A fasting glucose test is used to find out exactly how well your body is using the glucose in your food. Good blood sugar control is absolutely vital to continued good health, as well as improving poor health. Doctors use this test to diagnose diabetes, and diabetics use it to monitor their blood sugar. Another benefit is that it can warn people who have prediabetes so that they can make the changes necessary in order to maintain healthy blood sugar levels avoid full diabetes. Most of the time, it is not necessary to fast if you are pregnant and being tested for gestational diabetes.
Diabetes comes along with a number of very serious complications, so it is very important that you know if you are diabetic or not. Aside from the diabetes, people with high blood sugar levels are at an increased risk of developing other problems. Some of these other problems include: kidney problems, heart problems, circulatory disorders, and blindness. At least eight hours with no food or drink besides water have to pass before this test can be performed, so it is usually done in the morning.
Diabetes can be much more accurately diagnosed through the use of fasting blood sugar levels because the variation due to food is not present. In order to diagnose diabetes, the doctor needs to do the test at least twice at different times. You are considered to have normal fasting blood sugar between 70 and 100 mg/dl. Doctors will diagnose diabetes when the reading is higher than 126 mg/dl.
Aside from checking the blood sugar levels, the doctor will do an examination to find out whether the patient has any other symptoms of diabetes. Blurry vision, weight loss, frequent urination, increased thirst, and increased appetite are all things that a doctor will look for. The nature of the blood glucose problem determines whether the patient is classified as either a type 1 or type 2 diabetic. Most people who develop diabetes have type 2.
It is important that this test be performed because it is the key to detecting and diagnosing diabetes when it is present. This test will be repeated from time to time as part of the monitoring of diabetes to ensure that blood glucose levels remain normal and that the patient has a healthier tomorrow.
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