Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) Test

More often than not people around the world suffer from Type 1 and type 2 diabetes without them know it, once found the damage to the pancreas and other organs are already irreversible. According to American Diabetes Association almost seven million people don’t know they have the disease and about 18.8 million were diagnosed and 79 million people has border line diabetes (Pre diabetes).

There are numerous risk factors to watch out for like Age, Polycystic ovary syndrome, Family history, History of gestational diabetes, High blood pressure, race and ethnicity, Insulin resistance, Obesity or being overweight, and genetics.

If left untreated or poorly managed, diabetes can impair multiple organ functions and can lead to complications such as Heart disease and stroke, High Blood Pressure, Kidney Disease, Neuropathy, and Blindness to name a few.

Symptoms of Diabetes are vague so screening is very important to prevent if not decrease the effects of the disease.

Symptoms are as follows: To confirm the diagnosis your doctor will require you to undergo some test such as Fasting Plasma Glucose also known as fasting blood sugar test. The procedure is commonly used to diagnose diabetes by measuring the sugar levels in the blood.

The blood will be drawn from patient and will be sent to the laboratory to measure the blood glucose level. The result will be interpreted by doctors.

Result of Fasting blood glucose will make the diagnosis concrete Concomitantly additional screening may prescribe by your doctors to ensure correct diagnosis such as Oral Glucose Tolerance Test and Hemoglobin A1C Test.

What to Know Before the Procedure

The test is done in the morning and usually doctors will require patients to not eat nor drink for 12 hours or more prior to fasting plasma glucose test.

It is important that patient should inform his/her doctors about any allergies, history of hospitalization, medications that they’re taking and other health problems. This information will greatly help doctors in many ways. In addition, if you are taking any prescription medications, you may need to adjust your dosages for several days before the procedure. Be sure to discuss any proposed changes with the doctor who prescribed the medications to you to make sure the changes will not have adverse effects on your health

What to Know After the Procedure

After the procedure patient can resume normal routine. It is generally safe to return to a normal diet immediately following the test. Some discomfort and irritation may persist for a short time afterwards. However, prolonged bouts of bleeding on the site where the blood was drawn is not normal and may be indications of serious side effects. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience any such symptoms.