How is diabetes Diagnosed?

Diabetes can be diagnosed simply by elevated blood sugar at two different times.

1. A fasting (nothing but water in the previous 8 hours before test) blood sugar of equal to or greater than 126. This test must be processed in a lab. Not a home monitoring system.

2. A  2-hour blood sugar test of equal or greater than 200. This test must be processed in a lab.

If you test your blood sugar on a home monitoring system and the results seems too high. You need to see your doctor right away.  There are some cases where the doctor can diagnose a person with diabetes using the HbA1c. This is similar to a 3 month average blood sugar with the last month more heavily weighted.  Still another case may be a person presents with the complications of diabetes such as neuropathy. This can be described as nerve damage causing numbness, tingling, hypersensitivity, etc in feet and hands.  In the end, it is up to your doctor.

So, if you suspect you have diabetes don't put off being tested for it. Most people's diabetes shows up first at the two mark and the fasting second. Think about it. If you are fasting your body has had all night to get the blood sugar down.  That annual physical you get your fasting labs taken  for will not pick up diabetes until much later. The test you need to ask for is call the ORAL GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST. This is a two hour test. You start the test fasting. Blood samples are drawn every 30 minutes. Yikes!!(Generally a shunt is used so you only get poked by the needle in the beginning.)You will be given 75 grams of glucose. This is a sugary drink. If you are presented with a regular soda and candy bar this won't work.The protein and fat in the candy bar interferes with the outcome of the test.  You will be paying for an inaccurate test. It needs to be liquid glucose. It is the same drink given to expectant mothers being tested for gestational diabetes. Blood samples are taken every 30 minutes to determine how your body handles the glucose. Both blood sugar and insulin are being tested. This test screens for diabetes, hypoglycemia, and insulin resistance.