I don’t understand why I wasn’t diagnosed with diabetes?
I have had Prediabetes for 6 years. My a1c last November was 6.0. I go to Kaiser and they don’t use fasting glucose. I had an a1c of 6.5 in October and my endocrinologist told me it was borderline (on the cusp of diabetes) and ordered a 2nd a1c in 1 month for diabetes diagnosis.
According to her 2 a1cs of 6.5 or above is diabetes. I did the test in a MONTH and lowered it to 6.0 with low carb diet, weight loss, and exercise (age 32 weight was 285, female 5’8”) with metabolic syndrome, and they confirmed prediabetes.
She stated I DID NOT have diabetes to begin with and I’m confused why I wasn’t diagnosed the first time.
I had a fasting glucose of 126-132 everyday for 3 weeks during that time on a low carb diet on my glucometer and my endo said it was higher due to stress (I’m always stressed out) but I’m not sure if I believe that.
Hi
. We are not medical experts, but that seems like a legitimate question to me given your test results. Have you considered getting a second opinion from No one wants to be diagnosed with diabetes, but a diagnosis can get you the treatment you need to prevent irreversible damage, so I understand why you want to be sure. another doctor? Most insurance companies cover and even encourage second opinions. Thinking of you. - Lori (Team Member) I wouldn't lose much sleep over the distinction between diabetes and pre-diabetes. They're basically the same thing other than, perhaps, your beta cells are less worn out at pre-diabetes. Both conditions put you on the same continuum that has the potential to land you at the same destination.
Were I in your shoes, I would not be relying on AIC for the diagnose. I'd be seeking a glucose tolerance instead. You basically ingest a bunch of sugar under medical supervision and track the impact on your blood sugar in real-ish time. If you spike meaningfully, then you have some degree of insulin and that's pretty much all that you need to know.
My advice to you would be to consider yourself a diabetic in terms how you manage your health going forward. That, regardless of whether you're "pre-diabetic" or "diabetic". Most people with pre-diabetes eventually progress to having the real thing and the pre-diabetes diagnosis, in my opinion, generates false hope and leads to folks not taking the situation seriously enough.
These are all great questions, and I can see why you feel concerned. As Lori said, I encourage you to consider getting a 2nd opinion if you don't agree with your current doctors conclusion. According to our article here (https://type2diabetes.com/diagnosis-and-testing), it does state that most people with diabetes have an A1C of 6.5 or higher or a fasting blood glucose level higher than 126 mg/DL. I apologize that we cannot provide any more clarity beyond that since we're not medical professionals.
Warmly, - Cody (Team Member)
