Results are in for my first ever HbA1c test

[Tropo]

5.7%

What is this result telling me?

How am I doing?

I'm still looking for a good chart, but I'm guessing this equates to an average BG level of about 111???

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[xMenace]

You are where I want to be!

The medical community wants us below 6.5% but literature suggests that below 6% is much better. I believe 4.5% to 5.5% is considered normal.

[princesslinda]

Hi Tropo, Congrats on your A1C! By the chart I use, 5.7 correlates to an A1C of 126. Sounds like you're doing well. Keep up the good work! You can check your lab report to see what your lab has as normal limits for A1C. The lab my doc uses has normal A1C to be anything between 4 and 6.

[Tropo]

The test was done in Thailand.

This is what the test result form had to say:

Good <= 6.5
Poor >= 7.5
Fair = 6.5 - 7.5

I'm not doing anything specifically to control BG just yet.

I'm still eating a high carb diet and testing how I react to various foods.

I exercise almost daily.

I've just started to eat smaller, more regular meals.

[Tropo]

Hi Tropo, Congrats on your A1C! By the chart I use, 5.7 correlates to an A1C of 126. Sounds like you're doing well. Keep up the good work! You can check your lab report to see what your lab has as normal limits for A1C. The lab my doc uses has normal A1C to be anything between 4 and 6.

Thanks Linda. I just found a table which also gives 126 for 5.7%.

[mho357]

Tropo - that is a very good number.

Good job!

Mark

[didi1]

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[didi1]

http://www.geocities.com/diabeteschart/bloodsugarchart.html?200527 is a place to see ac1 conversion chart

[Ronin]

Hi Tropo!

Congratulations on a very good HbA1c. Don't get freaked about the translation of the A1c value to mg/dL. The fact is that you, despite your diet, show good control which means that your body is managing carbs.

See if you can get an A1c on a regular basis and start to track the changes. The values will change as your lifestye changes effect your BG levels. 5.7% is respectable. My wife scored a 5.6% at her first A1c (versus my 5.3%) and she has a "normal" FBG in the 80's.

Keep up the good work.

[didi1]

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[didi1]

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[didi1]

I was wondering if anyone has come across a reliable meter. I have an Ascensia Contour (Bayer) and is only a few months old. Just hoping for information on personal experience on a few models before I buy a new one. My ac1 is a 5.3 but my meter readings show or correspond to a lower ac1 #. Maybe my meter is reading too low? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:)

[Cyborg]

Excellent job on the a1c! :congrats:

The only meter I'll use is the OneTouch UltraSmart...

[Ronin]

Hi Dora!

Meters are, at best, accurate to themselves. I've tried to "calibrate" my meter by taking a sample at the same time that I've had blood drawn for a lab test. The results have been mixed sometimes they are in synch, sometimes one or the other is higher/lower but all are within the range of accuracy cited in the literature of the meter itself. When you look at the stuff about how to use the "test solution" you get an idea of how large the range of values can be.

You must also realize that your meter only tests you when you test. While that sounds obvious the HbA1c is a totally different test as it averages the amount of glyciation of the red blood cells in the sample that represents your weighted average for the past 90 days (or so). Since you cannot test constantly the HbA1c values will differ from your meter readings because your BG levels vary between readings.

Meters are a whole lot beter than the old urine strips (which used to drive my father crazy because he was also color blind and my mother wound up interpreting the results for him). In the end they are only one tool in the arsenal.

[Tropo]

Hi Tropo!

Congratulations on a very good HbA1c. Don't get freaked about the translation of the A1c value to mg/dL. The fact is that you, despite your diet, show good control which means that your body is managing carbs.

See if you can get an A1c on a regular basis and start to track the changes. The values will change as your lifestye changes effect your BG levels. 5.7% is respectable. My wife scored a 5.6% at her first A1c (versus my 5.3%) and she has a "normal" FBG in the 80's.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks Ronin. I'll make a point of having it tested every 3 months.

You mention here that your wife had an A1c of 5.6% when her FBG's were in the 80's yet my A1c was almost the same when I get FBG almost always over 110.

I wonder if I might be the victim of a very inaccurate meter...or a bad A1c test. I use the Horizon one-touch meter, but I've never been able to calibrate it as the test solutions have not been available where I live.

[Tropo]

http://www.geocities.com/diabeteschart/bloodsugarchart.html?200527 is a place to see ac1 conversion chart

Thanks Didi1...

[Tboyle60]

I think I'd kill for a 5.7...my first one was a 12.2. I guess I have a LONG way to go.

I see the doctor again in late November...I hope to be down a lot from 12.2 because I have been doing so well.

[Ronin]

Hi Tropo!

My point about meters is that none of them (including the ones they use in the laboratories) are perfect. The reference to the test solution, which I did not go into detail on, is that the "Test Solution" has a rather broad range of "acceptable values" and is, in my mind -- useless.

Part of what I'm interpreting from what you write is that you are in that post-diagnosis stage where you are looking for something to blame. Sorry, it isn't your meter, or the lab equipment -- it is the simple fact that your body doesn't manage glucose as well as the "ideal" person.

I've spent a lot of time dealing with the whole Pre-D thing and have finally come to the realization that the diagnosis is a warning of what might happen. Without a difinitive genetic test to see if my body is pre-disposed to becoming diabetic only time will tell if I develop diabetes.

For the time being I just keep ruling out aspects of my Pre-D diagnosis. For example at my last set of lab tests, I had a Fasting C-Peptide test done and the result was a 1.3 which says that I am not "Insulin Resistant" (something which everyone claimed they were absolutely sure was my problem albeit without any lab tests to back-up the assertion). I may be moving towards a Type-1.5 or I may just be a low normal with a tendency towards having a high FBG and a slow Insulin Response due to age. At this point I simply don't know.

I do regular checks and monthly HbA1c test to monitor my condition and if the A1c's go really bad I'll know to get more testing. In the mean time a modified diet and continuation of exercise work for me and I no longer obsess about the condition.

[JediSurfer]

Thats a good result.

5.7% is totally non diabetic

[Kubilee]

Thats a good result.

5.7% is totally non diabetic

I wondered about that, but I guess the nurse that called didn't hear me ask, she was so happy about their wonder drug and how it was working. lol

I tried to look it up online but I didn' tget very far with that. :eek:

She did say at one point though that I needed to stay on the Metformin, that it was doing as it should, and I left that alone.