After a Prediabetes Diagnosis: How to Prevent Diabetes

Prediabetes: 7 Steps to Take Now

What to do to stop prediabetes from becoming diabetes.

By Winnie Yu
WebMD Feature

If you’ve just learned you have prediabetes, you’re not alone. According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 79 million people in the U.S. who have elevated blood sugars, but who don’t yet qualify for a diagnosis of diabetes. About 11% of people with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes within three years.

The same factors that cause prediabetes also cause diabetes. That includes lifestyle (diet and physical activity) and any risk you inherited from your family. Prediabetes can be diagnosed based on various blood tests, including the fasting blood glucose test, the oral glucose tolerance test, and the A1C glycated hemoglobin blood test. The results of those tests, in someone with prediabetes, are out of the healthy range but fall short of the diabetes range.

Recommended Related to Diabetes

Diabetes Care: Managing Your Time When You Have Diabetes

Sometimes, living with diabetes can seem like a full-time job -- trying to keep up with everything you need to do for proper diabetes care. "Diabetes is a very time-consuming disease to manage well," says Karmeen Kulkarni, MS, RD, CDE, and former president of health care and education for the American Diabetes Association. "The medication, the food, the physical activity -- you add life in general to that whole picture and it ends up being quite challenging."

Read the Diabetes Care: Managing Your Time When You Have Diabetes article > >

As scary as a prediabetes diagnosis might be, it’s best to treat this news as a wake-up call. “It’s an opportunity to initiate lifestyle changes or treatments, and potentially retard progression to diabetes or even prevent diabetes,” says Gregg Gerety, MD, chief of endocrinology at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, N.Y. “We know this not only through supposition but from clinical research.”

Tackling prediabetes with lifestyle changes is often the best way to start. Here’s what experts recommend you do to stop the progression to diabetes:

1. Become More Active

Regular physical activity is critical to reducing your risk for developing diabetes. But if it's been a while since you exercised, start by building more activity into your routine by taking the stairs or doing some stretching during TV commercials, says Patti Geil, MS, RD, CDE, author of What Do I Eat Now?

Let your doctor know that you're planning to start adding more activity to your day -- your doctor should be one of your biggest fans.

“Physical activity is an essential part of the treatment plan for prediabetes because it lowers blood glucose levels and decreases body fat,” Geil says. Ideally, you should exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

Can’t commit to a regular workout? Want to squeeze in more activity? Consider wearing a pedometer and tracking your steps. “Walking 10,000 steps a day is the equivalent of walking about five miles,” Geil says.

2. Lose Some Weight.

You don't have to whittle yourself down to your ideal weight. Losing relatively small amounts of weight can make a difference.

The Diabetes Prevention Trial found that people who had prediabetes who did 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise and lost 5% to 7% of their body weight were able to cut their odds of getting diabetes by 58%. For someone who weighs 200 pounds, that means losing just 10-14 pounds.

Answer:

Your level is currently NormalHigh (hyperglycemia).Low (hypoglycemia).

If the level is below 70 and you are experiencing symptoms such as shaking, sweating or difficulty thinking, you will need to raise the number immediately. A quick solution is to eat a few pieces of hard candy or 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey. Recheck your numbers again in 15 minutes to see if the number has gone up. If not, repeat the steps above or call your doctor.

People who experience hypoglycemia several times in a week should call their health care provider. It's important to monitor your levels each day so you can make sure your numbers are within the range. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.

Your blood sugar level is slightly high. You should call your health care provider and ask if laboratory tests to check for diabetes are needed. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.

Congratulations on taking steps to manage your health.

However, it's important to continue to track your numbers so that you can make lifestyle changes if needed. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.

Your level is currently normal. However, if you are concerned about diabetes speak with your physician. There may be other risk factors that increase your risk for diabetes.

Your level is high if this reading was taken before eating. Aim for 70-130 before meals and less than 180 two hours after meals.

Even if your number is high, it's not too late for you to take control of your health and lower your blood sugar.

One of the first steps is to monitor your levels each day. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.

Your blood sugar level may be high, depending on when you last ate. If you have not eaten for at least 8 hours, your blood sugar should be less than 100. If you've eaten within the last 2 hours, your blood sugar should be less than 140. You should call your health care provider and ask if you need laboratory tests to check for diabetes. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.

Blood sugars consistently above 180 warrant prompt medical attention.

Even if your number is high, it's not too late for you to take control of your health and lower your blood sugar.

One of the first steps is to monitor your levels each day. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.

Your blood sugar level is high. You should call your health care provider and ask if laboratory tests to check for diabetes are needed. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.

Today in Diabetes