5 Important Tests for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Sugar — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 09:00:31 +0000

Diabetes has become one of the most common diseases which most of the adults are either already suffering or have a high chance of being diagnosed with. The sedentary lifestyle habits along with a change in the standard of living have led to the rise of the sugar disease. Since the disease is becoming more prevalent, the awareness as well as methods of diagnosis has increased too. There are various Diabetes tests which you can take to see if you are suffering from the disease. Let’s see the 5 most important tests which people can take in order to know whether they are suffering from Diabetes.

Important Diabetes Tests

Here are various blood tests which can be conducted for the diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes but one can also do a Diabetes test at home. You can use a Diabetes checking machine to check your blood sugar level and know what the results are, almost instantly. If you want to know your insulin levels, you can simply carry out an insulin test for Diabetes. Check them out –

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

The Oral glucose tolerance test is a diabetic test which is majorly performed on women during pregnancy. It is accurate in letting us know if a pregnant woman is suffering from Gestational Diabetes. In this test, the blood is normally taken for test once to know the average blood sugar level and later, you will be given a syrupy glucose solution. After this, your blood is taken every 30 to 60 minutes for the next 3 hours to see how your blood is handling the surge in sugar. The results for this Diabetes blood test can vary depending upon the grams of glucose in the solution.

Fasting Blood Sugar Test

When we talk about test for patients with Type 2 Diabetes, the most common Diabetes test name that crops up is the Fasting Blood Sugar test. This medical test is extremely easy to perform and thus, is highly preferred by all. One needs to fast overnight in order to take this test in the morning. Usually, a normal blood sugar level from this test ranges from 70-99 mg/dl or less than 5.5 mmol/L. Many also use a Diabetes machine to conduct this test.

Two Hour Postprandial Test

The blood sugar level is also reflected accurately after a meal and the two hour postprandial test does that. You need to have a normal meal and then wait for two hours to get this test done. If your blood sugar level is 70-145 mg/dl or less than 7.9 mmol/L then this is the normal range, and you can be worry free. If the test indicates otherwise, you need to immediately go to a doctor for getting a Diabetes check up.

Random Blood Sugar Test

The random blood sugar test just like its name says is done randomly to measure the blood sugar level irrespective of the time as well as the meals had prior to the test. The normal range for the random blood sugar test spans from 70-125 mg/dl or less than 7.0 mmol/L. If it is anything higher than that, you are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

Hemoglobin A1C Test

This is the only Diabetes test which measures the amount of sugar which is stuck in your red blood cells. These cells have a span of just 3 months but it can indicate your level of blood sugar in the recent months. It is a test which can also be conducted for diabetics to see how their recent blood sugar level is performing. If the results for this test are higher, you can make certain lifestyle changes to bring it back to normal. This test cannot be performed through a Diabetes machine.

The post 5 Important Tests for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes first appeared on Diabetes Dose.

Blood Sugar Level Chart for Diabetic Patients

Sugar — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 04:30:54 +0000

Diabetes is a disease which can at times have no visible symptoms and it gets difficult to diagnose the disease in such cases. However, a simple ‘Blood Test’ done to test the blood sugar level can help in effective diagnosis of Diabetes. Blood sugar levels for diabetic patients are higher than the normal blood sugar level in humans. To know whether your blood sugar level can be termed as Diabetes or Prediabetes, you need to have an understanding of the different levels of sugar in blood which you will learn below.

What is Blood Sugar Level?

We all have a certain amount of sugar in our bodies and the quantity of blood sugar or glucose in blood is known as the blood sugar level. If these levels rise, a person may suffer from Diabetes. There are various tests to measure these levels and are used for diagnosis of Diabetes. Some tests are conducted after eating whereas some of them are conducted before eating and the blood sugar level for both of them differs.

National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended target blood glucose level ranges

Target Levels by Type	Upon waking	Before meals (pre prandial)	At least 90 minutes after meals (post prandial)
Non-diabetic**		4.0 to 5.9 mmol/L	under 7.8 mmol/L
Type 2 diabetes		4 to 7 mmol/L	under 8.5 mmol/L
Type 1 diabetes	5 to 7 mmol/L	4 to 7 mmol/L	5 to 9 mmol/L
Children w/ type 1 diabetes	4 to 7 mmol/L	4 to 7 mmol/L	5 to 9 mmol/L

**The non-diabetic figures are provided for information but are not part of National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Blood Sugar Level of Diabetic Patients

After a certain limit, the level of blood sugar is known as the diabetic blood sugar level which would mean that you are suffering from Diabetes. The blood glucose level differs as per age as well as gender along with other conditions such as pregnancy. Let’s see how the range differs for each type of person based on the Diabetes blood sugar levels chart.

Plasma glucose test	Normal	Prediabetes	Diabetes
Random	Below 11.1 mmol/l Below 200 mg/dl	N/A	11.1 mmol/l or more 200 mg/dl or more
Fasting	Below 6.1 mmol/l Below 108 mg/dl	6.1 to 6.9 mmol/l 108 to 125 mg/dl	7.0 mmol/l or more 126 mg/dl or more
2 hour post-prandial	Below 7.8 mmol/l Below 140 mg/dl	7.8 to 11.0 mmol/l 140 to 199 mg/dl	11.1 mmol/l or more 200 mg/dl or more

Kids

There are many tests to determine the blood sugar levels in kids. The most common test that doctors recommend is the ‘Fasting Blood Sugar Test’. If your child has a 100 mg/dl of blood sugar level in a ‘Fasting Blood Test’ then he or she is perfectly fine and is in the normal range. But if it exceeds from that level and is below 125 mg/dl, your child is suffering from Prediabetes.

Finally, if your child has a blood sugar level of more than 126 mg/dl, he or she is suffering from Diabetes. These levels can be different for various tests and you must refer to your doctor to know whether your child is suffering from Diabetes.

Adults

Adults have a slightly higher range of normal blood sugar level as per the blood glucose chart. The normal range of blood sugar as per the ‘Fasting Blood Sugar Test’ is below 108 mg/dl. Anything which is significantly lower than this level is considered to be a low blood sugar range.

The range between 108 mg/dl to 125 mg/dl is said to be a state of Prediabetes which is an onset for the Type 2 Diabetes. The high blood sugar range for adults is above 126 mg/dl which is termed as Diabetes. You must constantly keep your blood sugar level in check by frequently referring to the blood sugar level chart.

Pregnancy

During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through a lot of vital changes and the blood sugar level is impacted to a certain level. However, the normal blood sugar range for pregnant women without Diabetes is from 69 mg/dl to 75 mg/dl on a ‘Fasting Blood Sugar Test’.

Target Blood Glucose Numbers (mg/dL) for Women with Gestational Diabetes
Time of Day	Targets
Before meals and when you wake up	95 or lower
1 hour after eating	140 or lower
2 hours after eating	120 or lower

For women who are suffering from Gestational Diabetes, the blood sugar level is higher than 95 mg/dl. Multiple blood tests are required during the tenure of pregnancy to diagnose Gestational Diabetes.

The post Blood Sugar Level Chart for Diabetic Patients first appeared on Diabetes Dose.

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