Diagnosing Diabetes
A doctor can diagnose
diabetes by checking for symptoms such as excessive thirst and frequent
urination and by testing for glucose in blood or urine. When blood glucose
rises above a certain point, the kidneys pass the extra glucose in the
urine. However, a urine test alone is not sufficient to diagnose diabetes.
A second method for testing glucose is a blood test usually done in the
morning before breakfast (fasting glucose test) or after a meal
(postprandial glucose test).
| Points to Remember
A doctor will diagnose diabetes by looking for four
kinds of evidence
- risk factors like exercise weight and a family history of
diabetes
- symptoms such as thirst and frequent urination
- complications like heart trouble
- signs of excess glucose or sugar in blood and urine tests.
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The oral glucose tolerance test is a second type of blood test used to
check for diabetes. Sometimes it can detect diabetes when a simple blood
test does not. In this test, blood glucose is measured before and after a
person has consumed a thick, sweet drink of glucose and other sugars.
Normally, the glucose in a person's blood rises quickly after the drink
and then falls gradually again as insulin signals the body to metabolize
the glucose. In someone with diabetes, blood glucose rises and remains
high after consumption of the liquid.
A doctor can decide, based on these tests and a physical exam, whether
someone has diabetes. If a blood test is borderline abnormal, the doctor
may want to monitor the person's blood glucose regularly. If a person is
overweight, he or she probably will be advised to lose weight. The doctor
also may monitor the patient's heart, since diabetes increases the risk of
heart disease.