Am I At Risk For Diabetes ? 

How do I know if I have diabetes?

There are a few ways to determine your risk for diabetes. The two most common are with either a fasting glucose or a hemoglobin A1c at your doctor’s office. A fasting glucose is the speediest out of the two. It is a measurement of the concentration of glucose in your blood after at least 8 hours of not eating. This can be done with a simple finger prick or with a blood sample from your vein. This helps you and your provider understand how efficiently your body manages glucose – also known as sugar.

What does my body do with glucose?

Blood glucose levels rise as the body breaks down food we’ve eaten into molecules of glucose. These glucose molecules are used for energy in the body. Whatever is not used is stored away to be used later. This is accomplished with a hormone called insulin.

How does insulin work?

Insulin’s main job is to store glucose in the liver, muscle and fat. However, when there is not enough insulin in the body, or when the body resists insulin’s efforts, glucose cannot be stored. Instead, it accumulates in the bloodstream. This is why people living with diabetes may have high blood glucose levels when measuring a sample of blood.

What other tests show my risk for diabetes?

Another common way for your provider to determine your diabetes risk is with a test called a hemoglobin A1c. This test measures glucose levels over 3-4 months. A hemoglobin A1c test is different from a fasting glucose because it predicts your risk for diabetes regardless of whether you’ve eaten or not. It’s a measurement of glucose levels over a long period of time.

What are the numbers and what do the mean?

If your fasting glucose level is over 100 but still under 125, or if your hemoglobin A1c is above 5.6 but below 6.5 you may be at risk for developing diabetes soon. This is called prediabetes.

If your fasting glucose level is over 126, or if your hemoglobin A1c is above 6.5, your doctor will confirm with a second test. If your number is still high on the second test, your doctor may diagnose you with diabetes