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diabetes diagnostic tests
Doctors use four tests to determine if a person has diabetes. If your doctor suspects you have this condition, then you may take one or more of the following:
- Random plasma glucose test
This measures the level of sugar, also called glucose, in your blood. Unlike other tests, this one does not require that you avoid eating before it is given. You can take this test any time. A health care professional will draw a small amount of your blood and examine it. If your blood sugar level is 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or higher, you may be a diabetic. Your physician may conduct either this test again or a fasting plasma glucose test to ensure a correct diagnosis. - Fasting plasma glucose test
This test requires that you do not eat or drink any beverages, except water, eight hours before it is given. After you fast, a health care professional will draw a small amount of your blood and study it. If you have a blood sugar level of 126 mg/dl or higher, then you may have diabetes. People without diabetes typically have a reading between 60 and 99 mg/dl. To ensure the fasting plasma glucose reading is right, physicians usually give it a second time to anyone with a blood sugar level of 126 mg/dl or higher. - Oral glucose tolerance test
Some people with diabetes have blood sugar levels below 100 mg/dl with the fasting plasma glucose test. If your blood sugar level is below 100 mg/dl and your doctor still believes you may have diabetes, then you may take the oral glucose tolerance test. Again, you will not eat or drink beverage, except water, for at least eight hours before the test. When it’s time for this test, a medical professional will take a sample of your blood. Then, you will drink a liquid with a specific amount of glucose, usually about 75 grams. A second blood test is taken two hours after you drink this liquid. (You cannot eat after drinking the glucose solution.) If after the second test you have a blood sugar level of 200 mg/dl, then you have diabetes. If your sugar level is 140 to 199 mg/dl, then you are pre-diabetic. If your level is below 140 mg/dl, you are neither diabetic nor pre-diabetic. - Glycated hemoglobin test
This also is called the A1C. It measures your average blood glucose level over the previous two to three months. If your A1C score regularly is high, then you will need medical care. A1C is an excellent way to determine your blood sugar over time. The American Diabetes Association says that an A1C score of 6.5 percent or higher shows a person is diabetic. A1C scores between 5.7 and 6.4 percent say a person is pre-diabetic. Scores below 5.6 percent show a person does not have diabetes.
