seriously, what on EARTH????

[Ohana]

Ok,
I just got some of my tests back, thyroid is normal, and my Hba1c test was 5.2.

I know, that is a good thing. But what on EARTH??? I was just diagnosed. Shouldn't it be higher if I failed the 2 - 2hour glucose tests less than 3 months ago AND have been having symptoms?? :confused:
I do eat pretty healthy, so maybe my spikes are pretty rare. I know when I do spike (around 200, it takes 3-4 hours to come back to 140).

Oh, just wondering why I have symptoms, shaky lows when I don't keep a tight diet, extreme thirst, etc if my overall blood sugar is so low.....

Do you think they maybe TOTALLY misdiagnosing....??

Does anyone else have this experience?

[shiftzor]

Well it depends on long your symptoms have been going on. An A1c is a 3 month average, so theoretically if you discovered it early enough it may not have effected your A1c. What is your fasting bg like? Your A1c corresponds to an average of 108mg/dl or 5.9mmol/L, normal ranges are between 101mg/dl or 5mmol/L to 172mg/dl or 7mmol/L. Welcome and keep asking questions.

[Ohana]

My fasting is fine. like 82 or 85... something like that.

[akielpinski]

It takes a little while of having constant, above-average sugars to get a high A1c. Having a high bg won't get you a high A1c. Having high bg's consistantly over a period of time will get you a high A1c.

When I was first diagnosed, I had a normal A1c, but I did not pass the glucose tolerance test. The highest my blood sugar went would be maybe 250. It was because my body was still producing some insulin at the time (know as the honeymoon period). As time went on, my cells died out and my highest blood sugar reading definately went higher than 250.

Keep doing your best to take care of yourself now and it will be a huge help in the future. Trust me from someone who didn't do that at the beginning.

[soso]

i was diagnosed with an A1c of 5.4.. and that is the highest A1c I have ever had... However, there is no doubt that I am diabetic based on after meal spikes and like you (before MDI) if it went up to 14 (250) it stayed there for 4-5 hrs..

Just be glad you have caught it early and don't let up on caring.. my 2c..

[BlueSky]

... Oh, just wondering why I have symptoms, shaky lows when I don't keep a tight diet, extreme thirst, etc if my overall blood sugar is so low......
I don't know about the extreme thirst. That should only happen when BG goes over 180. If you are peaking to this level and not staying there long, it doesn't make a big difference to the HBA1c. Have you tested when you get thirsty? The shakey lows are not unusual. When your BG goes up, your pancreas over-corrects by producing too much insulin (Reactive Hypoglycemia).

[lorilei]

Ohana...I'm still going with the idea that you are slow onset...so moderating your diet and increasing exercise can in fact help you with a lower a1c...for the time being...so, do not let your guard down and enter denial (like i have been known to do). definately write your questions down, test, test, test, and discuss with your doc.

[duck]

Don't forget that A1c is weighted heavily toward the last 30 days as well, so if you have been taking very good care of yourself lately, your A1c will reflect that. Conversely, if you take good care of yourself for 60 days and then go nuts the last 30 before your next A1c, that reading may be odd given the circumstance as well.

[Dimes]

Most T1's have pretty high BG when diagnosed, and that should translate into a higher A1C. I think I was 20-25 (400~), that was random BG (not fasting), and my A1C ended up being roughly 10.

I wouldn't make a diagnosis, but maybe you could get a second opinion.

If you are staying high after eating then you're going to have to do something to correct that.

You may have caught it very early, and you're still producing some insulin, which might explain your fasting levels. You can ask about a c-peptide test. That will give you an estimate about how much insulin you are still producing. I got one done shortly after diagnosis, and it was at the very lowest end of normal (there was a very broad range of acceptable values on my test sheet). However 1 year later I'm certain the insulin production is minimal to none at this point, judging by how my insulin demands have basically doubled.

[soso]

4 years in, last 2 on MDI and I have never (knowingly) had a morning fasting above 6.2... had late afternoon fasting levels of 7 sometimes though (5-6 hrs after last food)

[akielpinski]

You may have caught it very early, and you're still producing some insulin, which might explain your fasting levels. You can ask about a c-peptide test. That will give you an estimate about how much insulin you are still producing.

That is what happened to me. They found it extremely early. I had no symptoms; they randomly found a high bg when doing other tests. Came back in to do the 2 hr GTT and was diagnosed. C-Pep and A1c at the time was in the normal range. I was 16 at the time. Was diagnosed as T2, because of the C-Pep, even though I was 16 and weighed 90 lbs. Started on Medmorphin but it didn't help. They re-ran the c-pep and saw that it was falling, so they re-diagnosed as a T1 and I started on insulin. My islet cells died over a long period of time. By the age of 18, I wasn't producing any insulin anymore.