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Tests for Blood Glucose

Blood glucose tests are part of routine exams. They are administered to discover if the patient has normal glucose levels, is prediabetic, or diabetic. Tests also monitor diabetic conditions to ensure a healthy lifestyle. High glucose levels can damage the body's organs. Low glucose levels may lead to coma. Diabetes is a chronic disease. It cannot be cured, but with early detection and monitoring, it can be controlled.

  1. Function

    • Glucose is a form of sugar necessary for energy. Glucose is derived from the food you eat. Food breaks down into sugar in the intestine. Your blood vessels then carry the sugar to the various organs in the body. The pancreas makes and releases insulin to help move the sugar into the body's cells where it is stored for energy. Type 1 diabetes patients do not produce insulin, so without insulin shots, blood sugar reacts with volatile increases or decreases. Type 2 diabetes patients do not use insulin effectively, so without diet, exercise, and possible medication, blood sugar levels are unstable.

    Diagnosis

    • If your health provider suspects you have diabetes, he or she will require that you have a fasting test. There are two fasting tests doctors recommend for possible prediabetes: the fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) or the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Patients must fast overnight before a lab technician performs either test. The FPG test measures the amount of glucose in the body before a person eats. Normal scores are below 100 mg/dL. Scores of 100 to 126 mg/dL indicate prediabetes conditions. The OGTT measures how the body responds to a sugar-filled drink. Scores lower than 140 mg/dL are normal. Scores higher than 140 mg/dL and less than 200 mg/dL indicate prediabetes.

    A1C

    • The A1C test measures average blood glucose levels over the past two to three months. The test is measured in percentiles instead of milligrams per deciliter. The A1C requires fasting overnight for 12 to 14 hours. The lab technician draws blood before you eat. A normal level 4 to 6 percent. The target level for people with diabetes is 7 percent or less. Health care providers require diabetes patients to have A1C tests every three to six months.

    Self-Monitoring

    • Besides fasting tests, health care providers urge patients to self-monitor their sugar levels if they are at risk for diabetes or diagnosed with diabetes. Self-monitoring requires a glucometer or glucose meter, meter strips, and a lancet device. Type 1 diabetes patients check their glucose levels three to four times a day. If you have well-controlled type 2 diabetes you may check your glucose once per day. Patients are urged to keep a log of their glucose levels, so they can review it with their doctors. Analysis of the log helps show spikes and lows and possible causes.

    Risk Test

    • The American Diabetes Association has a quick multiple-choice test that will explain your level of risk in developing diabetes. It asks your age, weight, height, activity level, family history and ethnicity. Diabetes is more prominent in African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and Pacific Islanders. It is also more common in people who are over 40 years old and overweight individuals.

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