The blood test is useful to diabetes diagnosis and monitoring of all diabetes types (pre, type 1, type 2 & gestational). Diabetes test is more comfortable, faster, and less expensive to perform.
What is a diabetes test?
Diabetes test is a simple blood test to diagnose diabetes or to monitor diabetes. Diabetes test is testing the glucose or sugar level in your plasma or previously blood.
Commonly used diabetes testing
The diabetic test is measuring glucose or sugar level in blood or plasma. Commonly used blood tests are fasting plasma glucose test, oral glucose tolerance test, and random plasma glucose test.
- Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test - this test measures blood plasma-glucose after fasting for at least 8 hours, thus got the name fasting plasma glucose test. This test is useful to detect all types of diabetes.
- Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) - measures blood glucose after 8 hours of fasting and 2 hours after the person drinks a glucose-containing beverage. This test is useful to diagnose all types of diabetes.
- Random plasma glucose test - also called a casual plasma glucose test, because there is no fasting required or worry about what we have eaten. This test, along with an assessment of symptoms, is used to diagnose diabetes but not pre-diabetes. However, once a random plasma glucose test confirms, diabetes needs to be reconfirming by FPG or OGTT.
- Glycated hemoglobin A1C test – also called HbA1C test, this test also does not require fasting or need to drink anything and can take at any time at your convenience. This test provides the mean blood glucose level for the last 2 to 3 months. Thus help assess, how well or worst your diabetes treatment is responding.
For many individuals, making few lifestyle changes such as losing weight, increasing physical activity, and eating healthy food can help reverse diabetes or at least help reduce the medicine dosage.