How to manage, and possibly reverse, prediabetes

St. Joseph's/Candler Primary Care Provider Dr. Khadija Jones-Shelton explains this increasingly common condition

Some patients may hear the word “prediabetes” and assume that their future is predetermined. But even with this unexpected plot twist, the story of your life is still being written, and you can help shape the next chapter.

“I tell patients that this is something we are going to work on together,” says Khadija Jones-Shelton, DO, of St. Joseph's/Candler Primary Care – Eisenhower. “There are steps we can take to prevent things from getting worse or to prevent a type 2 diabetes diagnosis later on.”

Prediabetes means that your blood sugar is elevated, but still below the level of type 2 diabetes. Dr. Jones-Shelton uses the A1C test to determine the diagnosis. The A1C test measures your blood sugar levels over three months.

“A blood sugar test will tell you your level at that moment, where the A1C is an average,” she explains. “A result below 5.7 percent is considered normal. Prediabetes is between 5.7 and 6.4 percent. Anything higher is considered diabetes.”

Some patients get discouraged when their numbers go into the prediabetes range. They often assume they’ll be put on medication, but that isn’t always the case.

“Research has confirmed what I often see in my patients, which is that lifestyle modifications can get you back to a normal A1C,” Dr. Jones-Shelton says.  Those modifications are individualized through her conversations with her patients.

“I don’t recommend a lot of fad diets,” she says. “I want to focus on a diet you can stick with. I use the same principle with exercise. For you, the answer might not be running. It might be dancing. Whatever you can do for 30 minutes a day that can get your heart pumping, let’s do that.”

The payoff of being open to lifestyle changes is unmistakable as the A1C numbers come down over time, and it’s something Dr. Jones-Shelton enjoys almost as much as her patients.

>“The excitement you see in patients when their A1C drops by one or two numbers makes you feel great,” she says. “Now they know they can improve.”