September 1, 2006, Newsletter Issue #9: Blood Glucose Tests: Controlling Blood Sugar

Tip of the Week

Measuring blood glucose (sugar) is important not only for diabetes testing and diagnosis, but also for hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. There are different types of blood glucose tests commonly used to screen for high or low blood glucose.



Fasting blood sugar (FBS)- This blood glucose test is one of the first done when looking for diabetes and is a fasting blood test. Blood glucose is measured eight hours after your last meal.



1-hour postprandial- This test is done two hours following a meal.



Random blood sugar (RBS)- This test is done anytime. Generally, healthy blood glucose levels do not vary much, despite the time of day. Thus, doctors find this blood test useful because large variations in the blood glucose level could signal a problem.



Oral glucose tolerance test- Used to diagnose gestational diabetes, which occurs in pregnancy, this blood glucose test consists of several blood glucose readings. After a fasting blood glucose is taken, the patient consumes a sweet, glucose-laden drink. An hour later, another measurement is taken to see how the patient's system processed the sugar. These readings taken together help the doctor determine if the woman has gestational diabetes.

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