Prediabetes is just what it sounds like. It means that your blood sugar is pretty high, but not high enough to meet the threshold of type 2 diabetes. If there are no lifestyle or dietary changes, prediabetes is very likely to become type 2 diabetes. If you have prediabetes, then the long-term damage to your organs and blood vessels could have already started. There is some good news, though. It’s not inevitable that prediabetes will turn into type 2 diabetes.
Eating the right foods, staying physically active, and maintaining a healthy weight can help dial down your blood sugar. Prediabetes can affect both children and adults. If you think you have prediabetes, talk to your doctor and make sure you don’t actually have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can take a hold of you before you know what hit you. If your doctor tells you have prediabetes, make sure you make the changes to your health now before it gets any worse. Let’s look at some of the early signs and symptoms of prediabetes.
1. Acanthosis Nigricans
One of easiest ways to tell if you have prediabetes may be the skin on your neck, groin, knuckles, armpits, and other parts of the body. In people with prediabetes, they can develop a condition called acanthosis nigricans. This is a scary symptom if you’ve never heard of it or had it, and it can be a little off-putting to those who don’t know what it is. What it is, is the development of thick, dark, velvety patches on different areas of the body.
It could be a sign of prediabetes and insulin resistance. It can be alarming if you’ve never seen it, and you may think the worst, that you’re certainly dying from some strange disease, but it can just be a sign of prediabetes, too. Remember, prediabetes is reversible, and it is not inevitable that it will turn into diabetes. If you have these dark, velvety patches, don’t worry. They tend to disappear when you get your blood sugar in your target range.