Healing Outside The Box

The doctor's exam room can be an intimidating place when you're sitting there in your hospital gown, all drafty in the back and all. Sometimes just getting the feel for the sound of all those lab tests and what they might mean, may make the experience less overwhelming. Today I go over several different groups, or panels, which screen your blood for signs of any problems. Here are the cliff notes, if you want to see the numbers in writing: fasting blood sugar (FBS): 65 – 100 is normal. You may also see 110 as an upper limit of normal. Random blood sugar (RBS): 100 – 140. You may also see 160 as an upper limit of normal. If you have diabetes, 180 might be considered normal for you. Hemoglobin A1C (also called glycosylated hemoglobin): 4.3 – 6.1 is normal. If you are diabetic, up to 7.0 might be considered normal for you. All pregnant women should undergo a glucose tolerance test at around 24 weeks gestation. Abnormally high glucose levels should be treated aggressively. Symptoms of low blood sugar include clam