Before you develop diabetes, a physician might inform you that you have prediabetes. Fortunately, prediabetes is reversible, and Diana Hernandez, NP-C, can provide helpful advice, treatment, and education at Texas Diabetes Clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas. Call Texas Diabetes Clinic or schedule an appointment online today to learn more about prediabetes and if you have it.
Prediabetes is a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. If you’re diagnosed with prediabetes, you still have the chance to adopt a healthier lifestyle to avoid Type 2 diabetes and its complications, including neuropathy, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
When you have prediabetes, your blood sugar (glucose) levels are higher than is healthy but not high enough to make you diabetic. You’re also insulin-resistant, so your cells can’t efficiently use the hormone insulin. As a result, your pancreas attempts to fix the problem by producing more insulin.
Prediabetes is closely related to lifestyle and habits, but genetics can also put you at risk. Some common risk factors for prediabetes are a large waist circumference, an unbalanced diet, inactivity, smoking, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Because prediabetes doesn’t typically cause symptoms, it’s hard to tell if you have it without lab testing. In fact, you might never realize you had prediabetes until you’re later diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is more likely to cause symptoms.
One symptom you might experience with prediabetes before it evolves into diabetes is darkened skin on specific areas of your body, but not everyone with prediabetes experiences this.
At Texas Diabetes Clinic, Diana evaluates you with a series of tests for prediabetes, including glycated hemoglobin (A1C) testing, fasting blood sugar testing, and oral glucose tolerance testing (the least common of the three).
The goal of prediabetes treatment is to reverse the condition so that it doesn’t turn into Type 2 diabetes. You can make this reversal by adjusting your diet and lifestyle.
Diana tailors her recommendations according to your overall health. You can lower your blood sugar and avoid Type 2 diabetes by:
If prediabetes progresses into Type 2 diabetes, Diana treats you at Texas Diabetes Clinic. She can also help you manage co-occurring conditions.
Call Texas Diabetes Clinic or schedule an appointment online to reverse your prediabetes with individualized care today.