Tests for Diabetes - Sandy?

Question

I have symptoms of diabetes
Will a single blood test (in fasting) be enough OR blood test POST taking food also will be reqd

Answer 1

To run a post-meal blood sugar test do following:

1.Borrow a family member's meter or buy an inexpensive meter and strips at the drug store or Wal-Mart. The Wal-mart Relion meter store brand meters sold at pharamcies like CVS, Walgreens, etc are usually the least expensive.



Some meters come with 10 free strips. Check to see if the meter you have bought includes strips. If it doesn't, buy 25 or 50--whichever is the smallest size available. Strips do not keep for very long once opened, so don't buy more than you need for a couple tests.



2.Familiarize yourself with the instructions that came with your meter so that you know how to run a blood test. Practice a few times before you run your official test. Each meter is different. Be sure you understand how yours works.



3.The first thing in the morning after you wake up but before you have eaten anything, test your blood sugar. Write down the result. This is your "fasting blood sugar."



4.Now eat something containing at 60 - 70 grams of fast acting carbohydrate. A bagel makes a good test food. If you can't eat wheat, a large (8 oz) boiled potato of a cup of cooked white rice will do. Avoid fats as they will slow down the action of the carbohydrate.



5.One hour after you started eating, test your blood sugar with the meter. Write down the result. If you lose track of the time measure as soon as possible. The numbers will still be useful.



6.Two hours after you started eating test your blood sugar again. Write down the result.



7.Three hours after you started eating, test your blood sugar. Write down the result. You are now done and can eat whatever you want.



If your blood sugar went over 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/L) at any time you testedd, you just registered a diabetic blood sugar level and should consult with a doctor as soon as possible. Two random tests results of 200 mg/dl are considered diagnostic of diabetes according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Diabetes Mellitus published by the highly conservative American Diabetes Association.



Again, if your doctor says, "Let's just check it again in a couple months" and does not urge you to take a more aggressive approach, it's time to look for a new doctor, one who has kept up with the current approaches to managing diabetes. It's your kidneys, heart, nerves, and vision that are at risk, not his.



Good luck



Tin

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

In most cases the single fasting blood sugar will be done first. Depending upon the results of the fasting blood sugar, a 2-hour post prandial( after eating) will be done to help confirm the diagnosis of diabetes. If you think there's even a slight chance you may have diabetes don't hesitate to get the test done. The earlier a person is diagnosed, the better the chances of better control and less complicaitons for type 2 diabetes.

Answer 5

If your doctor suspects glucose intolerence or type 2 diabetes, then s/he will ask for a GTT or glucose tolerence test. This just means drinking a glucose syrup and having your blood drawn before and 2 hours after. You should ask about this test if they don't suggest it.



It depends on your symtoms as to if your doctor thinks just a fasting test is enough. They may ask for a A1c at the same time which tells your glucose average over the last few months.

Answer 6

Go to the doctor and let them run some tests. There is 2 main tests they will do. They will prick the finger an take a drop of blood and do the meter test and or both, where they draw blood from your arm to do the Hemoglobin A1c test which is standard to determine blood sugar control with diabetes. That is the test you have to fast for the A1c test. The other one you don't have to, but if you fast for the first test I spoke of then your sugar will be high.



Your liver automatically dumps sugar into your system and when you don't eat or skip a meal your liver dumps extra sugar into your blood stream automatically. That is why it is good and they tell you to eat a small snack between each meal. It keeps the liver from dumping extra sugar in the blood.



Your suppose to do the meter test when you first get up in the morn, and before you eat each meal and before bed. Unless the doctor tells you to do it after each meal then it suppose to be 2 hours after you eat otherwise if you do it to soon after you eat your blood sugar will be real high and you'll get a bad reading. I am a Type 2 diabetic and take pills to help control it and my doctor has me checking my blood sugar when I first get up an before each meal. Good luck and get it taken care of diabetes untreated does some serious damage to different parts of your body including death.

Answer 7

I got took into hospital only because I had ketones, they diagnosed me without a bloodtest just off the finger prick test and started straight on metformin and gliclazide. They gave me blood tests day after just to see if I was type 1 or type 2. x