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What is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes happens when blood glucose levels start to become higher than normal, but are not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Results indicating prediabetes are:
A1C
5.7-6.4%
Fasting Blood Glucose (FPG)
100-125 mg/dL
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)
140-199 mg/dL
If your doctor mentions prediabetes, take action! This is a great time to begin eating healthier and get active. Both of these can help glucose levels stay on the right side of the border. Get your glucose levels checked yearly to see if further action needs to be taken.
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Complications
Elevated glucose levels can lead to complications over time. Glucose in the bloodstream causes damage to the walls of blood vessels. This can be prevented by early diagnosis, treatment and taking good care of yourself.
Common complications include: numbness/tingling in hands/feet (neuropathy), wounds/cuts that are slow to heal (leading to infection/amputation), damage to the blood vessels in the eyes (retinopathy), reduction in kidney function (nephropathy), delayed emptying of the stomach when you eat (gastroparesis) and mental health problems (depression).
Source: www.diabetes.org
Diabetes
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes occurs when an organ in your body called the pancreas does not produce enough of a hormone called insulin. This results in blood glucose (sugar) levels in your blood to rise higher than normal.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, your body either does not produce enough insulin, or the body cannot use insulin properly.
Type 1 diabetes is less common and usually diagnosed earlier in life. It occurs due to an auto-immune response that is triggered in the body causing the pancreas to eventually stop producing insulin.
Over time your pancreas isn't able to keep up and can't make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels.
When you eat, your food is broken down into a sugar called glucose. Without insulin doing its job properly, the glucose cannot get into the cells in your body to supply it with energy. Glucose remains in the blood stream and gets higher and higher.
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Symptoms
Urinating often, excessive thirst and hunger, tiredness, blurry vision, cuts/wounds that are not healing in a normal amount of time, numbness and tingling in hands/feet and weight changes. Discuss any of these with your doctor.
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How is diabetes diagnosed?
Diabetes can be diagnosed using fasting blood glucose (FPG) level.
Normal
less than 100 mg/dl
Prediabetes
100 - 125 mg/dl
Diabetes
126 mg/dl or higher
Diabetes can also be diagnosed with a 2 hour random (non-fasting) blood glucose that is greater than or equal to 200 mg/dl.
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A1C
The A1C test is a measurement of your average blood glucose for the past 2 to 3 months. Diabetes is diagnosed at an A1C of greater than or equal to 6.5%
Normal
less than 5.7%
Prediabetes
5.7% - 6.4%
Diabetes
6.5% or higher
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Treatment
There are more treatment options that ever before. The main ones include: diet modification, increased physical activity, medication (oral meds and/or insulin) and managing mental health (counseling/support groups)