Diabetes & Prediabetes

Diabetes is what happens when the body can’t keep blood glucose in range — either because insulin production fails or because cells stop responding to it. The striking number isn’t diabetes itself; it’s prediabetes: more than a third of US adults have it, most without knowing, and it’s the stage where the trajectory can still be fully reversed.

What it is

Glucose is the body’s main fuel, and insulin is the key that moves it into cells. In type 2 diabetes — by far the most common form — cells grow resistant to insulin over years while blood sugar quietly climbs. Prediabetes is the long middle chapter: elevated glucose, no symptoms, and a window where diet, activity, and weight changes genuinely change the ending.

Signs and symptoms

Classic signs: unusual thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing cuts, and unexplained weight loss. But the honest picture is that most prediabetes and much early diabetes produces no symptoms at all — which is why screening matters for anyone with risk factors: family history, excess weight, high blood pressure, or a history of gestational diabetes.

What you can track at home

Glucose in urine is a meaningful flag: it appears when blood sugar exceeds roughly 180 mg/dL — well into diabetic territory — so a positive strip is a strong prompt for proper blood testing. Ketones matter for anyone already diagnosed: high ketones with high glucose can signal diabetic ketoacidosis, which needs urgent care. Urine strips don’t replace blood glucose monitoring, but they catch what’s slipping through.

When to see a doctor

Any positive urine glucose deserves a blood test — an A1C or fasting glucose gives the real answer in one lab visit. Classic symptoms plus a positive strip: book promptly. For diagnosed diabetics, moderate-to-high urine ketones during illness or unexplained highs are a same-day call to your care team. And if you have risk factors and haven’t been screened in a few years, that’s worth fixing regardless of any strip result.