Can you be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and never develop type 2 diabetes?
Yes. While it is estimated that about half of women with gestational diabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes in the future, there are steps women with a history of gestational diabetes should take to delay or prevent this disease.
- Get tested for diabetes. Women who developed diabetes during pregnancy should get tested for diabetes within 12 weeks after your baby is born. Even if the diabetes goes away after the baby is born, women with a history of gestational diabetes still have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life and should continue to get tested for diabetes every 1 to 3 years.
- Keep up healthy habits – even after the baby is born. Many women who have gestational diabetes see a dietitian or diabetes educator to guide them in developing healthy habits during pregnancy. But many women don’t realize that keeping up with those healthy habits is just as important after the baby is born.
- Make healthy food choices. Choose healthy foods that are lower in fat and calories and high in fiber. For example, choose lean meats, chicken and turkey with the skin removed, and fish. Drink water instead of juice or regular soda.
- Try to reach your pre-pregnancy weight 6 to 12 months after your baby is born. Even if you do not reach your “goal weight”, research shows that maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help reduce a person’s risk for developing diabetes in the future.
- Be more active each day. Try to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, at least 5 days a week. It’s okay to be active for 10 minutes at a time, 3 times a day.
Hello I was recently diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 40 as an African-American male after a serious vehicle accident. Could this have been brought on by the accident or pain meds?
Sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you have had a successful recovery. You ask an interesting question, because it’s not uncommon for a person to be diagnosed with diabetes after a hospital stay for a traumatic injury or event.
But that doesn’t mean that the traumatic event, such as an accident, can cause diabetes. It’s usually because the medical care you received in response to your accident revealed or unmasked diabetes that was already present. In other words, it could be that you had diabetes before the accident and didn’t know it.
It is estimated that 1 out of 4 people have diabetes and don’t know it. That’s because many people with type 2 diabetes have symptoms so mild that they go unnoticed. Common symptoms of diabetes include:
- Urinating often
- Feeling very thirsty
- Feeling very hungry – even though you are eating
- Extreme fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Losing weight without trying
You can manage your diabetes and live a long and healthy life by taking care of yourself each day. Managing diabetes means that you need to make healthy food choices, stay at a healthy weight, move more every day, and take medicine as prescribed. It’s a lot to do. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Here is some additional information about managing diabetes that you may find helpful.
Can diabetes be reversed? My A1C is 6.3
Before responding to your question about whether or not diabetes can be reversed, I am curious about what you wrote about your A1C level. A1C is a measure of your average blood glucose (sugar) level over the past 3 months.
This is different from the blood glucose checks that a person with diabetes might do each day. The A1C goal for many people with diabetes is below 7, so I would encourage you to talk with your doctor to understand what your blood glucose level is and what your A1C goal should be.
As to whether diabetes can be reversed, this term “reversed” is usually used when people with type 2 diabetes can go off medication, but they still need to continue making lifestyle changes to manage their diabetes.
Lifestyle changes include losing weight (if you are overweight), staying physically active and making healthy food choices. For some people with type 2 diabetes, reaching a healthier weight can mean taking fewer medications for diabetes or, in rarer cases, no longer needing medication at all.
Making lifestyle changes is an important element in managing diabetes. However, over time, a person with type 2 diabetes may find that lifestyle changes alone may no longer be enough to manage their diabetes. That’s when medication, even at a low dose, might be needed to be added to the mix.
Although there is no cure for diabetes today, the National Institutes of Health continues to support research to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure this disease.
The diabetes community is working to fight diabetes on all fronts, which includes prevention, treatment, and a cure. Right now, it is estimated that more than 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. That’s about 1 out of every 10 people. Another 84 million people in the U.S. (or more than 1 out of 3 adults) have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, 9 out of 10 don’t know it. Prediabetes puts you at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
We need to sound the alarm and raise awareness about the seriousness of diabetes, particularly when diabetes is left undiagnosed or untreated. If undiagnosed or untreated, diabetes can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, amputation and even death. With early diagnosis and treatment, people with diabetes may prevent the development of these health problems.
