Many people have impaired glucose tolerance, which means that they are having difficulty getting their blood glucose levels back to normal after they eat.
If you are healthy, your blood glucose (sugar) levels will rise after eating, but they will come down to normal within one to two hours. If you have impaired glucose tolerance it could take up to three hours to lower your glucose levels, which creates a problem with your metabolism.
Doctors often perform a glucose tolerance test or a fasting plasma glucose test to see if you are dealing with high blood glucose or impaired blood glucose.
If you have either of these conditions you very likely at least have pre-diabetes. This means that you will probably end up with diabetes. You are also more likely to have or get heart disease if you have impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. If this is so, your doctor will most likely want to check your blood glucose levels on a regular basis and will discuss ways to lower your chances of getting diabetes.
Another type of diabetes is gestational diabetes which happens when you’re pregnant. Many women who encounter this situation are able to control it by watching their diet and doing some exercise. Some women have to take insulin injections during their pregnancy. If you get gestational diabetes, you have a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes later on.
If you are pregnant, it is suggested that you have a test for diabetes at your booking appointment especially if you’re over 25, overweight, you have a relative with diabetes, you are in a high-risk group for diabetes, you have had gestational diabetes in the past or your baby ends up weighing 9 lbs. or more.
Usually gestational diabetes will disappear once the pregnancy is over but it is still important to look for signs of type 2 diabetes later. Either way, there are healthy ways to get your glucose under control before it becomes diabetes.
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