Insulin Blood Test: A Complete Overview

The function of an insulin blood test is to measure the insulin level in your blood. Insulin is the hormone which is responsible to convert sugar or glucose from the bloodstream into the cells. This glucose present in the bloodstream comes from foods and drinks you consume, and acts as the primary source of energy in your body.

What do abnormal glucose levels cause?

Insulin plays a key role in maintaining your glucose or blood sugar levels. If you are experiencing extremely high or excessively low glucose levels in the blood, it might lead to various health complications. Abnormal glucose levels might lead to conditions like:

• Hyperglycaemia

When your blood glucose levels are higher than the normal range, you are hyperglycaemic. When your body does not secrete sufficient insulin, or the insulin is not adequate to send glucose into the cells, such conditions occur causing glucose to stay back in your blood.

• Hypoglycaemia

When you are experiencing lower blood glucose levels than the normal range, you are hypoglycaemic. If your body secretes excessive insulin into the bloodstream, such condition occurs, sending more glucose into your cells. It leaves less glucose into your bloodstream.

Diabetes is the most common factor causing an abnormal blood glucose level. Diabetes can mainly be of two types which can affect people, including:

• Type 1 diabetes: This kind of diabetes makes your body produce little to no insulin, resulting in hyperglycaemia.
• Type 2 diabetes: In this type of diabetes, although the body is able to produce insulin, the cells poorly respond to that insulin. This hinders the capacity of the cells to take up sufficient glucose from the blood. This causes a condition called insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is a common condition occurring before type 2 diabetes. It increases the insulin production in your body for supplementing the ineffective insulin. This excess insulin in the blood results in a condition called hypoglycaemia, and leads to further worsening of insulin resistance.

This insulin resistance degrades the ability of your body to release insulin over time. With reduction of insulin level, your blood sugar level increases simultaneously. If your blood sugar level does not restore back to normal, type 2 diabetes occur.

Diagnosing diabetes often involves an insulin blood test, also known as fasting insulin test with total and free insulin, or insulin serum.

Why is an insulin blood test important?

Here is why an insulin blood test is important for you:

• To diagnose and monitor your insulin resistance
• To identify the cause of hypoglycaemia
• To check for the presence of tumour in the pancreas, called insulinoma. In case the tumour is already removed, this test helps check the effectiveness of the treatment.

Your doctor might recommend insulin testing along with other tests to monitor and detect type 1 diabetes. These tests include testing for glucose and haemoglobin AIC.

Why do you need an insulin blood test?

If you are going through the following hypoglycaemia symptoms, the doctor might recommend an insulin blood test:

• Extreme hunger
• Trembling
• Confusion
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Irregular heartbeat

You might also require other tests such as a blood glucose test to confirm you have abnormal blood sugar levels.

What to prepare for an insulin blood test?

If you are about to get an insulin blood test, you should fast for at least 8 hours prior to the test.

How is an insulin blood test performed?

The insulin blood test is a simple and straightforward process. The healthcare provider will first draw your venous blood sample with the help of a small needle. The provider will insert the needle, usually into a vein in your arm, and then extract a small amount of your blood and collect it in a test tube or vial. When the needle is inserted through your skin and removed later, you might experience a slight pricking sensation.

Does this test involve any risk?

Insulin blood test does not involve any significant risk. While slight pain and bruising is common at the site injection when the needle is inserted into your skin, this discomfort usually subsides very quickly.

What do the test results signify?

If you have an abnormally high insulin level, it might indicate conditions like:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Hypoglycaemia
• Insulin resistance
• Insulinoma or tumour in the pancreas
• Cushing’s syndrome – a disorder in the adrenal gland. The adrenal gland releases hormones that breakdown protein and fat

On the contrary, if you have abnormally low insulin level, you may have any one of the following conditions:

• Hyperglycaemia or high blood sugar
• Type 1 diabetes
• Pancreatitis – the inflammation of the pancreas

Conclusion

Insulin and glucose function together, complementing each other. For an accurate diagnosis, the doctor often compares your blood glucose and insulin test results.

If you are suffering any of the abnormal blood glucose symptoms mentioned above, you can visit our clinic Private Blood Tests London for an insulin blood test. You can mail us at [email protected] or call us on 02034759389 to book your appointment for an insulin blood test or insulin resistance test in the UK.