Prediabetes is a warning, while there is still time.
Your sugar is higher than it should be, but not yet high enough to be called diabetes. It is the stage when insulin has started to work less well and the pancreas is working harder to keep up. Many people pass through this stage for years before diabetes arrives, and in many it can be slowed or turned back.
In plain words.
Prediabetes is found on a blood test: an HbA1c of 5.7 to 6.4%, a fasting sugar of 100 to 125 mg/dL, or a sugar of 140 to 199 mg/dL two hours after a glucose drink. Values above these ranges, confirmed on a repeat test, mean diabetes.
It usually causes no symptoms at all. It matters because without changes many people go on to diabetes, and because the heart and blood vessels are already at higher risk. Fatty liver, high BP and high cholesterol often come with it.
The good news is that habits make a real difference. In large studies, including one in India, losing about 5 to 7% of body weight and about 150 minutes of brisk walking a week lowered the chance of going on to diabetes by about a quarter to more than half. Some people are also given a tablet such as metformin, but only on a doctor’s advice.
Where your HbA1c sits
HbA1c is the average sugar of the last two to three months. Between 5.7 and 6.4% is prediabetes: past the healthy range, not yet diabetes. Left alone, it tends to drift upwards year by year.
Losing a little weight, walking most days, and cutting sweet drinks and refined flour help insulin work better again. The reading can drift back towards the healthy range, and the heart benefits too.
Go to hospital now if
- Chest pain or pressure, above all spreading to the arm or jaw, with sweating or breathlessness: call 112.
- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, slurred speech or confusion: call 112.
- Great thirst and passing a lot of urine, with vomiting, drowsiness or fast, deep breathing: go to hospital now. These can be signs that sugar has become very high.
Call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department. Ambulance: 108 (102 in some states).
See a doctor within a few days if
- You are very thirsty, passing urine often, or losing weight without trying: the sugar may already be in the diabetes range
- You are pregnant, or planning a pregnancy
- A foot wound or skin infection is slow to heal
Tests that help.
Not everyone needs every test. He decides which ones are worth doing for you.
| Test | What it tells |
|---|---|
| HbA1c | The average sugar of the last two to three months; no fasting needed. It can mislead in anaemia, thalassaemia trait, kidney disease, recent blood loss or pregnancy. |
| Fasting blood sugar | After 8 to 10 hours without food. A plasma sample from a laboratory, not a finger-prick meter, is used to confirm. |
| Glucose tolerance test (OGTT) | A sugar test before and two hours after a glucose drink. It picks up cases the other two miss. |
| Lipid profile | Cholesterol and triglycerides, often high alongside prediabetes. |
| Blood pressure, weight and waist | Waist size is a strong clue to the risk. |
| Liver tests or an ultrasound | When fatty liver is suspected. |
| Repeat once a year | Or sooner if advised, to see which way the numbers are moving. |
Have it ready.
Tick them off as you gather them. The ticks stay on this phone only.
Online, or in person?
Do not start diabetes tablets on your own, and be wary of powders or products that promise to reverse sugar. The habits above are what the evidence supports.
A video call can
- Explain what your numbers mean and which way they are heading
- Decide which tests to do and when to repeat them
- Plan realistic changes to food and activity with you
- Decide whether a medicine is worth considering in your case
- Follow the numbers with you every few months
Needs a visit in person
- Blood tests, at a laboratory or by home collection
- Examining the feet and skin, if needed
- Any sign in the red box: that is an emergency
Talk it through with Dr. Arya.
Bring your reports and medicines to a video consultation. He goes through them with you, in plain words, and says clearly if you need to be seen in person.
Book a video consultationDr. Prabhat Arya · MBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) · Delhi Medical Council Reg. No. DMC-83759