Boston: How To Read And Interpret A Blood Sugar Levels Chart

Boston,

You may be getting diabetes type 2 – and not even know it. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, you should have your blood sugar tested if:

-You urinate too frequently

-You feel consistently thirsty

-You lose weight for no reason

-You have fatigue or blurry vision

Any of these symptoms could mean diabetes or pre diabetes, and you should ask your doctor to check your blood sugar levels. Here are some of the tests that your doctor may run:

-Hemoglobin A1-C (abbreviated as HbA1c) – sometimes called glycated hemoglobin, a common screening test that evaluates how your blood sugar has been over time.

-Fasting Blood Glucose or FPG- a blood sugar test taken at least eight hours after a meal, sometimes called a fasting glucose level.

-Oral Glucose Tolerance – you drink a bottle of measured glucose and then your blood is taken in hourly intervals to check the blood sugar levels over time.

All of the tests above will have to be ordered by your doctor; you can’t do these with any home testing. The first test that is normally run is the fasting glucose, and then the other tests like the HbA1c and tolerance tests are run if the first test is abnormal.

If you are pre-diabetic, you may have an abnormal result for the fasting glucose, but the follow-up tests may be normal, as your blood sugar levels have not raised up enough to show up on every test.

The Sugar Levels Chart

Here are the normal ranges for the three lab tests above:

Normal Values

-Hemoglobin A1C(%): Around 5

-Fasting Plasma Glucose (mg/dl): below 99

-Glucose Tolerance Test (mg/dl): below 139

Pre-diabetic Values

-Hemoglobin A1C(%) – 5.7-6.4

-Fasting Plasma Glucose (mg/dl): 100-125

-Glucose Tolerance Test (mg/dl): 140-199

Diabetic Values

-Hemoglobin A1C(%) – 6.5 or more

-Fasting Plasma Glucose (mg/dl): 126 or more

-Glucose Tolerance Test (mg/dl): 200 or more

Source: American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes-2012.

Your health provider will take other factors in consideration when making a diagnosis – not just the lab results. All of your clinical signs and symptoms, your family history and past diagnoses will affect your provider’s final determination.

Here are some other important points to consider:

-Anyone over the age of 45 should be tested for pre-diabetes.

-If you are obese and have any of the symptoms listed above, you should be tested even if you are younger than 45 years old.

-If you have pre diabetes, you are at risk of developing full-blown type 2 diabetes within 10 years.

-Pre-diabetes patients can avoid full Type 2 diabetes easily with subtle changes in diet and exercise.

Disclaimer: This information in this article was derived from information found in medical journals and the mainstream media that provide reports on health. None of the contents of this article should be relied on as medical advice. For treatment information specific to your condition, consult your medical doctor.

Source by Carl Ringwall

How To Read And Interpret A Blood Sugar Levels Chart