How Do I Know Which Type of Diabetes I Have?

A Health Care Article Contributed by Lisa Stanley

How Do I Know Which Type Of Diabetes I Have?

When you first find out that you have Diabetes, you may wonder which type of Diabetes you have and how to treat it. Once you understand the type of diabetes you have, you can begin to take the proper steps to manage your condition and decrease or altogether prevent the complications associated with Diabetes.

How Is Diabetes Diagnosed?

Early symptoms of Diabetes include increased thirst, increased urination, unexplained weight loss, and fatigue. There are a number of ways to confirm the diagnosis of Diabetes. A finger stick test is a rapid screening test that can be performed at a hospital or in a doctors office. It is not as accurate as testing your blood, but it is fairly easy to perform the test, and results are quick. This is the way that most diabetics monitor their blood sugar at home.

In a fasting Plasma glucose test, your blood glucose is measured after you have gone at least eight hours without eating and drinking. If the results are higher than 100,but less than 126, you have what is called impaired fasting glucose, a pre-diabetes condition. You have a higher risk of developing Diabetes in the near future. If the blood glucose level is higher than 126, then you have Diabetes.

The oral glucose tolerance test involves drawing blood for a fasting plasma glucose test and then drawing blood for a second test 2 hours after you have drank a very sugary drink. If the result is 200 or greater, then you have Diabetes. If the results are between 140 and 199, then you have a pre-diabetes condition. A glycosylated hemoglobin or A1c test measures how high your blood sugar has been over the last 120 days, the lifespan of a red blood cell.

This is a standard test for those known to have Diabetes, to measure blood glucose control.

Types of Diabetes

There are three main types of Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes is diagnosed in early childhood or in early adolescence after an illness or an injury prompts testing. In type 1, formerly called juvenile or insulin dependant Diabetes, insulin must be administered on a daily basis in order to sustain life. In type 2 Diabetes, formerly called adult onset diabetes, any one at any age can develop this type. Recently, children have been diagnosed with Type 2, primarily due to poor eating habits and obesity.

In type 2, only in rare cases does insulin need to be administered, the main treatment lies in diet, exercise, and medication, if needed. In Gestational Diabetes, women who are pregnant can be diagnosed with the condition. This type of Diabetes is usually due to hormonal changes that affect insulin production.

Most of the time, the condition disappears after the baby is born, but there seems to be an increased risk for women who have had Gestational Diabetes during their pregnancy of developing type 2 Diabetes within five to ten years after the baby's birth.