I have recently been told my blood tests show prediabetes levels (43). I asked for the test because I have symptoms which I recognised from my diabetic mother (T2) - thirst, exhaustion, itching. The GP who called me with test results confidently told me the symptoms which had lead to testing cannot exist before "FULL BLOWN!" diabetes (he was quite dramatic). Am I imagining them then?
Edit - probably in obese category, quite some stomach gurth, 48, menopausal as hell
I had a full range of diabetic symptoms literally for years while my BGs were only slightly above normal range. The "you can't have symptoms while you're pre-diabetic" is complete nonsense. NHS textbooks on diabetes clearly recognise that symptoms can start at only mildly elevated levels, and equally some people with quite high BGs can have no symptoms at all.
An HbA1c of 48mmol/mol was agreed not that long ago internationally (around 2009) to be the blood glucose level at which all countries would accept that an individual was diabetic, symptomatic or not. One of the reasons it was chosen was that serious retinopathy is relatively rare at BG levels below that figure - relatively rare does not (obvs) mean non-existent. It was compounded in the UK by the GP payment system using 48mmol/mol from 2004 on as the trigger point for a "diagnosing diabetes" payment. That essentially officially told GPs that there was no reward and no incentive to do anything about lower, but still abnormal, glucose levels.
Your experience sounds quite like mine. I went to the GP with a range of symptoms - weight gain, swollen legs, and kidney failure was where it started, and was told that I didn't have diabetes as my BG wasn't high enough. Each symptom was treated individually (and ineffectually), although Dr Google was consistently telling me it was classic T2. However I believed what my GP was telling me.
So for around ten years I continued adding symptoms all of which are classic "high blood glucose" effects, and my BG was rising (although no-one told me). Eventually in December 2019, I was told that I was diabetic after all, as my BG was now high enough. I went extreme low carb and had normal BG by April 2020, and the symptoms mainly went at the same time, although I have some permanent damage....
None of that means that you're in the same boat. There are other possible causes, and as has been said above HbA1c results can be wildly out sometimes, particularly if tested locally. But in your shoes I would be ensuring that the GP at least checked for other possible causes of your symptoms. The good news is that a low carb diet will for many people reduce both blood glucose levels and eventually body fat - I had lost about 90lbs from my starting weight in 2020 by end of 2024. That's everything I'd gained since 2009 plus a bit.
Best of luck. This forum is a great resource and has been my number one source of T2 advice and support since 2019.
@Rachox - thanks for the tag
