How to know if you are Prediabetic?

Diabetes is a disease where the human body has an above normal range of blood sugar because the pancreas is unable to produce or generate insulin. Insulin is a vital hormone because it helps in the aspect of converting food into energy. The worst part about diabetes is that it is a chronic disease, because once it occurs, there is no permanent cure, and it requires lifelong management.

If you have a family history of diabetes or experiencing symptoms of prediabetes, you should consult with a specialised doctor so that the worst consequences of diabetes can be avoided. You can consult a diabetologist in Siliguri or any diabetologist at your location. It is also important for you to understand that diabetes does not occur suddenly because there is a medical condition named the prediabetic stage, which has clear and prominent symptoms.

What is prediabetic stage or prediabetes?

Prediabetes highlights a health condition where there is a rise in blood sugar level above the normal range, but the level is not high enough to be considered diabetic, particularly type 2 diabetes. The normal blood sugar or glucose level before a meal is 70-100 mg/dl. In prediabetes, the blood sugar level before a meal is normally between 100-125 mg/dl. This stage is considered to be the beginning stage of developing type 2 diabetes if not treated properly or managed.

According to clinical research and surveys, a significant percentage of the Indian population is prediabetic, which raises massive concerns about public health in India. The most worrying aspect of being prediabetic is that you will not know about it until prominent symptoms begin to appear. On the other hand, identifying the prediabetic stage helps in reversing or delaying type 2 diabetes.

Therefore, it is important to know the signs and symptoms that can help determine if you are prediabetic.

Before knowing about the signs and symptoms, let us know the reasons that trigger prediabetes:

Higher body fat percentage or obesity: This is one of the most common factors that trigger the progression of the prediabetic stage. Excessive body fat, especially around the waist region, leads to insulin resistance. This, in turn, leads to elevated blood sugar or glucose levels, which is the root cause of developing a prediabetic condition.

Family history or genetics: People tend to inherit many aspects genetically, among which type 2 diabetes is one of the most unfortunate inheritances. It has been observed that prediabetic conditions start to appear in individuals having a family history of type 2 diabetes, even if a healthy diet and lifestyle are maintained. 

Smoking and lack of physical activity: The harmful chemicals and nicotine present in cigarettes contribute to making the pancreas incapable of producing insulin. In addition, excessive smoking can damage the pancreatic cells. On the other hand, lack of physical activity makes the body's metabolism poor, which leads to higher body fat and less glucose flow.

Poor food habits: The intake of large quantities of carbohydrates, processed foods, and sugary content drinks directly contributes to elevated blood sugar levels.

How to know if you are prediabetic?

This question holds tremendous significance because identifying a prediabetic condition can help in reversing or delaying the occurrence of type 2 diabetes, stroke, or blood pressure issues.

1. Increased urination frequency and thirst: This is a common symptom because elevated blood sugar levels can make the kidneys flush out excessive blood glucose, which leads to frequent urination and a subsequent increase in thirst. It is the natural tendency of the kidneys to flush out extra sugar through urine.  

2. Fatigue: This is another common symptom where an individual feels tired and low in energy throughout the day. The main reason behind this feeling is that the body cells cannot receive adequate energy from glucose.

3. Occurrence of regular infections: Elevated blood sugar levels can hamper the immune system, which increases the chances of developing infections. In addition, elevated blood sugar levels also lead to delays in healing of infections or cuts. Thus, individuals can analyse and identify such delays easily and get tested for a potential prediabetic condition.

4. Decreased or blurry vision: People in a prediabetic stage tend to report decreased vision or blurry vision. The reason behind this is that elevated blood sugar levels can cause fluid accumulation in the eye ball, which makes the vision unclear or blurry.

5. Get your A1C blood test and check-up done: If you are facing any of the above symptoms, it is suggested to get an A1C blood test done because a prediabetic condition will show an A1C result between 5.7% and 6.4%. Thus, an A1C test result below 5.7% can clarify that you are not prediabetic. 

Why should you not ignore prediabetes or its symptoms?

Prediabetes is the bridge through which an individual passes and develops type 2 diabetes. In addition, prediabetes also leads to stroke or heart disease, which is fatal. According to clinical studies, prediabetes can weaken the body’s metabolic system, which is directly related to obesity or weight gain. It is a well-known fact that obesity leads to higher cholesterol levels, which is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases.

No one wants to live a life with type 2 diabetes because it requires lifelong management and medications. In addition, type 2 diabetes can cause major health complications, such as blindness, kidney failure, or cardiovascular diseases. Thus, identifying a prediabetic condition and accordingly making changes to lifestyle and food habits is the key to reversing or delaying the development of type 2 diabetes.

Final Recommendations

The modern-day lifestyle and food choices have made it mandatory to get yourself regularly checked for prediabetes. Thus, a delay in consultation and checking. Kins Diabetes has all the facilities, technology, and specialists required for identifying and treating prediabetes.

Do not delay in terms of getting yourself tested for prediabetes because this is the first step toward addressing type 2 diabetes. Get in touch with the best diabetologist in Siliguri and start your battle against diabetes now.