Get the Facts on Prediabetes – Are you at Risk?

The Facts on Prediabetes, how to prevent diabetes — Are you at Risk?

Get the Facts on Prediabetes.

So you’ve had a great Christmas vacation – spent some great quality time with the kids – been off visiting family and friends. Maybe you’ve even overindulged a little?

So much good home cooking on offer, wine, a few beers?

Does this sound like you?

Your wife (or husband) is nagging at you to go have a check up at the doctors, it’s been about 4 years since your last one! Lo and behold..he tells you that YOU’RE PRE DIABETIC.!

It doesn’t have to be this way – diabetes is basically a non-communicable lifestyle disease that (much of the time) is self-inflicted.

Well, read on if you want to get off that path to diabetes and get the chance to change your life NOW.

So, what are the facts on Prediabetes?

It’s actually a bit of a grey area, but basically your body is not able to efficiently manage blood sugars after eating any more. Your blood glucose levels are higher than they should be, but not quite high enough to fall into the Type 2 diabetes category.

How do you know if you’re at risk of Prediabetes?

Unfortunately, in most cases you can have it and not even know it! There’s no symptoms and no warning signs.

Being overweight is one of the main risk factors – especially excess fat around the waistline.

Without regular doctors checks, the increased blood glucose level that goes hand in hand with prediabetes, goes undetected.

Some who fall into the ‘prediabetic ‘ category, may also have some of the symptoms of diabetes. Here are a few of the main ones to watch out for.

Eye damage.

The most common type of eye damage for a diabetic, is retinopathy. (This is where the blood vessels in the retina, become week, damaged and may often bleed or leak.)

Some nerve damage.

This is referred to as neuropathy. About 50 % of diabetics end up with some nerve damage. You may get numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hands and feet. (That is why regular exercise is so vital, especially if you are diabetic or fall into the prediabetic category.)

Nerve damage can affect so many parts of the body, stomach, abdomen – These in turn can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, problems with the bladder and even sexual dysfunction in men.

Kidney damage.

Damage to the kidneys caused by diabetes, is called nephropathy. (From the Greek nephros for kidney). Once again, its raised blood glucose levels, higher than normal blood pressure levels and excess blood fat levels that contribute to kidney damage in diabetics.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to detect kidney damage and sometimes even an examination by your doctor won’t pick up until it’s too late – sometimes patients can lose almost all of their kidney function before symptoms are apparent.

Problems with your teeth and gums

You may experience problems with your teeth and gums, as increased blood sugar levels also affect the flow of saliva lowering your infection fighting white blood cells.

Remember to brush twice a day and have regular dental checks!

Heart problems

Cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke) along with obesity and

How to prevent diabetes — Foods Diabetics Should Avoid

diabetes, is killing 18 million people a year – a large majority of these diseases are purely due to the modern lifestyle. Mums are out working now, fast food joints are everywhere, we are eating more food, more often and it’s a lot more processed, rather than fresh. Packaged food became much more attractive, cheaper and has a longer shelf life.

Do you have problems sleeping? You may be experiencing Prediabetes.

If you are one that only sleeps around 6 hours or less each night, and it’s a regular pattern for you, you may fall into the category of prediabetes. These are some of the things you could be experiencing that puts you within the prediabetes category.

The only way to find out for sure, is by visiting you physician and requesting a ‘fasting blood glucose test’. If this reveals you levels are between 6.1 to 6.9mmol/L, then there may be a further test required where you have to drink a really sugary drink (oral glucose tolerance test) to see just how well your body deals with it. This is the sure fast way to determine whether you need some radical lifestyle changes, to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. It may be as simple as just following a good diet for pre diabetes. Follow this link for some tips on a good Diabetic Meal Plan. Be sure to visit us here again soon, where you can find out more on the Facts on Prediabetes.

Blood test for diabetes

What we all hear is the dreaded words from our doctor asking us to come in for a diabetes test or to come in and have a blood test for diabetes? A blood test for diabetes is the best way to determine if someone is a full blown diabetic.

If you are feeling side effects such as frequent urination, can’t stay hydrated, painful intercourse, weakness and lack of energy to just name a few then you may have developed diabetes. Diabetes is can easily be diagnosed generally through a blood test for diabetes or a fasting blood glucose test which is generally tested through a urine sample.

What generally happens if you are experiencing symptoms of diabetes the doctor will have you come in and drink a bottle of glucose or a drink that has high amounts of sugar in it then after you drink it you will be required to wait for a certain amount of time and then they will either perform a blood test for diabetes or take a urine sample and test for high amounts of blood glucose. If your blood glucose levels are a certain amount then the doctor will put you on a combination of diet and exercise in order to first maintain your diabetes or he or she will go ahead and put you on amounts of insulin so that your blood glucose level can be regulated and maintained.

A blood test for diabetes is the easiest way to find out if you are a diabetic or not. Diabetes is not anything to mess with because if the side effects or symptoms go misdiagnosed or left untreated then more medical problems can arise and even lead to death. So, if your doctor asks you to come in for a blood test for diabetes don’t hesitate and do what’s best for your health.

What are the Early Symptoms of Diabetes?

So how do I tell if I have Diabetes?

Have you been having to go to the bathroom more frequently than normal? Can you not keep yourself hydrated? Did you know that these may be signs and symptoms of diabetes?

Symptoms of diabetes can vary from person to person but most of the time the signs and symptoms are going to be the quite similar. Type 2 diabetes usually tends to start as quite a silent disease – you can certainly not even be aware that you have it! Quite often, the early symptoms of diabetes like

fatigue,
poor vision
reduced libido
lethargy
going to the bathroom more frequently,

tend to be just put down to “getting older” or some other reasons. Quite often a person that is diagnosed with diabetes has more than likely had the disease for five to ten years, but not know about it.

