With diabetes being the health topic in much of the news these days that many wonder what the symptoms of borderline diabetes are.
What is borderline diabetes? Originally, borderline diabetes as meant to indicate a condition where the blood glucose levels were elevated but not yet in the “official” diabetic range. Even though people continue to use the term, borderline diabetes, it’s a term that has been falling out of favor with many health professionals. Another name for borderline diabetes is pre-diabetes.
For example, many people believe that you either have diabetes or you don’t. People in this camp believe that what is commonly referred to as borderline diabetes is, in fact, diabetes – but in its early stages. Whatever school of thought one subscribes to, however, borderline diabetes should be treated as a serious matter. Failure to do so could result in serious damage to your eyesight, heart, blood vessels, nervous system, and major organs throughout the body.
The Centers for Disease Control has estimated that over fifty million people in the country have borderline diabetes. The estimate is based on the number of people who have been diagnosed with impaired fasting glucose.
Common Signs of Borderline Diabetes
Experiencing any of the following three symptoms is consistent with having borderline diabetes but they are not evidence that one actually has borderline diabetes:
- Constantly being thirsty.
- Frequent need to urinate.
- Constant sense of fatigue.
Measurable Symptoms of Borderline Diabetes
There are three types of borderline diabetes manifestations – insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. The symptoms for all the three are the same, i.e. fasting blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dl and 140-199 mg/dl reading for glucose as result of the oral glucose tolerance test.
When you suffer from insulin resistance your body would not be able to respond normally to the insulin produced which would result in overproduction of this substance. In most cases the insulin intolerance can be cured; however, this could result into problems such as clogged arteries, hypertension and loss of HDL (or the good cholesterol) from the blood.
The impaired glucose tolerance is usually due to insulin resistance. When the body increases the production of insulin, it puts a lot of stress on the pancreas which in time decrease in its productivity. When this happens, the person would develop all symptoms of full blown diabetes while actually they have impaired glucose tolerance.
If you do have pre-diabetes, you will undoubtedly have to make some lifestyle changes to prevent it from getting worse. Your diet will certainly change. And if you don’t exercise much, you will probably have to begin an exercise routine.
It’s important that, if you feel that you have borderline diabetes, you don’t self-diagnose or self-medicate. Only a doctor can tell you if you actually do have pre-diabetes. And only a doctor or medical care person can prescribe treatments.