Pre-Diabetes: Recently Diagnosed

    Pre-diabetes, also known as Impaired Glucose Tolerance, is the precursor to Type 2 diabetes.  Being pre-diabetic means that your body is starting to develop a resistance to insulin, which is the key to developing Type 2 diabetes.  This is an asymptomatic condition (a condition that has no symptoms) that currently affects approximately 18.2 million people in the United States.  People with pre-diabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be classified as a range of diabetes. Unfortunately, this condition is not usually accompanied by any symptoms to warn patients of its presence. However if caught early enough, treatment immediately following diagnosis can help to prevent progression of diabetes.

   Doctors are quickly discovering the importance of pre-diabetes diagnosis because treatment of this condition can help keep Type 2 diabetes at bay. In addition, medical studies have proven that the damage that affects the heart, blood vessels, eyes and kidneys in Type 2 diabetes patients often begins during the pre-diabetes stage. Therefore, treatment of pre-diabetes can also help to prevent or slow down damage of the vital organs.

 Who Should Be Tested for Pre-Diabetes?

      People 45 years of age or older


     People who have any risk factors for diabetes


     People who are overweight


     People who belong to a high risk ethnic group (African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and Pacific Islanders)


   People who have previously had abnormal glucose tolerance or have an impaired fasting glucose level


   Woman with a history of gestational diabetes and/or have delivered a baby that’s weighed more than 9 pounds


   People that have what appears to be the metabolic insulin resistance syndrome (high triglycerides and low HDL, central obesity and hypertension)

  Diagnosis

   Your doctor may perform two different blood tests to determine if you are suffering from pre-diabetes: the fasting blood glucose test and the oral glucose tolerance test.

  The fasting blood glucose test determines what your blood glucose level is after an 8 hour fasting period. This test determines if your body successfully metabolizes the sugar ingested through the food you eat. If your blood glucose level is found to be abnormal, you may be suffering from what’s referred to as “impaired fasting glucose”. A normal FPG is less than 100 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), whereas people suffering from pre-diabetes have an FPG of 100 mg/dL – 125 mg/dL.

  The oral glucose tolerance test is usually done within two hours after the fasting blood glucose test.  For this test, you must drink a beverage containing a large amount of glucose and if after two hours of consuming the drink your glucose is found to be abnormal you suffer from what’s referred to as “impaired glucose tolerance”. A normal OGTT is under 140 mg/dL whereas a person suffering from pre-diabetes has an OGTT of 140mg/dL – 199 mg/dL.

  Both of these tests are an accurate way to measure pre-diabetes as both impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance are symptoms of pre-diabetes.

 Treatment

The treatment for Type 1.5 diabetes is much like that for Type 2.  It includes:

   Losing weight through portion control, caloric restriction and a well-balanced diet to achieve a five to 10 percent weight reduction

   Exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week

   Quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption

   Immediately treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol

  With early diagnosis and immediate treatment you can nip pre-diabetes in the bud and significantly lower your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

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