NHS Forth Valley – Prediabetes

What is Prediabetes?
What Should Happen?
What Happens In Prediabetes?
Why It Matters
What We Can Offer
Online Learning About Prediabetes
Other Useful Links
Contact Us

What is Prediabetes?

Prediabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered in the diabetes range.

When you have Prediabetes, your body can’t control glucose levels in your blood because you are either not making enough insulin, or the insulin being made is not working properly.

When we eat foods containing carbohydrates, the carbohydrate is digested into glucose in your stomach and it will then travel into your blood stream.

The glucose needs to move from the blood stream into our cells, which are all around our body, mostly around our muscles. Once glucose is in the cells it can make energy.

What Should Happen?

Imagine every cell has a lock on it. You need insulin (the key) to unlock the cell door and let the glucose into the cell.

Insulin is made in the pancreas.

What Happens In Prediabetes?

Sometimes the insulin key doesn’t work properly in the cell lock. Most often, one insulin key is not enough to unlock the cell door, so we need to make more keys. This is known as Insulin Resistance.

There are ways you can help the insulin keys to work properly or to make more keys.

Diabetes UK has information about what could put you at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and have developed a tool to help you assess your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

If you think you are at risk, we may check by measuring your HbA1c.

Why It Matters

It is important to know whether you have prediabetes because

you can take steps to try and prevent it developing into type 2 diabetes
you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease
you can look out for raised blood glucose levels caused by steroids, some medicines (for anxiety or depression), if you have increased stress or don’t sleep well
if you want to have a baby, having prediabetes will increase your risk of gestational diabetes

Once we know that you have Prediabetes, we will check your HbA1c every year unless it falls back to the normal range.

The recommendations for living with Prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes are the same. For more information about diet, moving more and lifestyle change, go to Type 2 diabetes.

What We Can Offer

If you would like to know more about living with Prediabetes, we offer up to date information and support. You can contact us to discuss your options.

Initial Conversation

If your GP or Practice Nurse has told you that you have Prediabetes and you’d like to chat with us about what that means for you, you can contact us to arrange an Initial Conversation by phone or video call.

Control It

These 2 hour group information sessions provide more information on what Prediabetes is, and can help you set personal goals and make positive lifestyle changes, as well as offering support to help you self manage your condition.

Our group sessions are online, with new sessions starting at venues throughout Forth Valley.

Adult Weight Management

Weight Management – here you can access information and tools to self-manage your weight, or self-refer to Weight Management Service.

Exercise Referral Scheme

Local support to be more active at a reduced cost:

Keep Well Health Assessment

Keepwell offer a full physical and mental wellbeing Health Assessment with a Keepwell Nurse in a venue near you. They can do the HbA1c blood test if you want it. Phone to request an appointment.

Contact Keep Well on 01786 434044 or visit NHS Forth Valley – Keep Well Service.