My doctor is telling me that I am a border-line diabetic. Is there such a condition, or do you either have diabetes or you don't?

Question

My doctor is telling me that I am a border-line diabetic. Is there such a condition, or do you either have diabetes or you don't?

Answer

In general, people who have a fasting plasma blood glucose in the 110-125 mg/dl (6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L) range are defined as having impaired fasting glucose. If your doctor gives you an oral glucose tolerance test, and at two hours your blood glucose is 140-200 mg/dl (7.8 to 11.1 mmol/L), you have "impaired glucose tolerance." Either of these is medical terminology for what your doctor is probably referring to when he says you have "borderline diabetes." Be sure to ask your doctor what your exact blood sugar test results are when he tells you that you have "borderline diabetes." Some physicians are not as familiar as they should be with the new national guidelines for diagnosing diabetes. They may be telling you that you have borderline diabetes, when in fact you actually have diabetes.

That said, if you have borderline diabetes, what should you do? If you are overweight, your first and foremost goal should be to lose some weight. Eat less, eat right, and exercise a lot! See some of the links below.

Links

• What is Borderline Diabetes? What Should I Eat?
• "Borderline" Diabetes - another viewpoint
• Can Diabetes Be Prevented?
• High-Fiber Grains Protect Against Diabetes