Information regarding diabetes and day-to-day living with the disease.

Diabetes requires special tests and exams to watch blood sugar levels, and
diagnosing the disease. You should always start with a thorough exam by your
doctor. Then, you will be asked about your family history, if diabetes runs
in the family, and other risk factors. Another question will be, what medications
you are on? You will be asked if you are allergic to any medications and if
you have high cholesterol or other early signs of cardiovascular disease.

One of easiest methods is a simple finger stick. This will give blood sugar
levels immediately but not always as accurate as a laboratory test. A pinprick
is made on a finger, a drop of blood is placed on a test strip, and then it
goes into a small machine. These machines are usually the way that diabetics
keep track of their levels at home. You will sometimes get an unusually high
or low reading and are only accurate to within about 10 percent of the reading
a laboratory would read.

Going a little further, a fasting plasma glucose test may be needed. You will
need to fast the eight hours before your test is scheduled. Your blood will
be drawn, usually in the morning, and your reading should not be more than
126 mg/dl. If the reading is higher, you probably have diabetes. The test may
be done again on another day just to corroborate the results, or you may be
asked to take a glucose tolerance test or a glycosylated hemoglobin test. These
tests are more accurate and will confirm you have diabetes or you are considered
prediabetic. It would mean you have a high risk of developing diabetes in the
future.

The oral glucose tolerance test involves drawing blood and testing it, then
drinking a drink that is sweet and two hours later you will have another blood
sample drawn. If this test shows your blood glucose level to be over 200 mg/dl,
you are diabetic. A reading between 140 and 200 would suggest a prediabetes
condition.

The most accurate test is called the glycosylated hemoglobin test. It’s
a measurement of how high your sugar level has been over the last 120 days.
This is the normal life span of all red blood cells. Extra glucose attaches
to red blood cells and stays there for the life of the cell. It is the best
measurement for people who already have diabetes. This test is being used more
often as a diagnostic tool for testing for diabetes.

You may have seen advertisements on TV about monitors that don’t need
you to stick your finger each time you need your blood levels tested. This
will make it easier for those of us, who use our fingers for our work. Using
a different method needing less blood and not sticking the finger every time,
makes this method best for those who need to test several times a day. Many
diabetics will test their sugar levels and adjust their insulin accordingly.