Type 2 diabetes can creep up on you without you even knowing it. Watch for any of the following symptoms, if you see any of these, you should have your blood glucose level checked if:
-You have to urinate a lot
-You feel consistently thirsty
-You lose weight unexpectedly
-You suffer from chronic tiredness or have blurry vision
If you have any of the above, you could have diabetes or pre diabetes, and it's time for a visit to your doctor to check your blood sugar. Some of tests your doctor may run would include:
-Hemoglobin A1-C (or sometimes written as HbA1c) - glycohemoglobin, a reliable test that measures your blood glucose levels over a period of time.
-Fasting Blood Glucose or FPG- a blood sugar test taken at least eight hours after a meal, sometimes called a fasting glucose level.
Oral Glucose Tolerance test- a test where you are given glucose orally and your blood sugar levels are then measured at intervals.
Your doctor will have to order these tests; you cannot do them without a doctor's order. Normally, your doctor will run the fasting glucose test first, and then if that test is abnormal, your doctor may order follow-up tests like a Hemoglobin A1C or the tolerance test.
You can have an elevated fasting sugar followed by a normal result for the other tests when you are pre-diabetic. This is because your sugar levels are not high enough to show elevated results for all three tests.
The Sugar Levels Chart
Here are the ranges considered normal for the three glucose tests mentioned above:
Source: American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes-2012.
Note that these numbers are not absolute; your health care provider will have to evaluate all your lab results and your clinical symptoms to determine your diagnosis.
Other important aspects to remember:
-Anyone over the age of 45 should be tested for pre-diabetes.
-Obese patients under 45 should be tested too, particularly if you have any of the symptoms mentioned above.
-You can get full diabetes within 10 years of you have pre-diabetes and do nothing about it.
-If you have pre-diabetes, you can prevent the onset of full type 2 diabetes with just a few simple lifestyle changes.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information freely available in the popular press and medical journals that deal with health. Nothing herein is intended to be or should be construed to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice the reader should consult with his or her physician or other medical specialist. How Much Water Should You Drink To Lose Weight ?
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