Do I Have Prediabetes or Diabetes? Guide to Diagnosis and Management

High blood sugar levels are referred to as a condition called Prediabetes or Diabetes. You can manage your blood sugar levels by adopting some healthy lifestyle and diet habits to prevent the condition from progressing to type 2 diabetes. If you’re diagnosed with a prediabetic condition, it means your blood sugar level is above normal but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. According to a medical survey, around 95 million adults in the country are diagnosed with prediabetes. That means every 1 person out of 3 is living with the initial stage of diabetes in the country. 

Research approved that there are 30 to 35% chances of developing diabetes from the prediabetic phase in as little as 2 to 4 years. However, certain interventions including physical activity and weight loss strategies can help reduce the chances of developing diabetes from the prediabetes stage. Medical studies stated that people living with prediabetes symptoms or diagnosed with diabetes have a greater risk of developing heart disease. The chances of getting heart disease are less in normal people than in diabetic or prediabetic people. You can ask for help from your healthcare provider to diagnose if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Healthcare providers and doctors perform four popular tests to find out whether you have higher levels of blood sugar or not. Let’s learn about the procedures of such tests!

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

In this test, your doctor draws your blood after a night of fat and then a second time after three to four hours after you drink a sugary beverage. This is a time-consuming procedure. Although it’s normal to raise your blood sugar level after consuming a sugary drink. However, it should fall below 130 mg/dL after three hours. If your blood sugar level remains at 131 to 199 mg/dL after three hours, you are assumed to be a prediabetic while a sugar level of 200 mg/dL or more is an indication of type 2 diabetes.

Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPGT)

This test is performed when you are fasting overnight. It helps measure accurate sugar levels in your blood. After overnight fasting the normal results should be 100 mg/dL but the readings of blood sugar levels more than 100 mg/dL and below 130 mg/dL indicate prediabetes and above 130 mg/dL indicates diabetes. In this situation, the test is performed again on a different day to confirm the diagnosis.

A1C Test

Doctors usually perform A1C tests to measure the percentage of sugar. They try to count the amount of glucose attached to the hemoglobin protein found in your red blood cells. Higher levels of A1C are referred to as higher blood sugar levels. This test is performed in several ways, including:

• HbA1C Test.
• Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test
• Hemoglobin A1C Test.

An average blood sugar level is indicated with the A1C level below 5.9% meaning it should be lower than 118 milligrams per deciliter. While an A1C level above 5.8% and below 6.5% are labeled as prediabetes. A1C levels of more than 6.5% indicate diabetes. Doctors recheck the results if there are any questionable results.

Random Plasma Glucose Test (RPGT)

This blood test can be performed at any time of the day when you are not fasting. This may help to determine the blood sugar levels at that moment in time. If the results of RPGT are around 200 mg/dL or more, it indicates diabetes and you will experience diabetes symptoms in such conditions. If the results are higher than the optimum level, the doctors will conduct other tests to confirm the diagnosis.

Symptoms of Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a silent condition that doesn’t have specific and expressive indications or symptoms. The only way to get informed about your current blood sugar levels is to get in touch with your primary healthcare provider. So that they can keep check on your metabolic speed and blood sugar levels. Any disturbed level can make them alert and they will inform you of how much chances are to have prediabetes.

However, according to medical research about prediabetes, the common symptoms that a prediabetic person experiences include:

• Skin tags.
• Eye changes that may be a sign of retinopathy.
• Dark-colored skin around your neck and armpits.  

Causes of Prediabetes

Its causes are much more similar to the causes of type 2 diabetes, including insulin resistance. This resistance usually occurs when your vital organs and their cells get unresponsive to insulin. Where insulin hormone is a secretion of your pancreas that helps regulate your blood sugar levels naturally. The insufficient amount of insulin causes an elevated level of blood sugar leading to pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Factors Contributing to Insulin Resistance

There are several factors that contribute to insulin resistance, such as:

• Long-term steroid use in the form of medications for certain diseases.
• Physical inactivity.
• Accumulation of excessive fats around your vital organs particularly in your abdomen.
• Genetic changes.
• Lack of good quality sleep.
• Chronic stress or anxiety.
• Hormonal diseases such as Cushing Syndrome and Hypothyroidism.
• Eating an imbalanced diet rich in carbohydrates and processed foods.

Risk Factors for Prediabetes

Several risk factors are listed in the journal published by Health and Life organization in 2022, but the most important and familiar risk factors include:

• Smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages.
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome “(PCOS).
• Parents having type 2 diabetes.
• Being physically inactive and lack of exercise.
• Obesity and overweight.
• Older age, such as more than 50 years.
• Having gestational diabetes at any stage of life.
• Obstructive sleep apnea.

Although risk factors are sometimes uncontrolled and it is impossible to change such as your age, genetic makeup, or family history, there is still good news for you: some risk factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity can be improved to lower the chances of having prediabetes.

Therefore, talking to your healthcare provider in case of experiencing any symptoms or getting in contact with any risk factor can ensure your long-term health.

Complications Related to Diabetes

The most dangerous complication of prediabetes is its conversion to type 2 diabetes. Untreated or unchecked type 2 diabetes can cause serious health conditions including:

• Nerve damage.
• Stoke and heart attack.
• Kidney damage or kidney failure.
• Eyesight problems.

