yesterday I found out I have been diagnosed as pediabetic. still need more blood work to see if I am diabetic or just pediabetic probably will go Monday to do the blood work. they checked my blood sugar in hospital when they did blood work I just have to get an a1c blood test. to be honest I’m quite scared. they have me on metformin
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Welcome aboard, although I’m sure you aren’t thrilled to be here with us. Prediabetes is, more or less, a very early diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, and the treatments (and progression) are fairly standard. So you would be perfectly appropriate posting in the Type 2 forum or other general forums here.
It makes perfect sense to be scared! I’m fairly certain that a diagnosis of any kind of diabetes is mortally terrifying, especially since there is so much misinformation out there in popular culture. The good news is there are tools, methods, and medications for managing diabetes today that didn’t exist years ago, and most cases are manageable. You’ll hear lots of experience here on these forums from others (not just pre-D, but Type 2, Type 1, and even a few MODY and other rare types) that have diabetes, and you’ll receive as much support as you want.
If you are confirmed as “prediabetic” or early Type 2, the treatment options are fairly straightforward (if not easy to always follow): eat fewer carbs as a proportion of diet; exercise more frequently and more intensely; take appropriate medications (like Metformin). Blood Sugar testing is important, especially while you’re learning how your blood glucose responds to diet and exercise changes. You may find, however, that your doctors don’t encourage you to test often (or even at all). Most of us (of whatever type) here seem to enjoy testing more often than our medical teams often suggest.
It’ll be OK. You can do this, and there is a lot of help and knowledge here on TuD. Welcome
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Sorry you had to join our little club.
I’d recommend reading old posts here to educate yourself on this disease and your treatment options. This will be useful in your discussions with your health care providers, some of whom are up to date others of which really know almost nothing. You need to be able to tell the difference. A good place to start your search is with “eat to your meter”
Don’t hesitate to post your questions here, there are lots of people who are more than happy to help or offer their opinion.
The good news is that if you are proactive you can slow or halt the progression of your disease.
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Prediabetes as a diagnosis is just plain silly. As of that dx, you are diabetic…
That means read everything you can on T2 in particular. You will need to at the very least moderate your carbs. Your docs may give you ADA guidelines, but they won’t give you the control you need…
Explore lower carb options and Test Test Test. Keep a journal of all you eat and how your body responds. Current science indicates that frequent wild swings are more dangerous than steady slight highs or slight lows…“If you want to treat diabetes ‘by the book’, you need a new book for every diabetic”…
You can do this. Focus. Let everything else fade into the background for half a year, and you’ll find a pathway!..
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Hi welcome. You have come to the very best place to find more information and get support.
All the advice given so far is excellent.
I would also like to say that with the right management approaches (lower carb eating, weight loss if appropriate, exercise), early diabetes (that is what prediabetes is) can sometimes be put in remission. This remission may be permanent or it may be temporary.
You will be fine! Diabetes is ultimately a manageable condition. Yes, lifestyle changes and monitoring are required. But many things in our lives change over time and this is just another thing that can be accommodated.
You did not cause your diabetes. No blame here. You just got the wrong end of the straw, so to speak. I would also like to tell you that the numbers you will see on your meter and your test results are just numbers, information to act on. They are not good or bad. Your worth is not tied up in those numbers.
Keep asking questions. No question is trivial. We’ve all been there, some time ago, in the first shock of an unwanted diagnoses.
I looked at your profile that you are in your late 20s and have strong family history of diabetes. This may make you even more worried about your future. Times and tools have changed and I repeat, you will be fine.
I will give you a heads up here that if your blood sugar numbers do not respond as expected to diet, exercise, metformin, this may be a grounds for further testing. In adults, not all diabetes is type 2. There is also a possibility that your diabetes is adult onset type 1, or other type.
If you’re the researching type, the best book I have found is Bernstein “Diabetes Solutions”. You don’t have to take everything he says, but there is much of great value in his book to guide diabetes management. There is also Utube, Berstein Diabetes University, with 200+ seminars on various topics.
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