Prediabetes

If you have been told by your doctor that you are prediabetic, you may be worried and you probably have a lot of questions. You don’t have to feel doomed that you will develop Type 2 diabetes — in fact, a prediabetes diagnosis is your chance to prevent diabetes! At St. Louis Bariatrics, we specialize in helping patients cure prediabetes and prevent diabetes. Bariatric surgery is one way to treat prediabetes, along with healthy lifestyle changes. Understanding prediabetes is key in overcoming it, so we have outlined everything you need to know about prediabetes.

How Prediabetes is Diagnosed

There are several tests that your doctor may use to diagnose prediabetes. The most common is a blood test called the hemoglobin A1c test, also known as a glycosylated hemoglobin test. This test measures a 90 day average of your blood sugar level. Prediabetes is diagnosed if your results show an A1c level between 5.7% and 6.4%; normal results for A1c levels are below 5.7% and levels above 6.5% indicate a diabetes diagnosis.¹ Other tests your doctor may use are the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test, which is a blood test that requires you to not eat for at least 8 hours before the test, and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which tests your blood sugar before and after you ingest a sugary drink.

Prediabetes Symptoms

People with prediabetes often experience no symptoms. Because of that, many people are surprised or even shocked to get a prediabetes diagnosis at their annual checkup. If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes and you start to experience symptoms such as increased thirst, frequent urination, and fatigue, that could be a sign that you have developed type 2 diabetes and you should see your doctor right away.²

How Common is Prediabetes?

If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, you are not alone — approximately 84.1 million Americans are living with prediabetes.³ Even though 1 out of 3 adults have prediabetes, many do not know that they have it.³ If you have prediabetes and you do not make efforts to treat it, you will likely develop diabetes within 5 years. Diabetes is a serious condition that can put you at risk of complications such as vision loss, kidney failure, stroke, and heart disease. However, you have the power to prevent diabetes! The methods to treat prediabetes involve lifestyle changes so you can turn this diagnosis into positive change.

Prediabetes Risk Factors

Understanding the risk factors for prediabetes can help if you are struggling to figure out how you ended up with this diagnosis. It is also important to ask your doctor for an A1c test if you have not been diagnosed with prediabetes, but you have some of the following risk factors:

• Family history of type 2 diabetes
• Excess weight or obesity
• Diet high in red meat, processed food, or sugary drinks
• Lifestyle low in physical activity
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Sleep Apnea

Treating Prediabetes and Preventing Diabetes

Lifestyle changes and weight loss are the primary ways to treat prediabetes.

Physical Activity to Manage Prediabetes

Experts advise that adults should do moderate-intensity exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, along with strength building exercise 2 days per week; there are significant benefits to doing even more.⁴ Talk to your doctor about starting an exercise routine that is right for your health.
Get Our Tips for Exercising With Back Pain
Get Our Tips for Exercising After Weight Loss Surgery

Healthy Eating to Manage Prediabetes

✔️Incorporate lots of fresh vegetables and lean proteins in your meals, along with some fruit, beans, whole grains, and low-fat dairy.
✖️Avoid candy, fried foods, refined carbohydrates (white flour), processed snack foods, alcohol, soda and other sugary drinks.
Get Our Tips for Eating Healthy While Dining Out
Get Our Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping
Get Our Tips for Meal Prepping

Weight Loss to Manage Prediabetes

Studies show that when patients with prediabetes lose at least 10% of their body weight within 6 months of their diagnosis, they significantly lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.⁵

Bariatric Surgery for Prediabetes

We understand that lifestyle changes can be difficult to adjust to without help, and we also know it is frustrating when diet and exercise do not deliver weight loss results. Bariatric surgery, such as gastric sleeve and gastric bypass, can be a solution to reverse prediabetes, prevent diabetes and achieve weight loss success. If you are worried about developing diabetes you should know how important it is to tackle excess weight and obesity now; experts say that more than 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.⁶

There are benefits to having weight loss surgery before you develop diabetes. Studies show that prediabetic patients who had bariatric surgery had a greater reduction in their risk of future neuropathy or kidney disease than patients who already had diabetes when they had bariatric surgery.⁷

Want to learn more about bariatric surgery?

Read Myths and Facts About Weight Loss Surgery
Are You A Candidate for Bariatric Surgery?
The Steps Toward Bariatric Surgery

Contact Us For Prediabetes Treatment in St. Louis

Is your prediabetes diagnosis a wake-up call to take control of your health? We can help. Contact St. Louis Bariatrics to learn more about your options or schedule a consultation appointment.

References
^{1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All About Your A1C. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/diabetes-testing/prediabetes-a1c-test.html?CDC_AAref_Val Accessed September  24, 2024
2 Mayo Clinic. Prediabetes. Available: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prediabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355278 Accessed December 12, 2019
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/php/data-research/methods.html?CDC_AAref_Val Accessed September 24, 2024
4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018.
5 Maruthur N, et al. Early Response to Preventive Strategies in the Diabetes Prevention Program. J Gen Intern Med. 2013 Dec; 28(12): 1629–1636. Published online 2013 Jul 17. doi: 10.1007/s11606-013-2548-4
6 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity: Twin Epidemics. Available: https://asmbs.org/app/uploads/2014/05/Type-2-Diabetes.pdf Accessed March 28, 2024.
7 Carlsson L, et al. Long-term incidence of microvascular disease after bariatric surgery or usual care in patients with obesity, stratified by baseline glycaemic status: a post-hoc analysis of participants from the Swedish Obese Subjects study. The Lancet. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, P271-279, APRIL 01, 2017. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(17)30061-X}