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test for diabetes

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Q: I get cold sweats and nausea, I have been checked for Diabetes but seems that every test comes normal? Help?
I recently had to go to hospital because it go so bad that I couldnt walk or keep anything down. Doctors ran all kind of tests (diabetes-TB-infections) but I feel they missed something because I still have the sweats not as bad but they are still there? any suggestions?

A: Make an appointment with a regular doctor. If he doesn’t find anything have him refer you to a doctor that specializes in endocrinology.
One of the problems with going to an ER rather then a regular doctor is that they deal with the emergency not long term care. Did they advise you to follow up with your doctor if things didn’t improve? If they didn’t they should have. This is SOP.

Q: How can I test Diabetes?
Is it possible for me to have Diabetes if I am experiencing many symptoms, I am urinating frequently, thirsty a lot and have chest pain I think I am diabetic. Where can I test this?

A: Mark – You need to visit your doctor or health clinic as soon as you can to get a urine test (for possible bladder infection and sugar) and maybe be scheduled for a GTT (glucose tolerance test) which requires previous night fasting, a blood sugar test, then drinking a measured sugar drink, and having a second blood sugar test two hours later. If you have bacteria or pus in your urine, then you will likely be started immediately on an appropriate antibiotic.

Q: Can eating before the 3 hour gestational diabetes test cause my blood sugar to be high enough for me to fail?
I failed my 1 hour gestational diabetes test last friday. My level was 146 which isn’t extremely high but high enough they recommended I take the three hour test. I was told that I have to fast the whole morning before the test which concerns me because I become extremely ill when I dont eat. If I eat that morning or drink a caffinated drink will it make me fail the test?

A: YES!!!!!!!!! Please don’t eat. This is a test for you and your child’s health.

Q: Im 18. Me and my bf have no diabetes in our backgrounds so why am i taking the gestational diabetes test?
Just wondering because i was looking the test up on the internet and it said that you dont have to have it unless your over 25, and have a medical history in your family for any kind of diabetes and we dont? He also said i have to get blood taken before i take the sugar drink and after and on the internet it says different… it says you just have to get blood taken after… So im a little confused at this point… Help!

A: Just get the test done, it never hurts to be 100% safe! But yeas they take your blood before and after. Don’t listen to what the internet says. Good luck!

Q: How long does it take for them to find out the results to my diabetes test?
I took a diabetes test 2 weeks ago last friday (16 days) i haven’t gotten a call-nor have we called them (my dad is stubborn) howmany days around should it take to find out? if it helps i got it at around… 12:10? PM thanks

A: it doesnt’ take very long at all.
you should contact your doc or make an appointment.
i found out the same day about mine

Q: Having my gestational diabetes test in a few days?
Last time that I had my blood taken, I blacked out, over heated and almost puked. They took about 4 viles last time. This time they are going to take 2 viles, is there anyway to avoid having another black out spell? I’m not scared this time around, but I prefer not to have that horrible feeling this time.

Also what happens if my diabetes test comes out positive and I have diabetes? Will my baby be okay, and what will I need to do for him?

A: Usually that sort of reaction to a blood draw stems from not having enough nutrients in your system. The glucose test consists of a somewhat nasty drink, then you wait an hour and they do the blood draw. The drink gives you nutrients, so it shouldn’t happen again.

If the test comes out positive, you will likely have to repeat it. The second test is waiting 3 hours. If that is still positive, then USUALLY you are prescribed a pill that you take until the baby is born. The doc may want to do more draws to monitor the levels, but its not like when you have regular diabetes and need to check you blood sugar all the time. The baby could be born large, and the pills will help to keep that from happening. If you want to know more about it, you could Google “gestational diabetes” and see what comes up. Good luck!

Q: How can I make drinking Glucola for my diabetes test more palatable?
I need to do the one-hour Glucose Challenge Test this week, and I am not looking forward to drinking the super-sugary Glucola drink. Are there anyways to drink it that make it taste better?

A: It’s actually not so bad as they say. I was terrified it would taste so horrible that I would barf. But it actually to me tasted like orange kool-aid. And they kept it cold,so that made it even better. It’s only 10 oz,but if you find you don’t like to drink a lot at one time,come thirsty.

Q: How long do I need to fast before the 3 hour gestational diabetes test?
I failed the one hour test, and am taking the 3 hour test at 8:30am tommorrow. The doctor mentioned fasting, but I was still in bed and groggy when hubbie came in with the phone and I missed how long I was supposed to fast for.

I know it was 2 hours for the one hour test, but I think it is longer for the 3 hour test?

A: I was told by 10 pm the night before to stop eating, and the test was at 8 Am the folowing morning

Q: do all pregnant woman have to take a gestational diabetes test?
i have to make an appointment for a gestational diabetes test soon. i am thinking about not making the appointment because i don’t want any sugar in my body. i do not consume any sugar whatsoever. even when i wasn’t pregnant i never had sugar. i hate candy i hate soda i hate all foods that have sugar. so i am wondering is if i have to make the appointment? i am not willing to put sugar in my body against my will.

A: No one has to take any medical test that they do not want to.

I strongly suggest you discuss your concerns with your Dr or midwife before you decide. The drink they give you is not a cane-sugar drink, but a glucose syrup. (The same glucose found in grapes, etc, according to Wiki). I don’t know if that makes a difference to you in your diet?

