When do i take glucose test

They will advise you what to do. Any woman can develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, but you're at an increased risk if:.

If any of these apply to you, you should be offered screening for gestational diabetes during your pregnancy. Most cases are only discovered when your blood sugar levels are tested during screening for gestational diabetes. Some women may develop symptoms if their blood sugar levels gets too high hyperglycaemia , such as:.

But some of these symptoms are common during pregnancy and are not necessarily a sign of gestational diabetes. Speak to your midwife or doctor if you're worried about any symptoms you're experiencing. Having gestational diabetes also means you're at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

During your first antenatal appointment also called a booking appointment at around week 8 to 12 of your pregnancy, your midwife or doctor will ask you some questions to determine whether you're at an increased risk of gestational diabetes.

If you have 1 or more risk factors for gestational diabetes you should be offered a screening test. It involves having a blood test in the morning, when you have not had any food or drink for 8 to 10 hours though you can usually drink water, but check with the hospital if you're unsure. You're then given a glucose drink. After resting for 2 hours, another blood sample is taken to see how your body is dealing with the glucose.

The OGTT is done when you're between 24 and 28 weeks pregnant. If you've had gestational diabetes before, you'll be offered an OGTT earlier in your pregnancy, soon after your booking appointment, then another OGTT at 24 to 28 weeks if the first test is normal.

If you have gestational diabetes, the chances of having problems with your pregnancy can be reduced by controlling your blood sugar levels. Reviewed: April 21, Medically Reviewed. Whether you need to or are able to perform more frequent testing depends on a number of factors: Are you newly diagnosed?

If so, you will need to take blood sugar tests more often to give your doctors the data they need to shape an appropriate treatment plan. Are you taking insulin?

Doctors recommend that people who need insulin to treat their type 2 diabetes perform three or more blood sugar tests throughout the day, especially if they take multiple daily doses or are using an insulin pump. Are you leading an active lifestyle? People participating in sports or working out regularly need to test their blood glucose more often. Are there safety concerns? Patients who drive or operate heavy machinery should test their blood sugar beforehand, to protect both themselves and those around them.

Are there factors in your life that limit your ability to test often? For example, people who type at their jobs may need to limit their testing if their fingertips become too painful to work a keyboard. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Blood sugar testing: Why, when and how. Products and services.

Blood sugar testing: Why, when and how Blood sugar testing is an important part of diabetes care. By Mayo Clinic Staff. Open pop-up dialog box Close. Continuous glucose monitor A continuous glucose monitor CGM is a device that measures your blood sugar every few minutes using a sensor inserted under the skin. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again.

Show references American Diabetes Association. Glycemic targets: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — Diabetes Care. Know your blood sugar numbers: Use them to manage diabetes. Accessed Nov. Weinstock RS. Self-monitoring of glucose in management of nonpregnant adults with diabetes mellitus.

The big picture: Checking your blood glucose. American Diabetes Association. Diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. Eversense continuous glucose monitoring system. Senseonics, Inc. Accessed Dec. Basu A, et al. Continuous glucose monitor interference with commonly prescribed medications: A pilot study. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. How to safely use glucose meters and test strips for diabetes.

Food and Drug Administration. Blood glucose monitoring devices. Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system. Dexcom, Inc. Castro MR expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. See also Medication-free hypertension control A1C test After a flood, are food and medicines safe to use? Air pollution and exercise Alcohol: Does it affect blood pressure? Artificial sweeteners: Any effect on blood sugar? Bariatric surgery Beta blockers Beta blockers: Do they cause weight gain?

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