Borderline diabetes: All you need to know 

Also known as prediabetes, this condition occurs before Type 2 diabetes, when blood sugar levels spike up but not go as high as it would in type 2 diabetes. A borderline diabetic person has a blood sugar level higher than normal, ranging from 100-125 milligrams per decilitre. People with borderline diabetes symptoms are likely to have prediabetes because of the following reasons:

• They are pregnant and could be suffering from gestational diabetes
• If the person has Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• If the person is overweight or suffers from obesity
• If the person has sleeping problems owing to erratic work timings or has sleep apnea
• If the person consumes a lot of sugar in the form of sugary drinks, alcohol, and high cholesterol foods such as red meat.
• Moreover, if a person is above the age of 45, they are more susceptible to being a borderline diabetic

Of people suffering from this condition, 90 per cent don’t know they have it yet. Here’s what you need to know about borderline diabetes:

-  It is treatable by a medical professional

- It requires a medical diagnosis

- There are lab tests or imaging required

- It is chronic and lasts for years or may stay lifelong

Your doctor may ask you to take a haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test as part of the diabetes screening test. If your HbA1c level is identified to be in the range 5.7-6.4, you will be diagnosed to be having prediabetes.

Symptoms

While you might show some symptoms, it is often difficult to predict unless and until you do a test. A borderline diabetic would face the following:

- Positively tested for high blood glucose and blood pressure levels

- Frequent urination

- Increased thirst

- Abdominal obesity

- Your symptoms resemble that of a prediabetic state

Treatment

Self-care: Your blood sugar levels can be brought back to normal and can be prevented from taking the form of type 2 diabetes. You may need to change your lifestyle including your food habits and exercising routine.

- Take more of unprocessed high fibre food with carbohydrates

- Include lots of fruit and vegetables into your diet

- Reduce the intake of saturated fat and meat that is processed

Medications: You may be suggested some medications like metformin (Glucophage). This helps in lowering the risk of this condition progressing. When taken along with proper diet and exercise practice, you can see this working.

Specialists: At mfine, we help you by providing you with the necessary medical decisions to make. Our diabetologists can also help you with any other issue you have, related to the disease. Don’t wait and seek guidance on mfine in time; after all, your health is in your hands! Consult a diabetologist or a general physician once you identify the symptoms. Diagnosis of this condition plays a vital part in curing it.