Gestational Diabetes doesn’t just put your baby at risk of being born early, but it can also lead to your baby being unable to regulate his or her own blood sugar levels at birth, and even under-developed lungs. Even if you eat a perfect diet, you can still be at risk, for no other reason than the hormones produced by the placenta can keep your body from using insulin properly. So even if you are not eating sugars, your baby is getting the sugars produced by your body when you eat grains, fruit and milk. This test is the only way I know of to see if that is happening.

Now that I have written that…I wonder if you can just test your blood sugar levels for a few weeks? If you do not have diabetes, the supplies won’t be covered (the strips cost about a buck a piece in Ontario). And you would have to test 7 times a day, most likely.

Again, please, please discuss your concerns with your health care provider. They may have other options or just a lot more info for you to help you decide.

Q: Is there any diabetes test Devices without using blood?
I am 29 weeks preganat Asian and failed my first glucose tolerance test with a 142. Before the pregant, I weighted 112 lbs, but now I am 135 lbs. I am 25 years old. I’ve done the 3 hrs glucose toerance test and I am waiting for the result. However, I still would like to buy a device for watchout my glucose.
1. Is there any devices can do the test without lanciante your skin?
2. Or if I have to, which brands and model will you suggest?
3. Do I need to buy strips for that?
Kindly thanks for your help.

A: so far, no one has been successful in monitoring blood glucose without the blood, ya gotta have blood. Most of the meters out there are about the same, yes you have to poke yourself, yes you have to have strips to put into the meter once you have blood on the strip. It is expensive, very expensive. If your doctor isn’t recommending it, I wouldn’t do it. But, if you must, you can get the equipment you need from any drug store, the strips run about fifty dollars a month and the meters cost anywhere from 25 dollars to 250 dollars.
Did the doctor say you “failed” the glucose tolerance test? Because 142 is not all that high a number after ingesting pure sugar, at least wait for all your lab results to come back before you jump to buying a meter.

Q: Can a diabetes test be falsely negative?
I have all of the symptoms of diabetes:
excessive thirst
frequent urination
irritability
blurry vision
fatigue
excessive hunger

I got tested for diabetes after fasting for 8 hours, but the test came back negative. Is it possible to test negative for diabetes, but its acutally a bad test? I am just wondering what is causing these symptoms if its not diabetes. Thanks!

A: The test you had would have been a fasting blood sugar level. It does not come back as a positive or negative, but as a number indicating the level of sugar in your blood at the time. You could always have the test repeated if you are worried, but I would discuss the result with the doctor first and see if your results were on the borderline of being high. Most of your symptoms could be related to other things. Is your diet healthy? You could be very thirsty because your diet is high in sugar or salt, drinking more will lead to urinating more. Maybe you are excessively hungry because your diet is not containing the right foods – do you eat a lot of refined carbohydrates like white bread, cakes, biscuits, sugar, if so you may need to change to whole grain and low GI carbohydrates which will make you feel more full. Protein will also help. You could be tired due to a poor diet as well. And the irritability could be related to your diet or lifestyle. Do you exercise enough? You may need to have your eyes checked to make sure you don’t need glasses. I am only speculating here, but if you fit the description you may just need to look at your lifestyle and change a few things to feel 100% better. Good luck!!

Q: What does it mean if you fail your diabetes test?
She had a test last week and she had to drink a bad tasting drink and sit around for an hour. The person drawing the blood was late in taking it but I was curious what does this mean?

A: She took a test for gestational diabetes. The one hour test checks blood glucose (sugar) levels to see how her body reacts to sugar in her food. Diabetes can cause problems with her pregnancy, such as high birth weight babies which increases C-section rates. If she failed the one hour test, she may or may not have gestational diabetes…She will be sent back to lab for a three hour test, where she will have blood drawn at one hour intervals after drinking the soda. If two of the three levels are high, she will be told she has gestational diabetes and will be sent to a nutritionist to try to control her blood sugar levels through her diet. If she can’t control it through diet, she will need insulin shots…Many fail the one hour test, but pass the 3 hour test…Unfortunately I failed mine for two pregnancies, but I was able to control mine through diet.

Q: Where can i get free diabetes test strips and lancets?
I am diabetic and have a contour meter and cant afford the test strips and lancets.Is there a place i can get them for free?

A: If you live in the U.K. your GP can prescribe them.

Q: how do I get FREE diabetes test strips ?
I have absolutely NO medical coverage, dont qualify for state help and cant afford medicare at $221 a month and cant afford health Ins through husbands job, I have diabetes and no financial means to pay for my much needed test strips.

A: good luck I can’t find them nowhere for free . I go to a clinic and get them half price , that’s better than full price

Q: Can you help me understand my diabetes test results?
Took an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test and after 2 hrs, it was 149 mg/dl and also they took blood for something called an A1C test and that was at 4.9%.

A: Your level of glucose at the 2 hour mark (149 mg/dL = 8.3 mmol/L) is higher than the cutoff of the normal level which is 7.8 mmol/L. However, it is not high enough to diagnose diabetes. At this level, this would be called “impaired glucose tolerance.” This means that even though your test does not show diabetes, your risk of developing outright type 2 diabetes in the near future is very high.

The Hemoglobin A1C test estimates how your sugars have been in the past three months by measuring sugar attached to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. Your target is to be below 6% so that is reassuring so far.

Hope that helps.

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