My husband has just been diagnosed with diabetes from a blood test.?
Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at
4:11 pm
But he hadn’t been fasting prior to the test – he wasn’t advsed to. Can a diagnosis be made from a non-fasting blood test? I suspect that he does have diabetes from the symptoms he is experiencing.
Filed under: Blood Glucose
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The following tests are used for diagnosis:
A fasting plasma glucose test measures your blood glucose after you have gone at least 8 hours without eating. This test is used to detect diabetes or pre-diabetes.
An oral glucose tolerance test measures your blood glucose after you have gone at least 8 hours without eating and 2 hours after you drink a glucose-containing beverage. This test can be used to diagnose diabetes or pre-diabetes.
In a random plasma glucose test, your doctor checks your blood glucose without regard to when you ate your last meal. This test, along with an assessment of symptoms, is used to diagnose diabetes but not pre-diabetes.
Positive test results should be confirmed by repeating the fasting plasma glucose test or the oral glucose tolerance test on a different day.
Fasting would not make a difference in the diagnosis. If the doctor "suspected", but was not convinced based on the rest of the examination, a fasting blood sugar test might be ordered to increase the information pool, but it sounds like your doctor had plenty of information to make the diagnosis without it.
A person who does not have diabetes will not have exceptionally high blood sugar readings, even right after eating. The healthy body just won’t let that happen because it makes plenty of insulin and uses it properly.
Technically, a diagnosis of diabetes can be made based on blood sugar level alone, however, most doctors are going to look at a host of information about the patient when they make that diagnosis….things like… Does this patient have risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing diabetes? and …Is this patient experiencing symptoms that could be caused by diabetes? If "all signs" point to diabetes, with the blood sugar "confirmation" the diagnosis is pretty easily made.
If a patient had one high blood sugar reading, and nothing else in the exam that pointed to diabetes… most doctors would do more testing, to be sure.
I’m sorry your husband has gotten this diagnosis. I hope you will both seek out lots of information and be open to some trial and error in learning to manage it successfully. Good Luck to you!
If the blood glucose reading was over 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/l), then he’s diabetic regardless of whether he ate or not. Here’s a webpage that might you understand what’s going on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose_tolerance_test
You and the doctor are in accord on his other symptoms! and the blood draw just confirmed the doctor’s thoughts.
I do hope the glucose number wasn’t too awfully high. Much easier to get a 200+ reading down than a 3 or 400 number.
Don’t worry, now the doc will be wanting blood draw every 3 months to see what else to do for your husband.
Much easier this way than if he were to present in ER with sore that won’t heal or eyes bleeding!
Diet Guidelines
http://www.diabetes911.net/readit/chapter10.shtml
Blood Sugar Management
http://www.dlife.com/dLife/do/ShowContent/blood_sugar_management/
Wal-Mart Testing Supplies
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3555238
One diabetic strategy is to consume very small low-carbohydrate portions about every hour. Calculate approximate daily calorie consumption for weight loss objectives.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/question693.htm
Wal-Mart sells a 16-ounce bag of World Kitchens beef jerky for around $8.50 . . cut up and weigh 1-ounce portions. Jennie-O turkey franks (cut up and boil to reduce fat and sodium). String cheese sticks. 1-ounce portions of peanuts. Sam’s caffeine-free diet cola has zero carbs, calories, and sodium. Blend sugar-free pudding powder with water and low-carb (4 grams) vanilla yogurt instead of milk for 1/2 cup servings. For a sugar-free slushie, blend around 1-1/4 cup A&W diet root beer, 1/2 cup vanilla pudding, and 6 ice cubes. Prepare 1/2 cup portions of sugar-free jello in 1-cup containers, and top with a 1/4 inch layer of vanilla pudding when served. Chocolate pudding makes good fudge pops.
http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000G32H3Y/ref=s9_asin_title_1/103-4336911-8289446
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/1294/df1xx1.jpg
Wal-Mart sells round screw-together containers in the craft bead section which are suitable for take-along beef jerky and peanut 1-ounce portions. The large size measures approximately 2.50” inside diameter by .75” deep, and costs around $2.00 per assembly of 4 containers.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5069/sp4il1.jpg
Might also consider taking a daily multi-vitamin and 81mg aspirin (if not adverse).