Pre-diabetes aged 16 - advise please

[Pollyanna]

Yes. Not only is it not necessary, it inadvertently plays into the commonly repeated myth that Type 1 is caused by sugar. When I was a young child of about 4yrs old, a woman told me off for eating a sugar lump and said that I’d get diabetes. Then, after getting Type 1 - which was nothing to do with eating sugar lumps!! - another person told me I must have eaten too many sweets 🙄

To be clear, Type 1 is an auto-immune condition.

Good luck @SJR Let us know how things go.

What a silly thing to say to a child.
And yes, I'm aware that T1 is an auto-immune condition.
At the moment until further medical testing determines any issues he has been diagnosed with pre T2

 

[Inka]

What a silly thing to say to a child.
And yes, I'm aware that T1 is an auto-immune condition.
At the moment until further medical testing determines any issues he has been diagnosed with pre T2

The ‘auto-immune’ bit wasn’t aimed at you @Pollyanna 🙂 It was aimed at the two people who spoke to me and everyone else who has swallowed that myth.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

What a silly thing to say to a child.

“Urban legend” stuff. It’s out there with “chewing gum wrapping around the heart,” & “dogs can’t look up.”

 

[Pollyanna]

“Urban legend” stuff. It’s out there with “chewing gum wrapping around the heart,” & “dogs can’t look up.”

Getting square eyes watching TV, if the wind changes whilst you look so angry you'll stay like it.
I was forever watching the weather vane on the barn roof

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks yes - deep breaths! I do have knowledge of type 1 and devices as I work in marketing - working with pharma companies/HCPs launching CGM etc. but no experience on a personal level. He had problems swallowing last year so had thyroid tests, they thought it was thyroid inflammation due to infection but never really decided. We asked for another blood test as a first step to prehaps find out why he feels so cold all the time and purple hands (Reynaulds?) plus he seems have have low immunity and always got a cold/cough, not growing much etc. Hoping it's maybe hormones and exam pressures but I'm someone who likes to know every fact out there so gathering information. I did think about getting some finger prick tests done to monitor while we await GP appointment

There is some evidence that the HbA1C may not be the best test for children and young people as there may be other factors coming into play over the 3 months that the test would reflect and in those circumstances though not used normally for diagnosis an OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) may give a better indication of the body's ability to handle carbohydrates. It usually involves a fasting blood glucose test and then drinking a fixed amount of a glucose drink and then a sample taken after usually 2 hours, with no physical activity during the wait.
It would be worth asking your GP about that.
I know growing kids usually eat a fair amount but making sure there are healthy options available and any drinks are not sugary. If kids are into sports then they are often fairly clued up on the need for good nutrition or at least we hope they are.

 

[rebrascora]

What a silly thing to say to a child.
And yes, I'm aware that T1 is an auto-immune condition.
At the moment until further medical testing determines any issues he has been diagnosed with pre T2

There is no test to determine "pre Type 2 diabetes" just pre-diabetes because the HbA1c test result just indicates normal, pre-diabetes or diabetes and nothing about the type/cause of that diabetes. If someone is in the prediabetes range they might be at risk of developing Type 1, Type 2, Type 3c, MODY, LADA etc.
It is important to keep an open mind about type and something doctors can be guilty of failing to do.

 

[Pollyanna]

Yep I know and agree
But his doctor was the one that said type 2 ....like many do.

 

[Inka]

There is no test to determine "pre Type 2 diabetes" just pre-diabetes because the HbA1c test result just indicates normal, pre-diabetes or diabetes and nothing about the type/cause of that diabetes. If someone is in the prediabetes range they might be at risk of developing Type 1, Type 2, Type 3c, MODY, LADA etc.
It is important to keep an open mind about type and something doctors can be guilty of failing to do.

I wonder if the doctor was using the term pre-diabetes as a kind of ‘very close to the diabetes level’ rather than at risk of Type 2?

The vast majority of diabetes diagnosis in children and teens are Type 1 - around 90% or more.