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Type 2 diabetes has become so prevalent in the world, it has been
described as a pandemic, that the diabetes test is done as part of
an annual physical now, even for younger patients. The risk factors
for diabetes include advanced age, but it is not as much of an issue
now, type 2 diabetes can occur at any age.
There are a few basic diabetes tests. A urine sample can be
tested for the presence of glucose or ketone bodies, but for a
diagnosis a blood test is required. The most widely used test is a
fasting blood glucose test. They draw your blood after you have
fasted for eight hours and your results should be under 110mg/dl. If
it comes back higher than 125mg/dl, you will be asked to take the
test again. If it comes back higher than 125 again you will be
diagnosed as being diabetic.
If your first FBGT comes in over 125 your doctor may request an
oral glucose tolerance test for you. For this test you again have to
fast overnight and then before the test you are asked to drink a
sugary solution and you are tested repeatedly as the sugar is
processed. For a person without diabetes, blood sugar spikes and
then falls relatively quickly after that into the normal range. For
a person with diabetes, the blood sugar level spikes and then
returns to normal at a much slower rate. A normal reading after 2
hours is less than 140; a person with diabetes will have levels over
200.
There is also a non-fasting test that can be taken at any time.
The normal reading for this test is in the low to mid 100’s, if it
reads over 200, you will be diagnosed with diabetes.
There are other blood glucose tests, your doctor will do a
hemoglobin A1c regularly if you are diagnosed with diabetes and keep
the results to compare and track your progress. There is also
self-monitoring of blood glucose, necessary if you want to know how
certain foods and exercise affect your glucose levels and be able to
maintain normal levels.
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