Women and Diabetes: 5 Warning Signs to Watch

Diabetes afflicts 1 in 3 adult Americans, half of them women. And that’s a conservative estimate.

Because the symptoms of this disease are not easily detected or silent, the damage to your entire body may already be underway, before your doctor diagnoses you as “diabetic”. The body-wide damage caused by diabetes can include blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, vascular disease, amputations, and increasingly in women - heart disease.

Fasting blood sugar level tests are the best way to find out if you are pre-diabetic or Type 2 diabetic (the most common form of diabetes). A blood sugar level of under 100 is normal, 100-110 is classified as pre-diabetic and over 110 means full-blown diabetes (these FSB numbers are more conservative numbers than those often published, but believed to be more accurate).

If you haven’t had a fasting blood sugar level test, here are 5 warning signs to watch, that may indicate you have a propensity for, or are headed towards a diabetes diagnosis:

• A Family History of Diabetes or Heart Disease is the first place to look.

  Often, in the past, diabetes was the root cause of heart disease, particularly in women. The mis-diagnosis of this root cause prevents many women from considering themselves diabetic candidates.

• A Non-Caucasian Ethnic Background.

  Afro-Americans, Asian, Pacific Islanders and Latinos have a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, two times that of Caucasians (although Caucasians have a higher propensity of Type 1 diabetes).

• An Expanding Waistline.

  For women, a waistline that’s grown to 34” or greater is a definite warning signal. Because of the direct link between weight and occurrence of Type 2 diabetes, watch your waistline closely.

• Women with Gestational Diabetes.

  If you’ve suffered from Gestational Diabetes during pregnancy, your chance of experiencing Type 2 diabetes later in life is much greater.

• Baby Birth Weight.

  If your baby weighed 9 pounds or more at birth, this may indicate a higher propensity to suffer diabetic conditions.

If one or more of these warning signs are present in your life, it’s a good idea to see your doctor and take the Fasting Blood Sugar Test. Regardless of the outcome, a lifestyle of weight management, through diet and exercise will help you prevent this disease from occurring. If diabetes does occur, it’s possible to get this terrible disease under control with weight, diet and exercise control.