Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis
With Diabetes Mellitus there are several forms of the disease. The most common form is Type 2 diabetes which is also known as “adult onset” diabetes as well as “insulin resistant” diabetes. Worldwide Type 2 diabetes is currently in epidemic proportions.
The doctor will usually order 1 or more of the below tests to diagnose Type 2 diabetes:
Fasting blood glucose level
This test is used to measure blood glucose after not eating for at least eight hours. Most of the time this is the 1st test done to check for Type-2 diabetes as well as pre-diabetes.
Hemoglobin A1c test
This test has been used to monitor the control of glucose of diabetic patients overtime. In 2010 it was recommended that this same test could be used as another test for diagnosing diabetes Type-2 and to also identify those with pre-diabetes. Levels indicate:
- Normal- less than 5.7%
- Prediabetes – between 5.7% and 6.4 percent
- Diabetes- 6.5% or higher
Test of oral glucose tolerance
With this test a patient is asked to drink a sweet liquid which contains glucose after fasting for 8 hours. A blood sample will then be collected after 2 hours. Normally, blood glucose levels peak after an hour and then begin to drop. Diabetes is diagnosed when glucose level is over 200 mg/dL after 2 hours.
Random (non-fasting) blood glucose test
With this test, diabetes is deduced if over 200 mg/dL and also accompanied by the symptoms of excessive urination, extreme thirst and also fatigue. But before the diagnosis can be made, this test should be verified with a fasting blood glucose test.
These are the main tests that are used to diagnose Type 2 diabetes as well as prediabetes. The doctor will need to distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 as the treatment of the two is different. Type 1 diabetes is always treated with insulin therapy while Type 2 can be treated with diet and exercise alone or diet and exercise in combination with medication.
