Where to get diabetes checked

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Blood sugar testing: Why, when and how Blood sugar testing is an important part of diabetes care. By Mayo Clinic Staff. Open pop-up dialog box Close. Continuous glucose monitor A continuous glucose monitor CGM is a device that measures your blood sugar every few minutes using a sensor inserted under the skin.

Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references American Diabetes Association. Glycemic targets: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — Diabetes Care.

Know your blood sugar numbers: Use them to manage diabetes. Accessed Nov. Weinstock RS. Self-monitoring of glucose in management of nonpregnant adults with diabetes mellitus. The big picture: Checking your blood glucose. American Diabetes Association. Diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement.

Eversense continuous glucose monitoring system. Senseonics, Inc. Accessed Dec. Basu A, et al. Continuous glucose monitor interference with commonly prescribed medications: A pilot study.

Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. How to safely use glucose meters and test strips for diabetes. Food and Drug Administration. Blood glucose monitoring devices. Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system.

Dexcom, Inc. Castro MR expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. See also Medication-free hypertension control A1C test After a flood, are food and medicines safe to use? These tests measure blood sugar with a finger prick and a glucose monitor. Any abnormal diabetic test needs to be followed up with your doctor. The purpose of this type of screening is to serve as an early alert, hopefully cutting down on the damage done by type 2 diabetes by uncovering it and addressing it early, before you have any complications of high blood sugar.

Also, "These screenings have the potential to catch other types of diabetes," adds Knapp. Since more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and another 86 million are at risk for the disease, early diagnosis is more important than ever.

Anyone can benefit from a free screening, but there are recommendations for who is most likely to benefit. In addition, adults who are overweight or obese and have one additional risk factor for diabetes — including physical inactivity or polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS — should be tested. And if you do have risk factors for diabetes , you should consider getting tested at an earlier age.

Take a type 2 diabetes risk test at the American Diabetes Association's website. If you're on Medicare , you can get a free screening at your local hospital or at your doctor's office if you have any of these risk factors:.

The device automatically delivers the correct amount of insulin when the monitor indicates it's needed. Oral or other medications. Sometimes other oral or injected medications are prescribed as well. Some diabetes medications stimulate your pancreas to produce and release more insulin.

Others inhibit the production and release of glucose from your liver, which means you need less insulin to transport sugar into your cells. Still others block the action of stomach or intestinal enzymes that break down carbohydrates or make your tissues more sensitive to insulin. Metformin Glumetza, Fortamet, others is generally the first medication prescribed for type 2 diabetes.

Another class of medication called SGLT2 inhibitors may be used. They work by preventing the kidneys from reabsorbing sugar into the blood. Instead, the sugar is excreted in the urine. In some people who have type 1 diabetes, a pancreas transplant may be an option.

Islet transplants are being studied as well. With a successful pancreas transplant, you would no longer need insulin therapy.

But transplants aren't always successful — and these procedures pose serious risks. You need a lifetime of immune-suppressing drugs to prevent organ rejection.

These drugs can have serious side effects, which is why transplants are usually reserved for people whose diabetes can't be controlled or those who also need a kidney transplant. Bariatric surgery.

Although it is not specifically considered a treatment for type 2 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes who are obese and have a body mass index higher than 35 may benefit from this type of surgery.

People who've undergone gastric bypass have seen significant improvements in their blood sugar levels.

However, this procedure's long-term risks and benefits for type 2 diabetes aren't yet known. Controlling your blood sugar level is essential to keeping your baby healthy and avoiding complications during delivery. In addition to maintaining a healthy diet and exercising, your treatment plan may include monitoring your blood sugar and, in some cases, using insulin or oral medications.

Your doctor also will monitor your blood sugar level during labor. If your blood sugar rises, your baby may release high levels of insulin — which can lead to low blood sugar right after birth. If you have prediabetes, healthy lifestyle choices can help you bring your blood sugar level back to normal or at least keep it from rising toward the levels seen in type 2 diabetes.

