what constitutes a diabetic diagnosis? a certain number for a period of time?

Answer 1

Generally you will have your fasting blood sugar checked in the morning, if it's higher than 7 or 8 mmol/dL, (milli mols per deca/deci litre) then you are generally at slight risk. If your faster blood sugar is 12+ it's fairly certain you have some form of Diabetes, there's Type1 (Juvenile Onset, genetic), Type2 (Adult Onset, genetic and or health related, usually obesity increases your risk), Type3 (Pregnancy Onset, which can sometimes become Type2, but usually just goes away after pregnancy)

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Normal fasting blood glucose is between 70 and 110 mg%. This is a big range, and most clinics use a smaller range based on the chemical procedure used in the lab for testing.

Fasting levels over 130 mg% is generally considered diabetes. Diabetics with good control will have a fasting level below 100 mg%, and two hours after eating, will have glucose level between 120 and 140 mg%.

For most people, blood glucose has to get up to about 300 mg% for them to have glucose in the urine.

Urine is also tested for ketones, which build up in diabetics whose body cannot use carbohydrates for lack of insulin, and so their body breaks down muscle protein for glucose. This is what causes weight loss in uncontrolled diabetes.

Ketones in the blood is what causes the damage to eyes, kidneys, nerves, and other organs, and leads to diabetic coma, which is life threatening.

These days, most clinics test a diabetic for hemoglobin A-1c, every three months. This test analyzes the glucose clinging to the outside of red blood cells. Red blood cells float around in the plasma of blood, which contains glucose. The higher the glucose, the more of it clings to the red blood cells. The lab report is a sort of average of the glucose amounts on all the red blood cells.

This average is a better indication of control to the doctor than one blood glucose level, especially if a patient is careful about exercise and diet only when they have a checkup scheduled.

So If your doctor thinks you might be diabetic, you will have to pee in a cup, and suffer through a phlebotomy for blood to test.

If your glucose level is high, the doctor will then order a Hgb A-1c.

But for many people, diabetes takes time to develop. Sometimes a fever or pregnancy will cause glucose levels to rise, but return to normal when the fever or pregnancy is done. For those patients, borderline diagnoses can go on for many months, even years.

Answer 4

for you to be diabetic it has to run in the family be over weight. the range can be in the 250 to 500 range if that happens yes you are diabetic and it can be higher up in the 1000 range so keep an eye on it. see your dr. and if you are really thristy and running to the bathrrom more than once a night.

Answer 5

I know several people who are diabetic. They only had to go in once or twice. They check your urine and see how high or low your blood sugar is. I believe that it is diagnosed in one trip to the doctor.