Understanding the Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes in Detail

Understanding the Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes in Detail

One good thing about type 2 diabetes is that it’s a manageable condition. Upon its successful diagnosis, your doctor and you can work out to develop a treatment and healthy diet plan for you.

Out of all the cases of diabetes diagnosis, about 90 to 95 percent make up type 2 diabetes, according to a report of CDC. Type 2 diabetes is also called adult-onset diabetes. While this diabetes type can occur to any individual at any age, it is more common in individuals who are older than 45 years of age.

Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

Among the common early signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes are the following. Be careful to observe these symptoms.

• Frequent or increased urination
• Fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Increased thirst
• Not healing of cuts or wounds

While some individuals experience these early signs, others are diagnosed after a series of routine tests. These routine tests for diabetes screening typically start at the age of 45. In certain cases, as mentioned below, you may need to undergo screening in case:

• You are overweight
• Your newborn weighs over 9 pounds or you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes earlier
• You have a sedentary lifestyle
• You are a Native American, an African-American, Asian, Latino, or originally from Pacific Island
• Type 2 diabetes is in your family history
• You have a high triglyceride level or a low HDL (good cholesterol) level

Now, based on the above symptoms and physical/genetic traits, in case you doubt that you might also have diabetes, talk to your doctor to undergo diabetes screening.

Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes

One important aspect of type 2 diabetes is that its symptoms develop gradually. Since you may or may not have all the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, your doctor will want to perform one or more blood tests to reach a solid conclusion. These tests aim to measure how much sugar is in your blood.

1. Glycated Hemoglobin (A1C) Test

This test is based on measuring your blood sugar levels over a period of 2 to 3 months, especially the blood sugar percentage attached to hemoglobin. As hemoglobin is a protein in your red blood cells, which carries oxygen, your blood sugar levels are directly proportional to A1C.

The following are potential outcomes of the test:

• A1C >= 6.5 percent = diabetes
• 5.7 < A1C < 6.4 percent = pre diabetes
• A1C < 5.7 percent = normal

2. Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

No matter how accurate the A1C test is, it fails in the case of pregnant women or people with a hemoglobin variant. All these cases require the fasting blood sugar test to be performed instead. This test requires you to fast overnight before taking your blood sample. You can visit here for more information.

The following are potential outcomes of the test:

• Fasting blood sugar >= 126 mg/dL refers to diabetes
• 100 mg/dL > Fasting blood sugar <= 125 mg/dL refers to pre diabetes
• Fasting blood sugar < 100 mg/dL refers to normal

3. Random Plasma Glucose Test

This test is targeted at those people who have some symptoms of diabetes and can be done at any time. This test considers your blood sugar levels excluding your last meal. Blood sugar level equal to 200 or above signifies that you have diabetes no matter when you last ate.

The following are potential outcomes of the test:

• Random blood sugar >= 200 mg/dL refers to diabetes
• 140 mg/dL < Random blood sugar level <= 199 mg/dL refers to pre diabetes
• Random blood sugar < 140 mg/dL refers to normal

4. Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

This test also requires you to fast overnight and take the test on an empty stomach. Once your fasting blood sample is taken, you are required to drink a sugary beverage. Now, the doctor will keep testing your blood sugar levels over a period of several hours.

The following are potential outcomes of the test:

• Blood sugar >= 200 mg/dL after two hours refers to diabetes
• 140 mg/dL > Blood sugar between <= 199 mg/dL after two hours refers to pre diabetes
• Blood sugar < 140 mg/dL after two hours refers to normal

Conclusion!

Type 2 diabetes, when uncontrolled, can result in severe complications, including kidney disease, blindness, stroke, heart disease, or amputation (surgical removal) of a leg and foot. Since it is feasible to avoid or treat many of the severe side effects of diabetes, early diagnosis, therefore, is very important.