Most younger age people in their early 20’s and even younger, will notice themselves wanting drink more often and feeling like that they can’t get enough to drink, while others may feel like they are staying in the bathroom all the time with frequent urination.

What do I do If I notice These Early Symptoms of Diabetes?

Once you start to notice the symptoms of diabetes, or things that you think may be diabetes such as frequent urination or constant drinking of fluids when you normally don’t, then you may want to consult with your doctor or physician and let them know what is going on so that you can be tested for diabetes as early as possible.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

Often times when you have contacted your doctor about having signs and symptoms of diabetes, he or she will have you come in and get a fasting blood glucose test (Known as an OGTT) Oral glucose tolerance test. This involves an initial blood test and then you will be given a large amount of glucose to drink – followed by a second blood test a couple of hours later.

This will determine the rate that the glucose is cleared from your blood and you return to normal. A fasting blood glucose test is painless and very simple to have.

The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test is normally of a morning after you have been fasting over night. Drinking water beforehand is permitted, but no tea, coffee or juice.

Healthy Persons Results : The blood sugar level from the second test, should be below 7.8mM

Indication of Prediabetes : The blood sugar level from the second test would read between 7.8mM and 11.1mM

Diabetes : The Blood sugar level from the second test would be higher than 11.1mM

If you were to have 2 random blood sugar level results coming back at higher thatn 11.1mM, OR a fasting glucose test result higher than 7.8mM on 2 separate occasions, this would certainly confirm you have diabetes mellitus.

Symptoms of diabetes are generally the same for all ages but may just be seen at various times rather than all at once. For older people it may take longer to show symptoms of diabetes while younger people may experience them all at once. Most important, is once you do recognize the symptoms, you need to get help!

Is Depression a Symptom of Diabetes?

It’s not surprising that people who have been diagnosed with diabetes would also become depressed or anxious about what is happening to them and also about developing the complications that come with diabetes.

Diabetics really need to try and stay as motivated and positive as possible in order to be able to fight their disease. Depression is something that can and will interfere with your motivating forces, so if you are feeling anxious and depressed, see your heath care professional and have it addressed.

What other Symptoms of Diabetes should I watch for?

Losing appetite
Feeling anxious and often teary
Lack of interest in your hobbies or regular activities
Lack on interest in relationships
Feeling pessimistic and sad on a regular basis
You have difficulty sleeping, or you wake very early in the morning
Having little energy and feeling constantly lethargic.

Read here for the recent advances in diabetes research!

How to test for diabetes

How to test for diabetes can occur in several different ways, the most popular is by a fasting blood glucose test that can be performed in your doctor’s office.

How to test for diabetes can be done for a variety of reasons such as if a person is expecting a baby and is experiencing signs and symptoms of diabetes or pre-diabetes then a doctor or OBGYN may request that the mother is tested for diabetes.

Other reasons that a pregnant lady could be tested for diabetes is because they are over the age of 40 and/or has a strong family history of diabetes.

How to test for diabetes can also be done through a urine sample. A fasting blood glucose test can be done by taking a urine sample to see if your glucose level falls into the category of diabetes or pre-diabetes.

If a person is diagnosed as having pre-diabetes it can often times be treated through diet and exercise. Often times by changing up a person’s diet and lowering the amount of sugar that they ingest will take care of any pre-diabetic symptoms.

If a person is diagnosed as having full blown diabetes then generally they will be asked to monitor their blood glucose level for a few days to a few weeks often times more than once a day, once in the morning fasting and once in the evening after meals have been eaten and then they will be called back into the doctors’ office for proper insulin level adjustment and medication adjustment.

How to test for diabetes is often times tested through a fasting glucose test which is performed in the doctor’s office where the patient will be required to come in fasting and then asked to drink a bottle of sugar water and then after waiting a short period of time the urine or blood will be tested for glucose levels to determine if a person is diabetic or not.

how to test for diabetes

Symptoms of High Glucose

When it comes down to it with every passing day the number of people who need to be concerned with the symptoms of high glucose is increasing each and every day. Many people are familiar with the risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer, but not so many people are aware of the fact that the numbers of people actually suffering long term health effects from these diseases is actually on a slight decline. On the other hand, the numbers of new cases of diabetes is increasing every day, and so symptoms of high glucose are more of a concern than ever before.

Symptoms of high glucose can be many and varied, but all are a direct result of the fact that those who have high glucose have some dysfunction that either prohibits the pancreas from producing insulin or stops the cells of the body from responding to insulin as they should. Glucose, which the body produces from the carbohydrates that we take in as food, is important because it is the fuel that powers every cell of the body. In order for the glucose to power the cells it must pass through the cell wall, and this can only happen in the presence of insulin, which makes the cell wall allow the glucose to pass through. When the insulin is not produced or the cells don’t react to it properly the glucose levels in the bloodstream climb.

Symptoms of high glucose include a feeling of intense fatigue and lethargy, general malaise, weakness, rapid heart rate and respirations, and in severe cases coma and death. Usually the symptoms to watch for are, increases thirst, increased hunger, and increased urination. If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, especially if they have a family history of diabetes, it is probably a good idea to set an appointment with a physician for a fasting blood glucose test to determine if the symptoms indicate high glucose and the onset of diabetes. The key to managing diabetes is to keep blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible, and the only way to do that is to be familiar with the symptoms of high glucose.