The good news is that research has shown that people at high risk for type 2 diabetes can take steps to delay or prevent the development of this disease. An important first step is making people aware of risk for type 2 diabetes, which includes having a family history of diabetes, being overweight or obese, being of African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, or Pacific Islander ancestry, being over the age of 45, or having a history of gestational diabetes, among other risk factors.
I encourage people to take the Diabetes Risk Test to find out if you or a loved one are at risk for type 2 diabetes. If you have concerns about your risk, talk to your doctor to see if you should get tested for diabetes or prediabetes. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent or delay heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and other health problems.
Is the keto diet safe for a person with type 2 diabetes?
Nutrition, as well as physical activity, are the foundations of diabetes management. Ideally, a person with diabetes will be referred to a registered dietitian to help you develop a healthy eating plan. This is important because you want an eating plan that works for you and considers your eating preferences, dietary intake, and health goals. The challenge with “diets” in general is that they tend to be short-term because they are hard to stick to.
In most cases, nutrition recommendations for people with diabetes are similar to recommendations for healthy eating for all adults. The mix of carbohydrate, protein, and fat should be individualized to meet diabetes management goals and individual preferences. Some general tips include:
- Watch portion sizes
- Choose foods that are lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt
- Eat foods with more fiber, such as whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta.
- Choose foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, bread and cereals, and low-fat or skim milk and cheese.
- Drink water instead of juice and regular soda.
I encourage you to talk with members of your health care team such as your diabetes doctor, diabetes educator, dietitian, or nurse about nutrition approaches to help you manage your diabetes.
Doc, if the mother has family history of diabetes but doesn’t have diabetes before or during pregnancy is she still susceptible to developing diabetes later in life?
Yes. Most people with type 2 diabetes have a family member, such as a mother, father, brother, or sister with the disease. If you have diabetes in your family, take steps now to lower your risk such as losing a small amount of weight (if you are overweight) and becoming more active.
Losing 5% to 7% weight (10 to 14 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds) – and getting 30 minutes of physical activity a day, at least 5 days a week, can lead to big rewards when it comes to delaying or preventing type 2 diabetes.
While you can’t change your family’s health history, knowing about it can give you the information you need to work with your health care team to take action on the things you can change.
For anyone who isn’t sure about their family’s health history of diabetes, here are some questions to get the conversation started:
- Does anyone in the family have type 2 diabetes? Who has type 2 diabetes?
- Has anyone in the family been told they might get diabetes?
- Has anyone in the family been told they need to lower their weight or increase their physical activity to prevent type 2 diabetes?
- Did your mother get diabetes when she was pregnant? This condition is also known as gestational diabetes.
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may be at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
No gestational diabetes but my twins are about 10 pounds difference in weight. They are 6 years old and one is 73 pounds….should I be concerned?
I encourage you to share your concerns with your child’s doctor and ask if they are at a healthy weight. The doctor can look at your children’s growth charts and give you more specific advice.
As a parent, you can play an important role in helping your children be active and eat healthy foods. What can you do?
- Help your children be active each day.
- Make meals and snacks that are healthy and taste good.
- Take your kids grocery shopping. Teach them how to read food labels to help find healthy foods.
- Limit portion sizes of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt
- Limit your kids’ play time in front of the computer, tablets, smartphones, and TV to 2 hours each day.
- Be a good role model. Eat healthy foods and be active with your kids.
Is Intermittent fasting okay for someone with type 2 diabetes?
This type of diet has gained a lot of attention recently. However, when it comes to having diabetes, it is important to talk with your doctor first because any form of fasting can have an impact on managing your blood glucose.
In general, people with diabetes need to follow an eating plan that works for them in the long-term and considers personal eating preferences, dietary intake, and diabetes-related health goals. These are important elements of a nutrition plan and are some of the considerations that you and members of your health care team should discuss.
GRIFFIN P. RODGERS was named Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) — one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — on April 1, 2007. He had served as NIDDK’s Acting Director since March 2006 and had been the Institute’s Deputy Director since January 2001.
Rodgers received his undergraduate, graduate, and medical degrees from Brown University in Providence, R.I. In addition to his medical and research training, he earned an MBA, with a focus on the business of medicine/science, from Johns Hopkins University in 2005.
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