Diagnosing Diabetes

Diagnosing diabetes can be a bit more involved than it may initially appear. While the hallmark of diabetes is an increase in blood sugar levels known as hyperglycemia, there are many reasons a person's blood glucose may be high at any one time.

Therefore, making the diagnosis of diabetes can require other tests which assess glucose levels over time as well as your internal physiology, how your body handles and processes sugar in the blood. We all take in sugar and have glucose in the blood, its only those who have an impairment in the way the body processes that sugar that are considered to have diabetes.

Diagnosing Diabetes

Tests for Diabetes Here are some of the most common tests used to test for diabetes and its related symptoms and signs, including blood tests and tests of the urine. These are the mainstay of diabetes diagnosis.

• Serum Glucose One of the most common blood tests, the simple serum glucose level is used extensively to help diagnose diabetes and to follow its treatment.
• Hemoglobin A1C This blood test aids in the diagnosis and management of diabetes because it gives an indication of the glucose levels over time.
• Glucose Tolerance Test This "provocative" test assesses the patient's response to a load of sugar. While normal people can compensate for this extra sugar quickly, diabetics cannot, aiding in the diagnosis.
• Sugar in Urine One of the most common findings of diabetes on urinalysis, analysis of the urine, sugar in the urine is very suggestive of diabetes.
• Ketones in Urine Usually, very little or no ketones are found in the urine. This can be another sign of diabetes, particularly in Type I diabetes.

What is Prediabetes? Some people are diagnosed with prediabetes when they do not yet meet criteria for diabetes but show tendancies toward the disorder and are at risk for developing full diabetes in the future.