10 Essential Diabetes Tests You Need to Know
Have you made up your mind to manage your condition from the inside out and take control of your life? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. At Ulta Lab Tests, we make it easy for our clients to find, undergo, and review their laboratory tests in a secure and safe portal without physician involvement or a doctor’s prescription. While we encourage you to browse through the many different types of tests we offer, we have cut to the chase and isolated ten of the key tests that provide people with diabetes with the most valuable insights. If you have diabetes or are prediabetic, these tests could help you understand your condition and closely monitor it.
Hemoglobin A1c
A Hemoglobin A1c test, also known as the A1c test, helps people with diabetes monitor their blood glucose levels. The ADA (American Diabetes Association) recommends that diabetic people with stable glycemia undergo glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) testing at least twice a year. If your glucose control is terrible, you might have to reschedule the test every quarter.
CMP- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
The CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel) is one of our most popular tests. This is a single test panel that analyzes twenty different biomarkers essential to tracking and treating a large variety of conditions. Categories analyzed by the panel include your endocrine and metabolic health, electrolytes and urinary health, kidney and liver health.
Glucose
Virtually all diabetes laboratory tests will include a blood glucose test, which is essential as it helps diagnose most carbohydrate metabolic disorders, such as:
- Pancreatic islet cell neoplasm
- Idiopathic hypoglycemia
- Diabetes mellitus
Microalbumin, Random Urine with Creatinine
This test can help people with diabetes avoid diabetic nephropathy, a common diabetes complication characterized by overt proteinuria or the presence of access amounts of protein in the urine. Before this problem starts, the affected person will typically exhibit higher-than-normal levels of albumin excretion. The good thing about the condition is that if spotted early, its progression can be easily stopped. Through the Microalbumin, Random Urine with Creatinine test, patients can quickly identify any tiny or abnormal increases in the amount of excretion produced by the urinary albumin. Moderate increases are known as microalbuminuria and are determined by albumin levels ranging from 30 milligrams to 300 milligrams a day. According to the National Kidney Foundation, anyone over 12 years of age with Type 1 diabetes and any Type 2 diabetes patients below 70 years of age should make sure they undergo this test at least once each year.
Lipid Panel
Since diabetes is a known precursor to cardiovascular disease, diabetes patients must watch their lipid levels. The condition’s lipoprotein pattern is known as atherogenic dyslipidemia or diabetic dyslipidemia. It is characterized by moderately elevated triglyceride levels, small dense LDL particles, and low HDL cholesterol values.
CBC-Complete Blood Count
The CBC or Complete Blood Count test is a lab test that all people with diabetes must undergo. The test is quite helpful as it is also used to diagnose other conditions, including:
- Anemia
- Bleeding Disorders
- Certain types of cancer
- Inflamation
- Leukemia
The test evaluates your platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells.
Insulin
People with diabetes are always reminded to check their blood glucose levels regularly. To that end, insulin lab tests are generally used to get a more accurate view of a patient’s blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar levels are too low, your doctor might recommend that you start taking insulin supplements along with your regular medication. Insulin tests are also often used to:
- Identify insulin resistance
- Determine what’s causing hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels)
- Evaluate the production of insulin by beta cells in your pancreas
- Detect and diagnose insulin-producing tumors in the islet cells found in the pancreas
CRP-C-reactive protein
A CRP or C-Reactive Protein test identifies harmful inflammation that could exacerbate and worsen current diabetes conditions. An increase in C-Reactive Protein levels marks many inflammatory conditions, and they include:
- Active arthritis
- Bacterial infections
- Malignancies
- Myocardial infarction
- Rheumatic fever
