How Does Your Loved One’s Doctor Diagnose Diabetes?
Caregiver in Hunterdon NJ
Sometimes as a family caregiver you’re not sure what kind of testing your loved one is going to have to face. With a condition such as diabetes, this can be scary because you’re talking about your 
loved one’s blood sugar levels and potential future treatment plans. Once you have a better idea what the diagnosis involves, it’s easier to follow the process.
Family History
Your loved one’s doctor may want to first take a family history of diabetes and diabetes-related illnesses in other members of your loved one’s family. This isn’t a definitive indication that your loved one is facing diabetes, but it can definitely help your loved one’s doctor in the diagnosis process.
Symptoms
Symptoms, and their severity, can help your loved one’s doctor to give a proper diagnosis. Your loved one might not realize that eating a little more, being extremely thirsty, and feeling extremely tired can all be related to diabetes but his doctor can tie those together.
A1C Testing
The A1C test is a blood test similar to the ones used daily to check blood glucose levels. Your loved one’s doctor might perform an A1C test to aid in diagnosis because it gives a snapshot of blood glucose levels for the last few months. Depending on the range of the test results, your loved one’s doctor can estimate whether your loved one is dealing with diabetes itself or prediabetes instead.
Fasting Plasma Glucose
Another type of test, the fasting plasma glucose test, tests your loved one’s blood after he’s fasted for at least 8 hours. Usually doctors want to run this test first thing in the morning before your loved one has any water or food so that he can get a look at what that initial blood glucose level is.
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
This is the test that most people think about when they think about diabetes testing because it involves drinking a super sweet drink. This is called the oral glucose tolerance test because your loved one drinks a glucose solution and then waits two hours to have his blood tested. What this test shows your loved one’s doctor is how well your loved one actually processes sugar in the body.
Your loved one’s doctor may also perform other types of tests to diagnose diabetes and to determine how it has affected your loved one’s body.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional caregiver services in Hunterdon, NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.
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