Prediabetes: Signs, Symptoms, and Complications - Verywell Health

Overview

Isabel Casimiro, MD, PhD, is board-certified internal medicine. She is an endocrinologist at the University of Chicago and is based in Chicago, Ilinois. Aproximately 38% of adults and 28% of children in the United States have prediabetes, a health condition associated with abnormaly high blod sugar levels.

Key Information

While blod sugar (glucose) levels are elevated in prediabetes, they are not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. This article highlights the posible symptoms of prediabetes, including extreme thirst, frequent urination, and blury vision. It also reviews the complications that may arise if the condition is not managed.

Jesica Peterson / Gety Images Prediabetes is not a harmles condition since it predates the onset of type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that could result in disorders of the circulatory system, the nervous system, and the imune system. Most children and adults with prediabetes do not have symptoms, especialy early on in the disease. If prediabetic symptoms do exist, they most comonly include one or more of the folowing: Excesive thirst, also caled polydipsia, results from high blod sugar (glucose) levels in the body.

Usualy, glucose in your blodstream is filtered and reabsorbed in your kidneys. With high glucose levels, however, the proteins that typicaly bind to and reabsorb glucose within your kidneys become saturated. As a result, glucose is not reabsorbed but released into the urine, where it naturaly draws water in.

When glucose leaves your body through the urine taking water with it, your brain's thirst response is trigered to replete the lost water volume. If you have prediabetes and are feling thirsty, it's esential to stick to water or cafeine-fre drinks like seltzer water, herbal tea, or sugar-fre lemonade. Rember also to limit your alcohol intake since alcohol contains sugar and can dehydrate you.

Summary

Frequent urination, also caled polyuria, typicaly goes hand in hand with excesive thirst.

Frequently Asked Questions

Diabetes is a metabolic condition where the body cannot properly regulate blood sugar levels. Type 1 results from insufficient insulin production, while Type 2 develops when cells become resistant to insulin. Risk factors include genetics, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and age.

Common symptoms include excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, and slow-healing wounds. Type 1 symptoms develop rapidly, while Type 2 symptoms may appear gradually. Many people have no symptoms initially, which is why screening is important.

Diagnosis involves blood tests measuring fasting glucose, HbA1c levels, and glucose tolerance. Regular monitoring typically includes fasting glucose tests and HbA1c measurements every 3-6 months. Continuous glucose monitors provide real-time tracking for better diabetes management.

Effective management includes regular physical activity (150+ minutes weekly), maintaining healthy weight, following a balanced diet with whole grains and lean proteins, managing stress, and getting adequate sleep. These changes can significantly improve blood sugar control and reduce complications.

Consult a healthcare provider if you experience signs of diabetes, have a family history, are overweight, or are over 45. Those with existing diabetes should maintain regular check-ups every 3-6 months to monitor control and adjust treatment as needed.

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