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Glucose Testing
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Also Known As:

Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG),
Blood Sugar,
Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS),
Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG)

Formal Name:
Blood Glucose (Fasting)|Blood Glucose (Random)

This article was last modified on
November 9, 2021

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What Is Glucose?
Glucose is the type of sugar that the cells of the human body use as their main energy source. Your
body breaks down the food you eat into glucose and other substances. Your liver stores extra
glucose and can produce it at times when you are not eating. The glucose goes into your
bloodstream, where a hormone called insulin helps bring glucose into your body’s cells.

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Too much glucose in the blood can be a sign of diabetes, a serious medical condition that can cause
tissue and organ damage if it is not managed. Diabetes can develop if your body can’t make enough
insulin or if your body’s cells have trouble accepting insulin.

Too little glucose in the blood is called hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is often caused by diabetes
medication, but may also be due to health conditions unrelated to diabetes or to other medications.

The Role of Glucose Testing

There are several different reasons a doctor may recommend glucose testing for you. These include
screening, diagnosis, and monitoring.

Screening
Screening means using tests to find health problems before those problems cause any symptoms or
signs that you or your doctor might notice.

If you are over 40, overweight or obese, or have a heightened risk of developing diabetes, your
doctor may order one or more screening glucose tests to find prediabetes or diabetes. People with
prediabetes have glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed
with diabetes.

Diagnosis
Diagnosis is the use of tests and procedures to determine what underlying health condition might be
causing noticeable signs and symptoms.

If you have symptoms of diabetes, high blood sugar, or low blood sugar, your doctor may order
glucose testing for you. Glucose testing may be accompanied by other blood or urine tests to make
an accurate diagnosis.

Monitoring
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, your doctor may want you to track your
blood glucose levels with an at-home glucose testing or monitoring device. Your doctor may also
recommend periodic laboratory testing during check-ups to learn how your condition is being
managed.

Who should get testing?

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Your doctor may include glucose testing in a panel of tests for background health information, such
as during an annual examination. Your doctor may also want to screen you for elevated glucose if
you are at a higher-than-average risk of diabetes. Risk factors for diabetes include:

Being 45 years of age or older

Being overweight or obese
Heart disease, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol
Prediabetes
Having family members with diabetes
A lack of physical activity
African American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American/American Indian ethnicity
Polycystic ovarian syndrome

If you are pregnant, your doctor may order glucose testing to screen for gestational diabetes, a type
of diabetes linked to hormone changes during pregnancy. Having gestational diabetes can be
harmful to the mother and fetus if left untreated and can increase your risk of developing diabetes
later in life.

Your doctor may also recommend glucose testing if you are experiencing symptoms of diabetes,
including:

Frequent urination
Excessive hunger or thirst
Tingling or loss of feeling in the hands or feet
Blurred vision
An abnormal number of infections
Unexplained weight loss
Feeling very tired
Skin that is dry
Sores that don’t heal quickly
Feeling very tired

Additionally, your doctor may order glucose testing if you have symptoms of low blood sugar or other
health conditions.

Glucose testing is also an important part of managing prediabetes and diabetes after they are
diagnosed.

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Types of Glucose Tests

Several different glucose tests are commonly performed for screening and diagnosis.

Fasting plasma glucose test: This test measures the amount of glucose in your blood after you
have gone without eating or drinking anything but water for at least 8 hours. This test is usually
performed in the morning.
Random plasma glucose test: This test also measures the amount of glucose in the blood but
may be performed at any time of the day, whether or not you’ve eaten recently. It is often
conducted on a sample of blood drawn from a vein in your arm and may be included in a panel
of blood tests, such as a comprehensive metabolic panel. People diagnosed with diabetes may
also test their glucose throughout the day using a fingerstick blood sample and a special device
that provides results at home.
Glucose tolerance test: This test measures how much glucose is in your bloodstream after you
fast overnight and then drink a sugary drink. A glucose tolerance test typically requires more
than one blood draw over the course of several hours.
Urine glucose test: Urine glucose testing is often part of routine urinalysis. Urinalysis tests for
the presence of many substances in the urine. Urine glucose test results are less accurate than
blood glucose testing, but your doctor may order this test if you are not able to have a blood test.
Continuous glucose monitoring: A continuous glucose monitor reads glucose levels through a
tiny wire implanted just below the skin’s surface. This type of monitoring can show blood glucose
trends over time.
Hemoglobin A1c: Although the hemoglobin A1c test does not measure glucose directly, it does
reflect your average blood glucose levels over the past three months by measuring the amount
of hemoglobin that has attached glucose.

Although glucose tests most often use blood or urine samples to test for and monitor diabetes, they
can also be performed on samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or joint fluid. Abnormal levels of
glucose in the CSF or synovial fluid can be due to viral, bacterial, or fungal infections and other
conditions.

If you have abnormal results on a glucose test, your doctor may want to repeat the test or have you
take a different type of glucose test to confirm the results. The type of glucose test your doctor may
recommend, how often it’s given, when and where you will receive the test, and whether you will
need additional testing will depend on your unique situation.

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Getting Glucose Testing

Glucose testing for screening and diagnosis takes place in a doctor’s office, clinic, or laboratory.
Plasma glucose testing requires drawing blood from a vein using a small needle. Urinalysis involves
collecting a fresh sample of urine in a specimen cup.

Your doctor can explain which tests are the most appropriate for your situation, let you know whether
you will need to fast before the test and how much time it will take, and give you additional
instructions about preparing for your test.

At-home testing
Screening and diagnostic glucose testing is not done at home. But if you are diagnosed with
diabetes, you may have to keep track of your blood glucose level using at-home tests. At-home
monitoring allows you and your doctor to understand how well your diabetes is being controlled and
can help you make treatment decisions if your glucose levels are too high or too low.

At-home blood glucose testing is most commonly done using a glucose meter. Additionally, your
doctor may propose that you use continuous glucose monitoring to measure your blood glucose
levels at home.

If you are monitoring your glucose levels at home, you may still need to have your blood glucose
tested periodically in a clinical setting. Your doctor can advise you which at-home test or tests are
right for you and may be able to suggest specific brands or test kits.

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Elsewhere on the Web

American Diabetes Association
CDC: Diabetes
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Library of Medicine: Diabetes

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