DIABETES

i have been told that i have pre diabetes what i thought it meant was i...

[Zoelula]

You don't appear to have completed your post, but I'll just comment on what being diagnosed with prediabetes means. It means your blood sugar is elevated above the normal level, but not yet high enough to receive a full diagnosis of diabetes. There are specific numbers to qualify for this diagnosis depending on what test the doctor used. If it is fasting blood sugar then it is between 100 1nd 125 (126 is considered diabetic). if it is an A1C it is between 5.7 and 6.4 (6.5 is considered diabetes).

So what does it mean to be prediabetes? It means first that you have some work to do to get your blood sugar controlled but second that you have an opportunity to slow or prevent the progression to full diabetes. In the past, people didn't find out they were diabetic until they had serious symptoms which is often too late to prevent diabetic complications.

What can you do? If you are overweight, lose weight and then maintain a healthy BMI. Reduce your intake of carbs. Carbs include sweets, bread, rice, cereal, pasta and potatoes. Some people find they do better with whole grains such as whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice; others find it makes little difference. Every diabetic or pre-diabetic is different in how much carbs they can eat. The way to find out for yourself is to test, test, test. Your doctor may tell you to only test once a day or even less, but the best way to control blood sugar is to know how foods affect your blood sugar. Eat a usual food and then test two hours later. You want to be under 140; under 120 is even better. If you are consistently higher than this, that tells you you can no longer eat that food, or at least not that amount of that food. Finally, regular exercise is a good way to lower your blood sugar.

If you do all these things and still have blood sugars that are too high (your fasting blood sugar first thing in the morning should be under 100), then talk to your doctor about prescribing an oral medication that will help.

Best of luck to you. Again consider a diagnosis of pre-diabetes an opportunity to better manage your blood sugar!