Blood Sugar Test

What is a blood sugar test?
A blood sugar test is a procedure that measures the amount of sugar, or glucose, in your blood. Your doctor may order this test to help diagnose diabetes. People with diabetes can also use this test to manage their condition.

Blood sugar tests provide instant results and let you know the following:
Your diet or exercise routine needs to change
How your diabetes medications or treatment is working
If your blood sugar levels are high or low
Your overall treatment goals for diabetes are manageable
Your doctor may also order a blood sugar test as part of a routine check up. They may also be looking to see if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes,a condition where your blood sugar levels are higher than normal.

Your risk for diabetes increases if any of the following factors are true:
You are 45 years old or older
You are overweight
You don’t exercise much
You have high blood pressure, high triglyceride’s, or low good cholesterol levels (HDL)
You have a history of gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby who weighed over 9 pounds
You have a history if insulin resistance
You have a history of strokes or hypertension
You have a family history of diabetes
Checking your blood sugar levels can be done at home or at a doctor’s clinic.

What does a blood sugar test do?
Your doctor may order a blood sugar test to see if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes. The test will measure the amount of glucose in your blood. Your body takes carbohydrates found in foods like grains and fruits and converts them into glucose. Glucose, a sugar, is one of the body’s main sources of energy. For people with diabetes, a home test helps monitor blood sugar levels. Taking a blood sugar test can help determine your blood sugar level to see if you need to adjust your diet, exercise, or diabetes medications.
Low blood sugar (Hyperglycemia) can lead to seizures or a coma if left untreated. High blood sugar (Hyperglycemia) can lead to ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition that’s often a concern for those with type 1 diabetes.
Ketoacidosis occurs when your body starts using only fat for fuel. Hyperglycemia over a long period can increase your risk for neuropathy (nerve damage), along with heart, kidney, and eye diseases.

What are the risks and side effects of a blood sugar test?
A blood sugar test has low to no risks or side effects. You may feel soreness, swelling, and bruising at the puncture site, especially if you’re drawing blood from a vein. This should go away within a day.

Types of blood sugar tests
You can take a blood sugar test two ways. People who are monitoring or managing their diabetes prick their finger using a glucometer for daily testing. The other method is drawing blood.
Blood samples are generally used to screen for diabetes. Your doctor will order a fasting blood sugar (FBS) test. This test measures your blood sugar levels, or a glycosylated hemoglobin, also called a hemoglobin A1C test. The results of this test reflect your blood sugar levels over the previous 90 days. The results will show if you have pre diabetes or diabetes and can monitor how your diabetes is controlled.

When to test blood sugar?
When and how often you should test your blood sugar depends on the type of diabetes you have and your treatment.
Type-1 diabetes: According to the medical experts, if you’re managing type-1 diabetes with multiple dose insulin or an insulin pump, you’ll want to monitor your blood sugar before eating a meal or snack, exercising, sleeping, critical tasks like driving or babysitting.
High blood sugar: You’ll want to check your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes and feel increasing thirst and the urge to urinate. These could be symptoms of high blood sugar and you may need to modify your treatment plan. If your diabetes is well-controlled but you still have symptoms, it may mean you’re getting sick or that you’re under stress. Exercising and managing your carbohydrate intake may help with lowering your blood sugar levels. If these changes don’t work, you may need to meet with your doctor to decide how to get your blood sugar levels back into target range.

Low blood sugar: Check your blood sugar levels if you feel any of the symptoms like shaky, sweaty or chilly, irritated or impatient, confused, light-headed or dizzy, hungry and nauseous, sleepy, tingly or numb in the lips or tongue, weak, angry, stubborn, or sad. Some symptoms like delirium, seizures, or unconsciousness can be symptoms of low blood sugar or insulin shock. If you’re on daily insulin injections, ask your doctor about glucagon, a prescription medicine that can help if you’re having a severe low blood sugar reaction.
You can also have low blood sugar and show no symptoms. This is called hypoglycemia unawareness. If you have a history of hypoglycemia unawareness, you may need to test your blood sugar more often.

Pregnant women: Some women develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy. This is when hormones interfere with the way your body uses insulin. It causes sugar to accumulate in the blood. Your doctor will recommend testing your blood sugar regularly if you have gestational diabetes. Testing will make sure that your blood glucose level is within a healthy range. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after childbirth.

No scheduled testing: Home testing may be unnecessary if you have type-2 diabetes and have a diet- and exercise-based treatment plan. You may also not need home testing if you’re taking medications that aren’t associated with low blood sugar.