. The doctor advises eating nothing post-dinner the night before. Early morning after taking a blood sample, a glucose drink is given to the person. Two hours later, another blood sample is taken. If the blood glucose level after two hours comes between 144- 190 mg/dL, you have prediabetes.
This is similar to OGTT. After your dinner the night before, you are not supposed to eat anything. In the morning, a blood sample is taken. If the blood glucose comes between 100 and 125 mg/dL, you have prediabetes.
In most cases of prediabetes, lifestyle changes are recommended. Your doctor will guide you on how to improve the situation, but the following points are usually mentioned.
Weight loss, at less than five to 10%, can reduce the risks of developing diabetes. Those who are overweight or obese are more at risk of high sugar levels.
Eating a high fibre diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains is recommended to improve health.
Read More About 4 Best Foods for Diabetics
Many people feel that eating a low carbohydrate diet helps to reduce sugar levels. Replace carbs with protein to stay healthy.
Exercising helps to reduce blood glucose levels and improve mood. Even a 30-minute walk, five days a week can work wonders. Read more about the health benefits of exercise.
If left untreated, prediabetes can have serious complications. Apart from diabetes, the following complications can develop.
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Disclaimer: The information included at this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation
Diabetes has almost become a disease of epidemic proportions. A chronic condition, it has no cure. The surprising thing is most people who have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes do not show any symptoms. It is because of this; the condition is also known as a ‘Silent Killer.’
The pancreas produces a hormone known as Insulin, which is essential for efficient glucose metabolism in the body. When the food is broken down, it gets converted to glucose molecules. These enter the bloodstream, and it is insulin that is responsible for delivering them to the cell for assimilation and for being used to provide energy.
Due to several factors such as gene expression, obesity, too much sugar consumption, a sedentary lifestyle, making wrong food choices and stress, the body stops assimilating the glucose coursing through the bloodstream. This could happen because it becomes resistant to insulin or that it stops producing it in sufficient quantities causing the onset of diabetes. Since it hampers efficient glucose metabolism, the glucose levels in the blood increase.
Apart from common complications like nausea, dizziness, headaches and vision problems amongst others, diabetes also leads to more severe complications like heart disease, loss of limbs, neural and muscular atrophy and severe organ damage, especially to the kidneys and the eyes.
The condition may not show any obvious symptoms, but there are enough warning signs that become apparent when the body has high blood sugar levels.
When the blood sugar levels increase, the body reacts by attempting to throw it out to achieve a state of equilibrium. The seat of this activity is the kidneys. They produce more urine to reduce glucose in the blood and throw it out as toxins. This leads to frequent urination. If you have been making recurrent trips to the washroom, observe if you have other type 2 diabetes warning signs and talk to your doctor.
High blood sugar leads to frequent urination. To combat this excessive loss of fluid and to maintain equilibrium in the body, one feels thirsty again and again. If you notice that you are guzzling down gallons of water, talk to your doctor. You could have diabetes as this is one of the type 2 diabetes warning signs.
Vitamin D is an essential component for controlling blood glucose levels, it stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas and so correction of vitamin D deficiency may result in improved glucose control and has beneficial effects on complications of type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.
The body loses a lot of fluids which leads to dry skin and a dry mouth. These are signs of dehydration. Many people also suffer from itchy skin due to loss of moisture and an imbalance in the body’s electrolytes. Beware of dry and itchy skin as this is one of the type 2 diabetes warning signs.
Another type 2 diabetes warning sign is a sudden, unexpected weight loss. This is because of the loss of fluids and burning more calories through all the frequent urination. Also, those with diabetes cannot metabolize the blood glucose leading to weight loss.
Craving food all the time? Watch out as this is one of the Type 2 Diabetes warning signs. This is the eternal paradox of diabetes. One has high blood sugar levels because of all the glucose coursing through in the bloodstream, but the person still feels impoverished of energy. To get energy, the body demands more glucose, making the person feel hungry.