Prevention Of prediabetes is necessary because the reversal of prediabetes is possible but in the case of diabetes, it is impossible to reverse the condition.

Management of Prediabetes

An intimate diagnosis of prediabetes can help you take effective steps to reduce your chances of developing diabetes and return your blood sugar levels to normal levels. Some more steps for the management of prediabetes are:

Getting Physically Active

Being physically active is an important way to manage prediabetes. Try to perform regular workouts for 20 minutes on a daily basis. If You’re a beginner and were not involved in physical activities before, start with slow and light exercises. Then slowly increase the strength and duration of workouts.

If you’re not interested in doing regular exercises, you can add some lifestyle changes that can help you as an exercise. For example, you can park farther away from your office or home or use the stairs instead of an escalator. Make a habit of having a walk around your colony with your friend or a beloved family member after dinner.

Once you start to get involved in some physical activity, you can easily adopt an increased activity level with vigorous strength training including a workout season or jogging.

However, a doctor’s approval is necessary before beginning a new workout session. Your doctor will help you to know if there is any activity you should avoid or monitor like your breathing rate or heart rate.

Maintaining a Moderate Weight

Exercising while eating a balanced diet can help you attain a balanced and moderate weight. To maintain a moderate weight, you can take help from your dietitian. They can help you determine the accurate number of calories you need each day. In the case of weight loss recommendations, you will determine how much weight you should try to lose per week to get an ideal weight. 

Enhanced restrictive diet plans and extreme physical activity cannot be suitable for getting realistic results and long-term health maintenance. Such practices are considered unhealthy and not sustainable in several cases. Therefore, following the recommendations of a certified dietitian can help you lose weight at a reasonable rate.

Eating a Healthy Diet

Taking a balanced and healthy diet is associated with lowering the risk of developing diabetes. Sometimes, eating changes can be challenging for you but small changes can be helpful at the start. Track the calories you are taking every day so that you may understand what food items you should eat less or more. Therefore, prefer to choose food from each of five food groups for your daily diet plan:

• Dairy products.
• Fruits.
• Vegetables.
• Grains.
• Proteins.

Along with these food groups, healthy fat consumption in moderate quantities is necessary as well. Set a goal to eat natural and pure food instead of processed or frozen foods. Minimally processed foods with a small amount of fiber, added sugars and unhealthy fats are also adjustable. 

For instance, you can add salad to your lunch and dinner to consume more fresh vegetables. But remember salad dressings or dips are not allowed as these things can add unhealthy fats or extra unnecessary calories to your diet. Therefore, it is advised to select nutrient-dense foods and avoid foods rich in empty calories. You should also switch out simple carbohydrates for complex carbohydrates.

Outlook for Prediabetes

Prediabetes often does not have noticeable symptoms. It also leads to type 2 diabetes and increases your blood sugar level too dangerous. People with age more than 50 or having a family history of diabetes are more likely to have diabetes. 

The health center of the country recommends regular testing of blood sugar levels if you are above age 50 or obese. Other risk factors include:

• Excessive amounts of triglycerides in your blood, like more than 250 mg/dL.
• Delivery of a high-weight baby in past pregnancy.
• Certain races including, Asian American, Pacific Islander ancestry, African American, and Native American.
• Higher blood pressure i.e. 140/90 mm Hg.
• Cardiovascular diseases in the family.
• Certain conditions associated with insulin resistance include, acanthosis nigricans and polycystic ovary syndrome.
• A blood sugar level higher than 100 mg/dL with fasting.

Along with exercise and healthy eating, sometimes doctors a; so prescribe some medications that may help regulate your blood sugar level within an optimal range and lose your body weight as well. Following a healthy lifestyle;e helps in preventing progress from pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes.

Living with Prediabetes

Along with following the recommendations from your healthcare provider’s medical guidance for managing prediabetes, you can also practice some other things to help make life easier with prediabetes, including:

Taking Care of Mental Health: Widespread misunderstandings and stigma about prediabetes often make people mentally disturbed. The disturbance causes stress and anxiety. In this condition, talk to your mental health professional such as a psychologist. He can educate you on how to deal with emotional stress.

Educating your Family and Friends: Your family members and friends can help you and support you in the healing process after getting knowledge about signs, symptoms, and management ways for prediabetes.

Educating Yourself: Always ask your healthcare provider to manage your diabetes. As several factors are involved in increasing blood sugar levels, getting knowledge about all the factors and controlling them can help you in this journey.

Also remember ;

• Be kind to yourself.
• Keep an eye on your progress over protection because positive change will be helpful.
• Don’t bring too many changes at a time. Always focus on your goal to get healthy change at a time.

Conclusion

Knowledge is your strength, knowledge about prediabetes gives you the power to understand and manage the symptoms so that you can stop its progress to type 2 diabetes. You should also know how to make changes to curb or reverse the condition. Always believe in your healthcare provider and keep them beside you for getting perfect guidance towards healthy lifestyle changes effective for treating prediabetes. 

Seeing your healthcare provider regularly if you have prediabetes or are at risk for it will help you make plans according to your body’s needs. Your healthcare professional will let you know the effective ways to achieve the goal.