An insulin test is recommended to be taken not only to a sick person, but also to a healthy one. The fact is that if you conduct this study in time, its results will help prevent serious diseases if there is any deviation from the norm. In the event that signs of health problems are detected at an early stage, there is a greater likelihood that you can make adjustments and rectify the situation.
Insulin. What it is? Why is it necessary?
Insulin is a protein hormone. It plays a large role in the human body. Its main task is the transportation of substances that nourish the cell. Insulin provides a balanced state of carbohydrates in the human body.
The production of this hormone occurs in certain cycles. For example, after a person eats, his level will be significantly higher than after abstinence from eating.
Why take an insulin test? What does he show?
Insulin is produced by the pancreas and is protein in nature. The amount depends on how much glucose is in the blood of a person. The insulin level indicates the predisposition of the body to diabetes. Identification of deviations from the norm suggests that appropriate measures must be taken to maintain the body in a healthy state.
Diabetes mellitus is considered a very serious ailment. If the human body is exposed to this disease, then this means that glucose cannot enter the tissues. Due to the fact that it does not enter in the proper amount, there is no source of energy, which is necessary for normal life. In this regard, there may be a malfunction in the organs and systems of the patient.
In addition, an insulin test will show what type of diabetes is present in the human body. In the case when the pancreas stops producing insulin in sufficient quantities, this means that type 1 diabetes is present.
You should know that the patient is considered insulin-dependent if the amount of hormone produced does not exceed twenty percent of the norm.
There is also a second type of diabetes. With it, insulin is produced in the right amount. But it is not absorbed by body cells. This condition is called non-insulin-dependent diabetes.
Complications of the disease
Due to the presence of diabetes in the body, the following complications can occur in the human body:
- Coronary artery disease.
- Retinopathy, which can subsequently lead to complete blindness of the patient.
- Polyneuropathy.
- Renal failure.
- Trophic changes such as gangrene.
What to do to the person? Possible methods
An important point is the diagnosis of changes in insulin levels in human blood. If you find this at an early stage, then such methods will help to prevent the development of the disease:
- Compliance with a special diet. It will be prescribed by the attending physician, based on the characteristics of your body (intolerance to any product, etc.).
- Physiotherapy.
If you follow a special diet and exercise, you can cope with diabetes and bring carbohydrate metabolism back to normal. The emphasis should be on the fact that this can be achieved without the use of any medications.
What signs indicate that it is necessary to pass an analysis? What should I look for?
Usually, an insulin test is prescribed to confirm or refute a diagnosis of diabetes. Also the reason for the surrender is the presence or suspicion of endocrine diseases. Those who monitor health should pay attention to the following symptoms that appear in the human body:
- Weight change, both up and down. This is especially an alarming signal if there are no changes in nutrition and mobility in a person’s lifestyle. That is, if a person moves and eats in the same rhythm as day after day, and his body weight changes, this means that some kind of malfunction has occurred in the body. To identify it, it is necessary to conduct a survey.
- Weakness, loss of working capacity are also signs of disruption of any processes. To identify the causes of this situation, you must contact a medical institution to conduct the necessary examination and passing tests, including insulin.
- Another sign of a violation of the production of the above hormone is the long healing of wounds. For example, cuts or abrasions take a long time to bleed and bleed. This symptom also indicates a change in the composition of human blood.
How is the analysis done? Study Options Description
An insulin test can be done in two ways:
- The first method of passing this type of analysis is called hungry. It consists in the fact that the intake of material is carried out on an empty stomach. When carrying out the analysis in this way, after the last meal, 8 hours should pass. In this regard, the delivery of the analysis is scheduled for the morning hours.
- The second way to determine a person’s predisposition to diabetes is through the use of glucose. The patient drinks a certain amount of it, waits two hours and then donates blood.
There is another option for taking a blood test for insulin. It consists in combining two methods. This option is the most accurate. First, a person does a blood test for insulin on an empty stomach, then consumes glucose, after which he waits a couple of hours and donates blood again. This method allows you to see the picture of what is happening in the body more holistically. However, for a preventive examination, it is enough to donate blood only in the morning, on an empty stomach.
Preparation for the study. What should be done before analysis? Doctors advice
Now you know what an insulin test is, how to take it. Now let's talk about how to properly prepare. This is necessary so that the result is reliable.
- Before giving blood to an empty stomach, abstinence from food should be observed for eight hours. At this time, you can not eat and drink drinks. Only clean water can be consumed.
- You can not take an analysis if the patient undergoes any course of treatment, that is, takes medications. The fact is that they can affect the results. Blood for insulin should be donated either before the course of treatment, or at least seven days after its completion. Also, the patient needs to notify the attending physician that he is undergoing treatment, or about when he stopped taking the funds. In the case when the course of therapy is long, and analysis of insulin is an important component of the treatment process, it is necessary to coordinate with the doctor the possibility of interrupting the intake of medications in order to carry out blood sampling.
- 24 hours before the study, you should follow a certain diet, namely, refuse to eat fatty foods and drink alcohol. Also, you do not need to exercise any physical activity.
- In the case when, in addition to donating blood, the patient is prescribed such types of examinations as ultrasound or X-ray, then you should first pass the material for examination, and then go to other types of procedures.
Insulin test (blood test): normal, transcript analysis
As mentioned above, insulin levels in human blood can fluctuate depending on the consumption of food. Therefore, for accuracy on an empty stomach, an insulin test is done.
The norm of finding this substance in human blood is 1.9-23 μm / ml. This is for an adult. The norm in children is from two to twenty microns / ml. For pregnant women, there are indicators. For them, the norm ranges from six to 27 μm / ml.
Characterization of the values of insulin in the blood. What does it mean if this hormone is more or less?
In the case when insulin in the human blood is present below the lowest value, this indicates that the first type of diabetes is present in the body. Conversely, with an increased value, we can talk about the presence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes in the body.
It should also be remembered that pregnant women have other indicators of norms, their value is overestimated.
Little conclusion
Now you know how to get tested for insulin. The interpretation of the analysis and the norm of the indicator are considered in this article.
Each person needs to remember that it is better to diagnose the disease at an early stage than to treat its neglected forms.