How Useful Is A Urine Test In The Diagnosis of Diabetes?

— -- Question: How useful is a urine test in the diagnosis of diabetes?

Answer: Urine tests, that was the way we measured glucose in the past, and, you know, urine tests may be the only thing available in some populations, but most people now use blood glucose testing, because it tells you what's happening that minute. So if you have diabetes, you want to know what's happening now. Urine collects overtime, so lets say for example, you tested in the morning and you tested your urine, well you might have sugar in your urine, but that might be sugar in your urine from midnight, because you held your urine in your bladder all night long.

The blood test tells you exactly what's happening when you test at 8 o'clock in the morning. Urine glucose doesn't show up until blood glucose is about, we call it the renal threshold or the 'spilling point,' is up to about 180. Now that number's a little different in everyone, but you don't spill sugar in your urine until your blood glucose is pretty high, so it's not really a good gauge of how well you're doing.

Next: What Are The Most Important Nutritional Principles For Someone With Type 1 Diabetes?

Previous: What Is A Hemoglobin A1c Test And When Is It Done?