Diagnosis of Diabetes – 5 Testing Methods to Choose From

Diagnosis of diabetes or diagnosing diabetes requires diagnostic procedures that indicate the amount of sugar present in the blood and urine.  Laboratory tests of blood and urine sometimes indicate the faulty metabolism of glucose. This is a characteristic of diabetes even when no other symptoms of the disease are present. Because of unidentifiable signs like this, it is important that diabetes should be diagnosed.

Types of Tests for Diabetes

In the absence of obvious symptoms, the examination of the urine specimen supplied one or two hours after eating a high carbohydrate meal can help to identify a diabetic.  More specific diagnosis can be made by determining the glucose level in the blood.  Several types of tests can make this determination.

Diagnosis of Diabetes

1. Fasting high sugar test.  This is only a reliable indicator where diabetes fasting blood sugar is at its lowest point; in diabetics, it will be elevated.  In a pre-diabetic, however, the fasting blood sugar level may be within the normal range. Thus, in order to discover faulty glucose metabolism in the earliest stages, a more accurate test is administered.
2. Two-hour postprandial (after eating) blood sugar test. This is the more accurate test done to diagnose diabetes.  If the metabolism is normal, the digestion of a meal is followed by a rise in blood sugar up to a certain level. As the sugar is taken up by the cells and the excess is stored away, the level in the blood drops to a predictable amount. The tie for this return to normal blood sugar content is two hours. When the level of glucose is greatly elevated even two hours after a meal, diabetes is indicated. The diagnosis based on this test is doubtful only if the blood glucose level is moderately rather than excessively above normal.
3. Three-hour glucose tolerance test. This is considered as the most accurate diabetic test. In this procedure, the patient is given a measured amount of glucose to drink in a prepared solution or in tea after an overnight fast and the taking of a blood sample.  Specimens of blood are then taken at hourly intervals for three hours, and the urine is checked for glucose at the same intervals. The amount of glucose is noted at each interval, and the result is called glucose tolerance curve. Deviation from the normal curve is an almost positive indication of diabetes.
4. Oral glucose tolerance test. This is performed by calculating blood glucose levels five times in a matter of three hours.  The drug that is used in this test will stimulate the secretion of insulin into the blood of the normal patient, thus causing his blood sugar content to be conspicuously lower. In diabetics, the percentage of glucose remaining in the blood after ingesting the glucose drink is higher.
5. Personal glucose test. Since diabetes is a disease which is largely controlled by the patient, good control means that from day to day, the urine contains only small amounts of sugar or none at all. The diabetic is therefore instructed to make a daily urine test as a barometer of his condition. Ordinarily, a urine specimen contains the urine collected in the bladder over a period of several hours or overnight.

When tested for glucose, such a sample will indicate what the blood sugar content has been during a previous period. In order to check the blood sugar level at the precise time of the urine test, the diabetic must first void his bladder of accumulated urine and discard it. About half an hour later a second specimen of urine is passed for testing.

Various Methods on How to Diagnose Diabetes

There are various ways by which you can learn how to diagnose diabetes. Some use chemically treated paper which turns to different colors when dipped in urine, thus indicating varying amounts of glucose. There are also tablets which act as indicators by changing color when dipped in small amount of urine.  On the basis of the results of this type of daily testing, the diabetic patient learns how to make necessary adjustments in diet, insulin, activity, and other factors that relate to the management of diabetes.

After undergoing diagnosis of diabetes and the disorder is prevalent on one’s body, the next step is to seek treatment. You may go to your doctor and ask for his help or your other option is to browse through the net. For the latter, you may start referring to this page Best Diabetic Supplements.