May 14, 2005
Diagnosis and Symptoms, Type 2
Question from Danville, California, USA:
I have a family history of diabetes and high cholesterol levels. I also have high cholesterol, low HDL and have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. During my recent physical, I requested and had a two hour oral glucose tolerance test done, both because of my family history and because of my exhaustion, in case there was underlying diabetes causing or contributing to the tiredness.
The fasting blood sugar value was 99 mg/dl [5.5 mmol/L]; one hour was 230 mg/dl [12.8 mmol/L]; and two hour was 129 mg/dl [7.2 mmol/L]. Normally for the OGTT, it is the fasting and two hour levels that are taken into consideration and I thought that, soon after a meal, there is a spike for everybody. Am I a diabetic, prediabetic or should I just watch my diet and weight (and lipid values) to prevent diabetes? I am being cautious now about my diet. My doctor has not put me on any medication.
Answer:
Technically, you do not have diabetes and you do not have pre-diabetes. However, the new criteria for pre-diabetes is a fasting glucose at or above 100 mg/dl [5.6 mmol/L]. This means your fasting is close and you would remain at risk for the future. It will still be important for you to pursue a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and exercise while avoiding obesity and addressing cardiovascular prevention strategies. These prevention strategies include blood pressure monitoring, lipid monitoring, smoking cessation, and consideration of the use of aspirin prophylaxis. These points all need to be addressed with primary physician to make sure they appropriate for you.
JTL