Maintaining a healthy weight through exercise and healthy eating can help. Sometimes medications — such as metformin Glucophage, Glumetza, others — also are an option if you're at high risk of diabetes, including when your prediabetes is worsening or if you have cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease or polycystic ovary syndrome. In other cases, medications to control cholesterol — statins, in particular — and high blood pressure medications are needed.

Your doctor might prescribe low-dose aspirin therapy to help prevent cardiovascular disease if you're at high risk. However, healthy lifestyle choices remain key. Because so many factors can affect your blood sugar, problems may sometimes arise that require immediate care, such as:. Increased ketones in your urine diabetic ketoacidosis. If your cells are starved for energy, your body may begin to break down fat. This produces toxic acids known as ketones.

Watch for loss of appetite, weakness, vomiting, fever, stomach pain and a sweet, fruity breath. You can check your urine for excess ketones with an over-the-counter ketones test kit.

If you have excess ketones in your urine, consult your doctor right away or seek emergency care. This condition is more common in people with type 1 diabetes. Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome. Hyperosmolar syndrome is caused by sky-high blood sugar that turns blood thick and syrupy.

It is seen in people with type 2 diabetes, and it's often preceded by an illness. Call your doctor or seek immediate medical care if you have signs or symptoms of this condition. Low blood sugar hypoglycemia. If your blood sugar level drops below your target range, it's known as low blood sugar hypoglycemia. If you're taking medication that lowers your blood sugar, including insulin, your blood sugar level can drop for many reasons, including skipping a meal and getting more physical activity than normal.

Low blood sugar also occurs if you take too much insulin or an excess of a glucose-lowering medication that promotes the secretion of insulin by your pancreas.

Check your blood sugar level regularly, and watch for signs and symptoms of low blood sugar — sweating, shakiness, weakness, hunger, dizziness, headache, blurred vision, heart palpitations, irritability, slurred speech, drowsiness, confusion, fainting and seizures.

Low blood sugar is treated with quickly absorbed carbohydrates, such as fruit juice or glucose tablets. Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. Diabetes is a serious disease. Following your diabetes treatment plan takes round-the-clock commitment.

Careful management of diabetes can reduce your risk of serious — even life-threatening — complications. Make physical activity part of your daily routine. Regular exercise can help prevent prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and it can help those who already have diabetes to maintain better blood sugar control. A minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise — such as brisk walking — most days of the week is recommended. Aim for at least minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week.

It's also a good idea to spend less time sitting still. Try to get up and move around for a few minutes at least every 30 minutes or so when you're awake.

Keep your vaccinations up to date. High blood sugar can weaken your immune system. Get a flu shot every year, and your doctor may recommend the pneumonia vaccine, as well.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC also currently recommends hepatitis B vaccination if you haven't previously been vaccinated against hepatitis B and you're an adult ages 19 to 59 with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The most recent CDC guidelines advise vaccination as soon as possible after diagnosis with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

If you are age 60 or older, have diabetes, and haven't previously received the vaccine, talk to your doctor about whether it's right for you. If you drink alcohol, do so responsibly. Alcohol can cause either high or low blood sugar, depending on how much you drink and if you eat at the same time. If you choose to drink, do so only in moderation — one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men — and always with food.

Remember to include the carbohydrates from any alcohol you drink in your daily carbohydrate count. And check your blood sugar levels before going to bed.

Numerous substances have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in some studies, while other studies fail to find any benefit for blood sugar control or in lowering A1C levels. Because of the conflicting findings, there aren't any alternative therapies that are currently recommended to help everyone with blood sugar management.

If you decide to try any type of alternative therapy, don't stop taking the medications that your doctor has prescribed. Be sure to discuss the use of any of these therapies with your doctor to make sure that they won't cause adverse reactions or interact with your current therapy.

Additionally, there are no treatments — alternative or conventional — that can cure diabetes, so it's critical that people who are receiving insulin therapy for diabetes don't stop using insulin unless directed to do so by their physicians.

Living with diabetes can be difficult and frustrating. Sometimes, even when you've done everything right, your blood sugar levels may rise. But stick with your diabetes management plan, and you'll likely see a positive difference in your A1C when you visit your doctor.