Sorry, but I don’t know much about this so this question may sound silly but don’t you need to test your insulin level and well as glucose? I always hear the term "insulin resistance" and wonder if my doctor ever checked if I am insulin resistant. I wanted to get checked because I have PCOS and was told to get checked because it is common with PCOS.
Most doctors do NOT mneasure insulin levels unless the patient proves to be "a problem". The Blood Insulin Level Test is VERY EXPENSIVE, and most insurance companies won’t pay for it UNLESS all other avenues have been tried. Since your primary disease is PCOS, it is very unlikely that the insurance company will pay for a Blood Insulin Level Test.
But it is usually not needed. Fasting blood sugar reading is the most common method for diagnosis. this is the official "Method of Diagnosis":
"If a patient has two or more FASTING Blood Glucose Readings about 130, diabetes should be considered."
The doctor will follow this up with an A1C test and probably a Glucose Tolerance Test (take 3-4 hours, and you have to drink that sickly-sweet liquid)
So, if you ARE diabetic, are you Insulin Resistant or Insulin Deficient? A Blood Insulin Level Test WOULD show that, but there is a cheaper way.
There are TWO classes of drugs commonly used: Those that make your body more sensitive to insulin, and those that make your pancreas produce more insulin.
As it happens, Metformin is a drug for Insulin Resistance. It increases you sensitivity to insulin. It ALSO helps with the PCOS problem!
So the doctor may prescribe Metformin (or the same drug from another manufacturer) for your PCOS, and he will continue to watch your blood sugar levels, making SURE that they don’t drop too low.
The OTHER drugs cause your pancrease to make MORE insulin. these drugs would NOT help the PCOS, so it is unlikely the doctor would prescribe them to you UNLESS you are diabetic and the metformin doesn’t seem to be helping that.that.
But when taking these drugs, you have to be careful. They "squeeze" the pancreas harder, and so it is more likely to wear out as you age. if the doctor is not careful in his dosages and thorough with his checkups, you could become a Type 1 Diabetic, and require insulin shots.
The point is, it is CHEAPER to try Metformin, or the other drugs, and see which one works, than it is to take the Blood Insulin Level Test!
So most doctors will try drug therapy FIRST, and request the Blood Insulin Level Test ONLY as a last resort.
Fasting glucose is usually the first test they’ll perform, if that is out of range.. he’ll most likely do a couple more tests.
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A high fasting glucose is the result of not having enough insulin.
Insulin (at a basic level) allows the sugar in your system to leave the blood stream and get into your muscles etc to give you energy.
It is always the first indication of problems.
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That’s not the way it works. When you’re first diagnosed with Diabetes, and after you’ve done your fasting Glucose, the doctor will then put you on medication, usually pills, such as Actos, Glucophage, Glyberide, there’s a lot of them. These medications help your body absorb the insulin your Pancreas is producing. That’s what insulin resistant is, and that’s what type 2 Diabetes is. It’s when you are still producing insulin, though it may be to a lesser degree, but your body isn’t absorbing it. The doctor isn’t all that interested in how much insulin you’re making. His job is to make sure the meds he gives you is helping your body do it’s job.
Now, depending on how well the pills he gives works will determine on whether or not you’ll need injected insulin. It also depends on how well you do on your diabetic diet.
I hope this makes it clearer for you.
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to diagnose you with diabetes they will first look at your sugar levels, fasting and non, if they are off then they will do a hemoglobinA1c test, that test will tell your average sugar levels for the last 8 wks, if those are abnormal then they will give you a diabetes diagnosis. in order to tell for sure if you are a type one or type two diabetic there is a test that looks at your insulin production, but this test is not needed to diagnose the diabetes, just the type.
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im diabetic
Because the first test didn’t appear abnormal there was no reason to do a second test. But you could always ask you doctor to do the other test for your piece of mind.
References :
Most doctors do NOT mneasure insulin levels unless the patient proves to be "a problem". The Blood Insulin Level Test is VERY EXPENSIVE, and most insurance companies won’t pay for it UNLESS all other avenues have been tried. Since your primary disease is PCOS, it is very unlikely that the insurance company will pay for a Blood Insulin Level Test.
But it is usually not needed. Fasting blood sugar reading is the most common method for diagnosis. this is the official "Method of Diagnosis":
"If a patient has two or more FASTING Blood Glucose Readings about 130, diabetes should be considered."
The doctor will follow this up with an A1C test and probably a Glucose Tolerance Test (take 3-4 hours, and you have to drink that sickly-sweet liquid)
So, if you ARE diabetic, are you Insulin Resistant or Insulin Deficient? A Blood Insulin Level Test WOULD show that, but there is a cheaper way.
There are TWO classes of drugs commonly used: Those that make your body more sensitive to insulin, and those that make your pancreas produce more insulin.
As it happens, Metformin is a drug for Insulin Resistance. It increases you sensitivity to insulin. It ALSO helps with the PCOS problem!
So the doctor may prescribe Metformin (or the same drug from another manufacturer) for your PCOS, and he will continue to watch your blood sugar levels, making SURE that they don’t drop too low.
The OTHER drugs cause your pancrease to make MORE insulin. these drugs would NOT help the PCOS, so it is unlikely the doctor would prescribe them to you UNLESS you are diabetic and the metformin doesn’t seem to be helping that.that.
But when taking these drugs, you have to be careful. They "squeeze" the pancreas harder, and so it is more likely to wear out as you age. if the doctor is not careful in his dosages and thorough with his checkups, you could become a Type 1 Diabetic, and require insulin shots.
The point is, it is CHEAPER to try Metformin, or the other drugs, and see which one works, than it is to take the Blood Insulin Level Test!
So most doctors will try drug therapy FIRST, and request the Blood Insulin Level Test ONLY as a last resort.
References :