How to Diagnose Diabetes Diagnosis Diabetes is diagnosed when it is determined that a person's blood sugar is too high. It develops when the body is unable to effectively produce or use an essential hormone called Insulin . The main effect of insulin is to regulate metabolism, the body's ability to utilize fuel. In diabetes, sugar metabolism is directly effected, however, the metabolism of our two other fuels, fat and protein is also effected.
Doctors use urine and blood tests to check for diabetes.
In both, they are checking glucose levels. Glucose in the urine can be a sign of diabetes, although it is not always so. The doctor also may give a complete physical to check the heart, eyes and kidneys. In the blood, a certain level of glucose is normal. If a doctor wants to doublecheck the blood tests, he or she may ask the patient to take an oral glucose tolerance test, which can detect diabetes even when a regular blood test will not.