Home testing kits bought over the counter can't diagnose diabetes. Neither can testing equipment used by people with diabetes, like blood glucose meters. They will show only your blood sugar levels at the moment you test.
You can use a device called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Or you can test your blood sugar at home with a portable electronic device called a blood sugar meter using a small drop of your blood.
Free blood sugar testing is offered at some health fairs, community centers, and pharmacies. People covered by Medicare can get up to two free screenings a year if they have certain risk factors for diabetes, such as high blood pressure or obesity.
Fasting Blood Sugar Test
This measures your blood sugar after an overnight fast (not eating). A fasting blood sugar level of 99 mg/dL or lower is normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL indicates you have prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates you have diabetes.
The symptoms of diabetes include feeling very thirsty, passing more urine than usual, and feeling tired all the time. The symptoms occur because some or all of the glucose stays in your blood and isn't used as fuel for energy. Your body tries to get rid of the excess glucose in your urine.
Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general, or there are no symptoms at all.
Transparent and lacking in color
Transparent, colorless urine could also be a sign of some other health disorders, including diabetes and kidney disease, or from taking diuretic medication.
So, yes, you most certainly can have diabetes and not know it. Without treatment, diabetes can increase your risk of developing other health issues, such as kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, or heart disease. Diabetes is a chronic health condition, but it can be managed.
Untreated diabetes can lead to long-term complications or even death. In people with type 2 diabetes, these complications can include heart disease, kidney damage, peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain), or vision loss. Sometimes, diabetes goes untreated because it hasn't been diagnosed.
Extreme thirst. Lightheadedness. Flushed, hot, dry skin. Restlessness, drowsiness, or difficulty waking up.
You can do blood sugar level check by doing a finger-prick test, or by using an electronic blood sugar monitor called a flash glucose monitor or CGM. You can do this several times a day – helping you keep an eye on your levels as you go about your life and help you work out what to eat and how much medication to take.
Blurry vision, increased urination, feeling hungry, extreme thirst, and finding that you have itchy, dry skin are all warning signs that you could be in the early stages of type 2 diabetes. Some other signs may be harder to pin down.
Diabetic dermopathy
This condition is also known as shin spots, and it's harmless. The spots look like red or brown round patches or lines in the skin and are common in people with diabetes. They appear on the front of your legs (your shins) and are often confused with age spots. The spots don't hurt, itch, or open up.
Home Diabetes Is it possible to reverse diabetes? The short answer is yes; it's possible for Type 2 diabetes to go into remission. To be in remission, your blood sugar levels must remain normal for at least three months without using glucose-lowering medications.
What does diabetes itching feel like? If you have diabetes, itching can be intense. It's an irritating feeling that makes it hard not to scratch, but scratching can make the itch worse. You can itch anywhere, but if you have nerve damage (neuropathy) associated with diabetes, your lower legs may itch.
One type of headache caused by high blood sugar is known as occipital neuralgia, and may feel like the scalp, upper neck, back of head, or behind the ears is inflamed or in stabbing, throbbing, or shock-like pain.
Tingling or burning feeling. Sharp pains or cramps. Muscle weakness. Extreme sensitivity to touch — for some people, even a bedsheet's weight can be painful.