Excessive hunger may have another reason for people with diabetes. The body becomes resistant to insulin. This sends a signal to the pancreas to produce more insulin. High insulin levels in the blood signal the brain to demand more food to balance out the hormone.
Pre diabetes also has same signs and symptoms of diabetes. Prediabetes means you have a higher than normal blood sugar level. It’s not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes yet. But without lifestyle changes, adults and children with prediabetes are at high risk to develop type 2 diabetes in 10 years.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD
Pain in the foot and more extreme cases, numbness in the feet, is a type 2 diabetes warning sign. This could be because of damage to the nerves in the legs. High levels of blood sugar, over a period, cause neuropathy or nerve damage. Since the legs are at the extremities of the body, they are the first to get affected by diabetic neuropathy. The person may also notice a tingling sensation or pain in the feet.
Women who are not aware that they have diabetes suffer from urinary tract infections quite frequently. High blood sugar levels provide the perfect breeding grounds for yeast and bacteria in the vagina to increase leading to recurring yeast and bacterial infections and vaginal thrush. Controlling blood sugar helps a lot in reducing the frequency of these infections.
Frequent and rapid changes in the blood sugar levels lead to changes in the lens in the eye. The lens changes its shape to accommodate the formation of images in the eye. With uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, the lens loses its ability to change its shape. The eyes muscles have to work more to accommodate this loss of flexibility. It is one of the early type 2 diabetes warning signs. Once the body adapts to the high sugar levels, the vision returns to normal.
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This is another of the type 2 diabetes warning signs. High blood sugar levels lead to frequent headaches and, in more severe cases, even a loss of consciousness. The person also feels extremely tired due to fluctuating sugar levels.
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If you show any of these Type 2 diabetes warning signs, talk to your doctor and get yourself checked. A simple blood sugar test will be done to determine your blood sugar levels. While the disease doesn’t have a cure yet, effective diabetes management can be done through exercise, meal planning and taking medications on time. People who have diabetes live on to have healthy, quality lives. They have to ensure that their blood sugar levels stay stable and do not fluctuate too much.
Read More About: How To Control Diabetes?
Disclaimer: The information included at this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that affects the pancreas. In this, the body is unable to properly process the energy released from the food leading to high sugar levels. When this happens over a period, it causes organ damage and other serious complications. There are no apparent reasons why people get diabetes, but many factors in their genes and lifestyle increase their odds of suffering from this disease. Diabetes mellitus can occur because of two reasons. Either the pancreas does not produce a sufficient amount of insulin, a hormone essential for using sugar in the body (Type 1) or because the body develops resistance to the insulin coursing through the system (Type 2). A third kind is known as Gestational Diabetes which occurs when a pregnant woman without a previous history of diabetes develops high sugar levels.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by persistent hyperglycemia. It may be due to impaired insulin secretion, resistance to peripheral actions of insulin, or both. Chronic hyperglycemia in synergy with the other metabolic aberrations in patients with diabetes mellitus can cause damage to various organ systems, leading to the development of disabling and life-threatening health complications, most prominent of which are microvascular (retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy) and macrovascular complications leading to a 2-fold to 4-fold increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD
Following are the most common symptoms:
If you have type 1 diabetes, you need insulin therapy to stay healthy. It replaces the insulin your body doesn’t make. If you have type 2 diabetes, insulin therapy might be part of your treatment. It’s needed when healthy lifestyle changes and other diabetes treatments don’t control your blood sugar well enough.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.
Diabetes mellitus has no cure. It is a chronic disease that can be best managed by keeping the blood sugar levels under control. However, care must be taken that the sugar levels don’t get too low as that is more harmful and can even be fatal.
Most importantly, this condition requires medical intervention, therefore, do not self-diagnose or take medications without proper consultation.People can live healthy lives with diabetes provided they keep their sugar levels in check. With a proper lifestyle and medications, many live long, quality lives.
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