How many blood tests to diagnose diabetes?
How many blood tests are needed to diagnose diabetes? I have recently had three fasting samples taken. The first two showed blood glucose levels in the diabetic range, 8.9 for the first and only just within the range for the second. The third was normal. My GP wrote ‘no action’ on this and so none was taken, but if only one fasting sample out of three was normal, might not this one sample be the ‘glitch’?
8.9 may be a little high but does not suggest diabetes the most tell tale signs of diabetes are extremely high blood sugar levels 20-44mmol, extreme thirst levels and very rapid weight loss and strong sweet smelling urine, read my source box for what i was diagnosed on
He really should have advised you about changing your diet at the very least.
Blood sugar that high, on a fasting test, is a diabetic level. I don’t understand why he wrote no action.
Any fasting result over 7.0 indicates diabetes and to confirm diabetes, 2 out of 2 tests is all it takes.
Sounds like you need to ask for an HbA1c test. It should be between 3.5 and 5.5% In the HbA1c test, anything over 5.5 indicates diabetes.
Maybe you should consider a new doctor. He may be waiting to retest next year when its gone up even further, but I would not want to wait. The longer its high, the more damage it does to your body. The sooner you take action, the better for you.
Its your body, get an HbA1c done and find out what’s really going on.
Good luck!
If you are really concerned ask him if he could do a Hb1c test which shows the average blood glucose level over the last 2-3 months and a glucose tolerance test. But it might be that knowing your full medical history and of course he might have already done the first one I mentioned that he does not think you have diabetes. In the mean time try to drink plenty watch what you eat especially ADDED sugar(Not things like the sugar present in fruit etc) and fat and exercise more if possible.
I was told it takes two abnormal fasting glucose tests to diagnose Diabetes.
In addition - your doctor will give you an A1C test which tells what your average blood glucose level has been over the last 3 months or so.
Hi,
The A1c test is a much better indicator of the severity of diabetes. Sure that being really high on sugar levels while fasting is an indication, but it also might be that your body was only able to recover from the dinner the night before in 8 hours.
A1c test looks at a 3 month average. In the US, we use a blood sugar scale that has 100 as normal, and give or take 20 as acceptable. I am not sure about the metric system.
With the A1c test, 6.5% or less would be considered normal, and anything over 8.5% is a sure sign of diabetes.
You could contact your local pharmacy and see if they have an over the counter A1c test that you can buy. While not as accurate as what the doctor’s lab results will be, it is close enough for your needs.
You might want to read this book. Dr. Barnards Program for Reversing Diabetes. He offers great tips to reduce and stabilize sugar levels then it is possible to reduce medication as your suar levels decrease. Being a non-diabetic, it is still a healthy diet plan, and you don’t need to stick with it 100%. But being on his diet plan, your pancreas will thank you because it will not need to produce insulin at it’s fullest capacity anymore, and can work at the normal range of it’s working capacity.
Sugar highs are leading to overweight conditions as the pancreas is saving us from a sugar high it is transforming those excess blood sugars into body fat that most people do not need.
If you get a higher than normal A1c test with a home kit, it might be time to see another doctor that is a specialist in diabetes. Then tell them the results of your home test, and that you want a more accurate one. Or perhaps my changing your diet, your pancreas will recover and you will be fine.
The pancreas as well as all vital organs in the body reproduce and replace themselves every 120 days or so, one cell at a time.
It is important to not eat a diet that is to acidic either. By reducing acidic foods intake, and eating better foods, you will start to see the insulin is more productive in the body. So stop drinking soft drinks, avoid cheese, reduce milk products, and see if your health improves.
Good Luck!