Diabetes Blood Test - The Two Most Common Methods

Are you feeling the symptoms of diabetes? Do you think that your sensations of tingling, frequent thirst, urination, and increased hunger are no longer normal? If so, you should go running to your doctor for diabetes tests.

It is good that you are able to recognise that you may be suffering from the condition but it is even better if you have knowledge on how you are being diagnosed for diabetes. Understanding the condition will not only help you understand the tests; it will also assist you in your transition to have a healthier lifestyle to manage the illness. This article will tackle the various tests utilised by doctors to diagnose diabetes.

Millions of people around the world are unaware that they already have diabetes or pre-diabetes. This is mainly due to ignorance or merely ignoring the symptoms associated with the condition. Warning signs should be heeded and one should confirm this through diabetes tests conducted by diabetologists.

The Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) Test

The most popular and commonly used test diabetes diagnosis, FPG is both cheap and convenient. It may miss some diabetes and pre-diabetes but according to the majority of medical world, the test is fairly reliable. This test obliges the individual to refrain from eating for at least 8 hours-the fasting phase.

After the fasting phase, blood will be drawn from the subject for lab analysis. The results will determine if you have or a candidate for having diabetes. There are sets of values of blood glucose levels which are usually measured in milligrams per decilitre that will help you and your doctor confirm the presence of diabetes.

In some cases, you may produce normal results but the doctor may still suspect that you are still a candidate based on symptoms and risk factors. In this case, you will be likely prompted to undergo a slightly different test to be certain of the diagnosis.

The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

This is another test for diagnosing diabetes. Usually, individuals are encouraged to take this test to confirm doubts that were not resolved by the FPG test. Like FPG, OGTT also requires the subject to refrain from eating before drawing blood. The test is usually used to test for insulin resistance, and sometimes reactive hypoglycaemia or other rarer metabolism disorders. Basically, it measures the body's ability to metabolise glucose, or clear it out of the bloodstream.

After the basic FPG test, you will be asked to quickly drink a sweet liquid containing glucose. After 1 or 2 hours, a blood sample will be collected for blood sugar level analysis. OGTT is also done on pregnant women with a slightly different procedure.

There are other tests that assist doctors in diagnostics. The two given above are the most preferred.