Table of Contents
Treatment
Management of Pre-Diabetes
Treatment of pre-diabetes is very important. Research shows that lifestyle and medical interventions can help prevent, or at least delay, the progression to diabetes, as well as lower their risk for heart disease.
- The most important lifestyle treatment for people with pre-diabetes is to lose weight through diet and regular exercise. Even a modest weight loss of 10 - 15 pounds can significantly reduce the risk of progressing to diabetes.
- Patients should have an exercise goal of 30 - 60 minutes, at least 5 days a week, and follow a low-fat, high-fiber diet. Quitting smoking is also essential.
- It is also important to have your doctor check your cholesterol and blood pressure levels on a regular basis. Your doctor should also check your fasting blood glucose and microalbuminuria levels every year, and your hemoglobin A1C and lipids every 6 months.
- In addition to lifestyle measures, the insulin-regulating drug metformin (Glucophage) may be recommended for patients who are considered at very high risk for developing diabetes. High risk factors include an A1C greater than 6%, high blood preasure, low HDL cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides, obesity, or family history of diabetes in a first-degree relative (parents, siblings, children).
Management of Type 2 Diabetes
The major treatment goals for people with type 2 diabetes are to control blood glucose levels and to treat all conditions that place patients at risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and other major complications.
Approaches to controlling blood glucose levels include:
Previous Section
Review Date: 04/01/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
