One more Question

[Kosmo29]

Thank you for all the responses, sorry I have one more question. How fast can pre-diabetes turn to diabetes, it's been almost 2 years since my last fasting blood glucose test and my Dr. wants to wait until next year. I just wondered if it was something gradual, or can happen quickly. Sorry guys, my GP is just freaking me out!! Thank you!

[ShottleBop]

It can happen faster than you think. Probably depends a lot on diet, other health issues/medications, exercise, etc. Pick up a cheap meter and check for yourself.

[GayleM]

Hi again :)
I think you are lucky to have a GP who would give it to you straight! Most wait until we are deep in the throes of the disease to speak bluntly. I prefer blunt so I know what I'm dealing with ;)

I know I said this before, but pre-diabetes is a mirage - your body is already sitting atop the slippery slope, you will never again be able to eat anything and everything in any quantity forever. The odds are not in our favor that it won't progress as time goes by, but no one knows. (Although it doesn't happen overnight)

How long before it progresses further...no one knows. It depends at the early stages in large part to what you do about it. If overweight, lose weight. If sedentary, start exersizing daily for at least 30 minutes (and to where you work up a slight sweat at least) Test, test test to see what foods you can eat and in what portions to keep your BG at normal levels during the peak and upon waking. Your monitor is your best friend. If you use it regularly it will tell you how you are doing in managing things. It will also tell you when/if your numbers start to rise to where you need meds or more meds, etc.

But, it really depends on you. You can either take control or ignore it. I liked my eyesight and limbs too much to do anything other than change my life immediately and never look back. (I did allow myself a few days to be scared spitless - LOL) It doesn't appear to happen overnight, so test, control food, work out and you may be able to go years before it progresses. As I recall you said both parents were T2? Look at the age they were diagnosed....if their A1C at diagnosis was high (10+) they were probably diabetic for a few years before they were diagnosed.

It's very scary, but taking control is powerful and will make you feel better! Also, research as much as you can and take a visit to the American Diabetes Assoc. forum...a couple super smart people over there and they don't mince words, either! LOL

So, in sum, I guess how fast it progresses is - in large part - up to you...do you want to be controlled and aggressive in your management?

Take care!

[fgummett]

Gayle has already said much of what I planned to say :) My understanding is that we are dealing with a progressive condition where over many years of eating way too much concentrated/refined carbohydrates -- don't beat yourself up about it... it's the diet that is promoted by doctors, nutritionists and above all the food industry -- during which time our body works overtime to maintain a healthy BG by pouring out ever larger amounts of insulin -- which has it's own pitfalls -- but eventually the system starts to break down and we start to show signs of losing BG control... this may be called Pre-Diabetes if it is caught early or Type 2 if caught later... to me it is really just a measure of how overwhelmed our bodies have become in trying to manage our BG...

I hope you get the picture... the time to act is NOW... prevention is easier than cure... cut out the foods that challenge your BG management system and give it a rest.

As above, get a meter, test often, track how different foods affect your BG and then avoid those that spike your BG.

Stick around, read as much as you can and ask questions! Good Luck! I sincerely wish I had found this place years ago BEFORE I was diagnosed :eek:

[sumi]

Are you saying that your gp refuses to do a simple blood test for a year?? As the others have said, get your own meter and do it yourself!

[Kosmo29]

I wouldn't say he refuses, just seems more concerned about my cholesterol which is high, but I am taking Zocor for it now. He also is concerned about my sleep apnea, although it is mild but with both parents with type 2 diabetes I am freaking out about that!

[jps]

Great advice has been given. Get a meter and monitor yourself.

As for me, I'm lucky I work in a laboratory and I can check all my values when I want. This might give you an idea how quickly the change from prediabetes to diabetic can occur:

In late January of 2008 - FBS 117-ish (prediabetes)
In late August of 2008 - FBS 299

As Frank noted, whether prediabetic or diabetic, we are at some point on the continuum of the disease that is probably at least in part caused by carb overload. The pancreas is working overtime and we don't really feel the effects of that early on. At some point, the dam bursts so to speak, but it's leaking way before that. If you are at the point where it's just leaking, it's so much easier for you to control.

Please, I urge you not to ignore what's going on because IT WILL PROGRESS without intervention. I made that mistake, many others have. Be one of the lucky ones by being extremely proactive and nipping this thing in the bud.

[Moonglo]

I second the post above me! I was just diagnosed type 2 last week, and if I had just listened to my doctors and taken my meds and lost weight when they asked me to, I might not be diabetic right now. Please do whatever you can now to keep it from getting to this point!

[Josselyn]

Great input, all. Cosmo29, listen to them.

All I know is, before my gallbladder illness & subsequent surgery in February, this gal wasn't shown to be diabetic in any of the pre and post operative blood tests. By June, I was diagnosed as a Type 2.

I am still in shock by how quickly that happened. But, I had no warning. You can still keep your condition under control. You need to test.

Best of luck.

[Larry H.]

Josselyn:,

I had a similar situation occur. I had by pass surgery and after they said I was diabetic as my readings were very high. I protested and over a few days from the surgery the numbers lowered considerably, enough that the hospital quit talking about it. But over a few more years the numbers became some higher in my yearly testing and I had to finally take notice and do something.. I have heard though some health professionals that trauma such as a serious illness or surgery can bring on diabetes in some people.

To the poster, I think I also had long issues with cholesterol which in studying the situation seems to go along with diabetic tendencies in people, so being vigilant is a good thing and your doctor ought to be watching both issues.