Coal
I rarely am involved in clinical medicine-but I still have to do CME so I am "forced" to keep up
and my wife has terrible vasculitis-with prednisone induced diabetes-and a HUGE list of "other problems"
so I have a particular interest in diabetes-and in finding ways to decrease the muscle wasting effects(excess corticosteroids more or less turn muscle(amino acids) into glucose-flight or fright ancient evolutionary adaptive response)
Anyway insulin diabetes etc-is a casual interest of mine
Here is one link-not exactly "heading off" but ballpark
I have read actual medical articles-in medscape-that strongly suggested insulin use could/would/might "rest" the over worked beta cells of the pancreas and "maybe,maybe"head off type 2 and maybe maybe maybe even early type 1 cases(granted it is a reach but plausible)
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/567952

This is just one article-but insulins-especially modern ones(not from cows pigs so they don't induce resistance very often(fewer foreign proteins)) is making a BIG COMEBACK for treating type 2 diabetes-and Just maybe-combined with specific early(but mild) immunosuppression could head off Type1 (which is autoimmune destruction of specific cells in pancreas)
But it is plausible that early insulin-combined with weight loss and exercise(lots of exercise)-could head off type 2-(since pancreas beta cells-are working their little guts out producing insulin for cells that are becoming "resistant" to insulin)
Now plausible-doesn't mean it will work-but certainly worth a try since the "normal therapy" just accepts the type 2 as inevitable

If I was being told-like the OP-that I was prediabetic-I sure as hell would attempt to head it off
IF I thought their "diagnosis" of pre-diabetic was anything more than what you might expect from a HIGH CARB eater.
Carbs are carbs-all the BS about "better carbs" is really hair splitting
Yeah potatoes- really spike your glucose-despite being decent food source-some protein(decent quality for a plant) some Vit C some fiber-yeah good food as carbs go

Anyway low doses of insulin-would be pretty safe for healthy alert slight over weight middle aged guy(low doses meaning 1.2,3 units just before eating if he was using R (fast short acting))
Hells bells insulin- HUGE DOSES- is prescribed for feeble older people who are forgetful- and it rarely KILLS them-and we are talking 50 units/d and more-sometimes multiple doses-varying doses-along with HANDFULS of pills


I will hunt for a better article-but the idea- of using insulin to rest the pancreas-is an old one-plausible-and it is coming back because the current insulins are "better" and the very slowly absorbed-can be pretty safe(but so can tiny doses of R insulin(fast short acting)-operative word being LOW doses-2-units etc)


Bodybuilders-know far far more about muscle building and the drugs that will help-than ANY MD who has ever lived-Granted they are crazy bastards-and the PEDS don't improve their "attitudes" and many many LEOS are on PEDS(just look at those SQUARE LOOKING HEADS-and their unpleasant attitudes)
Anyway bodybuilders have been aware that insulin isn't just a GLUCOSE drug-it also positively effects amino acids entering cells
Some of the WEIGHT GAIN associated with insulin use-(usually with the implication that this is a bad thing) is LEAN MASS- muscle and organs "good" weight gain-especially for a chronically ill person.
Metformin-a commonly prescribed oral agent-cheap effective- CAUSES WEIGHT LOSS-and it is UNCLEAR why?? Now I don't consider unintended weight loss be a "good thing" for older chronically ill people-especially since weight loss is ALWAYS associated with lean mass loss-muscle loss( except in clever body builders and perhaps wrestlers PED users)

Anyway I'm a bit of a crank-and quack on the subject of insulin and oral DM agents-so a few grains of salt should accompany anything I write on the subject


Hypoglycemia-initially trembling hands/shakes sweating (from adrenalin release in response to low glucose- them your brain works less well-so it is hard for the patient to "know" they are hypoglycemic- catch it early-hold your hand out and watch the tremor in your fingers-eat glucose-FAST-SWEET DRINKS are OK but the glucose tablets actually work fastest best-est