Blood test

[sandrinezambaux]

Is there a blood test which can confirm someone is insulin resistant?

[drheather]

Is there a blood test which can confirm someone is insulin resistant?

Hello,

I am not sure you got my other message yet but I thought this would be a good opportunity to answer this question for you and others that may also be interested in hearing the answer.

Insulin resistance is very hard to diagnose with lab work. The gold standard in research studies is to use something called the glycemic clamp, but nobody does that in a clinical (private practice) setting. Often we just have to rely on symptoms and on the fasting and/or post-prandial ('after eating') insulin levels.

- Fasting insulin- elevated in PCOS. Some doctors may hesitate to order this test because the normal range (0-20) is so wide. However, we find that results greater than 9 indicate insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is usually the underlying cause of PCOS, as you may have read about on our site. Some doctors may also order a 2-hour post-prandial insulin test, along with a 2-hour post-prandial glucose test. For the post-prandial insulin, results over 25 or 30 may indicate insulin resistance.

- Fasting glucose or 2-hour post-prandial glucose test- can also be elevated in PCOS. Using this information in combination with the insulin levels helps to diagnose insulin resistance. Also, women with PCOS have a higher risk of diabetes so it is important to screen for this early and often.

By symptoms, I mean the following: skin tags, acanthosis nigricans, PCOS, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, high blood sugar or low blood sugar or reactive hypoglycemia, family history of diabetes or PCOS or obesity.

I hope that this provides you with more information. Please feel free to write in at any time.

[jsraja]

Blod test is where to check out the amount of insulin content in your blood.....