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Why Should You Consider Diabetes Diagnostic Tests?

Dr Amrish Mehta, an M.B.B.S. with a Diploma in Pathology and Bacteriology as well as an M.D. in Pathology and Microbiology, shares his insights on diabetes, diagnosis of the diseases and stresses on the importance of diabetes diagnostic tests. Here is what we learned from our discussion about one of the most prevalent diseases in India today:

The Effects of Wrong Treatment: Ignoring Diabetes Diagnostic Tests

A lot of diabetic patients take the same doses of medication despite having inconsistent sugar levels. This can be very unsafe as it may lead to undertreatment or overtreatment of diabetes. When undertreated, it can result in serious health complications arising from uncontrolled blood sugar levels. Similarly, if you are overtreated, the drop in your blood sugar levels may cause hypoglycemia which is an emergency condition that leads to unconsciousness.Dr Amrish Mehta warns that in the long run, wrong treatment can cause microvascular or macrovascular complications. Microvascular complications arise from the damage of small blood vessels in various parts of the body, resulting in blindness, kidney damage or even peripheral neuritis. With macrovascular damage surrounding the arteries, cardiac episodes are a dangerous possibility. If the blood supply to the brain is affected, then you may develop cerebrovascular accidents or peripheral vascular diseases.

Test Your Blood Sugar Levels

There are three tests that you should get to monitor the rise in blood sugar levels in your body. These are serum creatinine, urine routine and urine microalbumin. Of the three, urine microalbumin is the most critical test. This is because, while elevated Serum Creatinine levels may indicate irreversible kidney damage, urine microalbumin helps detect kidney damage which can be reversed with immediate care.

A Routine Diabetes Check

The permissible blood sugar level is 65 – 110 mg/dL. It is always good to get your diabetes checked once in six months with these three tests:

Fasting Blood Sugar – On an empty stomach.
Post Lunch Blood Sugar – Two hours after eating a regular meal.
HbA1C – No food restrictions. (This is a diabetes mellitus test)

In cases where a fasting blood sugar test cannot be taken on an empty stomach, the HbA1C test is sufficient to check the presence of diabetes in your body.A test called ‘Random Blood Sugar’ is now being used as a replacement for fasting and post-lunch blood sugar tests. However, because sugar levels fluctuate depending upon the quality and the quantity of food, the random blood sugar test cannot be a standard parameter whereas the fasting blood sugar test is.Read More: Understanding Blood Sugar Levels

Measures to Prevent Diabetes

Two decades ago, diabetes was a cause for concern in people over the age of 40. However, nowadays, diabetes is prevalent in youngsters too. This is because children of this generation are exposed to inactive lifestyles and unhealthy meal options.If you would like to prevent diabetes from affecting your life, there are a few changes you need to start implementing on a regular basis. These are:

Increase the daily intake of green leafy vegetables and proteins.
Decrease sugar intake – such as tea/coffee, ice creams and sweets.
Replace snacks with soups and salads.
Walk for at least half an hour a day to boost basal metabolic rate and burn calories.
Cut down on vehicle usage and opt for walking.
Use the staircase instead of the elevator.

It is important to note that if you have a family history of diabetes, then there is a higher probability that you may get it too. However, by following the steps above to monitor your diet, watching your weight and exercising regularly, you can entirely avoid or at least delay the onset of diabetes by a minimum of five to ten years.Also Read: What Causes Low Creatinine: Medical Experts Weigh InConclusionUltimately, small changes can create a significant impact in the long run. While there is no particular age to start monitoring your lifestyle, starting early is always beneficial. All you need to do is get rid of the sedentary lifestyle and change your wrong dieting habits. Add to this the regular blood sugar checks, and you can effectively keep diabetes away.Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.Links and product recommendations in the information provided here are advertisements of third-party products available on the website. PharmEasy does not make any representation on the accuracy or suitability of such products/services. Advertisements do not influence the editorial decisions or content. The information in this blog is subject to change without notice. The authors and administrators reserve the right to modify, add, or remove content without notification. It is your responsibility to review this disclaimer regularly for any changes.

The Importance Of C Peptide In Your Diabetes Diagnosis

Nearly each of us knows someone who has diabetes. Being diagnosed with diabetes for the first time can be a tricky affair and there is usually a battery of tests conducted to confirm it. Along with the routine fasting and post-lunch blood sugar levels, your doctor might order a C- peptide blood test as well.

C-peptide is a protein consisting of 31 amino acids. It is produced by the same cells of your pancreas that secrete insulin and hence is found in equal amounts as that of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps in regulating blood sugar levels. Insulin permits the entry of glucose into the body cells where it is used for energy. C-peptide does not affect the blood sugar levels in the body. Most of the C-peptide is excreted by the kidney and it remains in the body 3-4 times longer than insulin.

C peptide levels directly indicate the insulin levels in the body and hence if it is very low in a patient it can be type 1 diabetes. If in a type 2 diabetes patient if C peptide level is low it indicates that there is reqiurement of insulin therapy and oral medications will be of not much help.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD

How does the C-peptide test help in diagnosing diabetes?

A C-peptide test will measure the level of this peptide in your blood sample. Since both insulin and C-peptide are produced at the same time, the level of C-peptide in your blood can show how much insulin is being made by your pancreas.

This test is done when someone is just diagnosed for having diabetes and it is not yet clear whether it is type 1 or type 2 diabetes. If the person is suffering from type 1 diabetes, (which means no insulin is being made by the pancreas) the C-peptide levels would be very low. If the person is suffering from type 2 diabetes he may have a normal or high level of C-peptide.

Occasionally, there is a condition when a person has very low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and high insulin levels in the blood, but the exact cause of this is to be analysed. There are two possibilities. Either the person has injected too much insulin or his pancreas is secreting too much insulin (possibly due to insulinoma: a non-cancerous tumour of the pancreas). This test can also be used as a tool to resolve this problem. As synthetic insulin is man-made, the amount of C-peptide in the blood will not be the same. Hence in case 1, there will be a low C-peptide level. But in case 2, i.e. if there is an increased release of insulin from the pancreas, the person will have a high level of both C-peptide and insulin in their blood sample.

Normal results of c peptide are within the range of 0.5 to 2.7 ng/mL but can vary depending on the lab that is used for testing. A high level of C-peptide could mean a number of conditions, an important point to note is that C-peptide levels are associated with diabetes type and duration of disease.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.

Also Read: Understanding Insulin Resistance – Symptoms, Causes & Effects

The test is useful even after surgical removal of such an insulinoma. If the C-peptide levels are high even after the surgery, it can suggest that the tumour has returned or that the tumour has metastasized.

Furthermore, if you are suffering from any liver disease, a severe infection, or Addison’s disease, the levels of both your C-peptide and blood glucose will be low.

Thus, the C-peptide level is a very useful tool in the treatment and management of diabetes, despite the fact that it has no effect on blood glucose levels.

Also Read: 9 Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

Links and product recommendations in the information provided here are advertisements of third-party products available on the website. PharmEasy does not make any representation on the accuracy or suitability of such products/services. Advertisements do not influence the editorial decisions or content. The information in this blog is subject to change without notice. The authors and administrators reserve the right to modify, add, or remove content without notification. It is your responsibility to review this disclaimer regularly for any changes.