A1C Result

[tdstiayw]

Hello,

So I have been on diet and exercise for about 6 months now for early T2.

My original A1C result was 8.1.

After 6 months my latest A1C was 5.1.

So, I have a question.

Despite a decent A1C score, my doc says that my blood sugar the day I went in for my test was 7.5, which means that I still have serious ups and downs with my blood sugar.

Should I worry?

(I still drink wine occasionally and wonder if it's causing trouble. Have cream with coffee as well.)

Thanks.

[ShottleBop]

If that was a fasting test, you might have dawn phenomenon. A glass of dry wine or two should not hurt your blood sugars. Cream shouldn't, either--it's generally more BG-friendly than milk, which has much more lactose.

[genie86333]

Congrats on the wonderful A1C!

Do you test your own levels at home? If not, get a meter & start testing so you can figure out where those swings are & find a way to combat them.

[yannah]

whole fat cream is fine. with coffee itself, you have to test to know. some people spike with coffee.

wine is not a problem unless you take meds that say don't drink. do you?

and that is a great AC. does not get better than that. kudos.

and normally I would say, yes, you do have to worry about fluctuations. big fluctuations are not good for you, and anything over 140 is not good for you.

but with that AC it is hard for me to be worried.

[jps]

That's where A1c doesn't tell you the whole story. I think it needs to be combined with daily testing to see the whole picture. Think about it. Hypothetically, if you were at 150 for 12 hours per day and you were at 80 for the other 12 hours of the day, that would yield an A1c of about 5.4, yet we know that being at 150 for half the day isn't a good thing.

However, as was stated, you may be suffering from dawn phenomenon which will give you a high number in the morning. There are a number of ways to combat this that you can find by browsing this site. Or, you might want to do the fast later in the day.

[tdstiayw]

If that was a fasting test, you might have dawn phenomenon. A glass of dry wine or two should not hurt your blood sugars. Cream shouldn't, either--it's generally more BG-friendly than milk, which has much more lactose.
It was a 12 hour fasting test.

[tdstiayw]

Congrats on the wonderful A1C!

Do you test your own levels at home? If not, get a meter & start testing so you can figure out where those swings are & find a way to combat them.
I do not test at home yet.

My doc thinks it will only make me paranoid. He says that blood sugar fluctuates wildly during the day, even in non-diabetics, so he does not see the point.

I'm free to do so, he just doesn't recommend it.

[tdstiayw]

whole fat cream is fine. with coffee itself, you have to test to know. some people spike with coffee.

wine is not a problem unless you take meds that say don't drink. do you?

and that is a great AC. does not get better than that. kudos.

and normally I would say, yes, you do have to worry about fluctuations. big fluctuations are not good for you, and anything over 140 is not good for you.

but with that AC it is hard for me to be worried.
I do not take medication in general.

Antihistamines, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, sometimes.

[plattb1]

I very strongly recommend that you test at home. And, that you test frequently until you see what foods, exercise, and other factors affect your BG.

Your doc may think you will become obsessive. Some of us would be considered by some to be obsessive in our testing. I personally think that it is an essential tool for management of BG.

Just my 2 cents worth!

[tdstiayw]

That's where A1c doesn't tell you the whole story. I think it needs to be combined with daily testing to see the whole picture. Think about it. Hypothetically, if you were at 150 for 12 hours per day and you were at 80 for the other 12 hours of the day, that would yield an A1c of about 5.4, yet we know that being at 150 for half the day isn't a good thing.

However, as was stated, you may be suffering from dawn phenomenon which will give you a high number in the morning. There are a number of ways to combat this that you can find by browsing this site. Or, you might want to do the fast later in the day.
Good point. It looks like I'll have to start testing.

[tdstiayw]

I very strongly recommend that you test at home. And, that you test frequently until you see what foods, exercise, and other factors affect your BG.

Your doc may think you will become obsessive. Some of us would be considered by some to be obsessive in our testing. I personally think that it is an essential tool for management of BG.

Just my 2 cents worth!
Thank you. I think I'll try testing at home.

[jps]

I find it quite funny that your doctor suggests that even non-diabetics fluctuate wildly during the day. Simply not true. I'd say that most non-diabetics range between 70-130 for the entire day, regardless of when the reading is taken. Diabetics with very good control don't fluctuate wildly either. That's one of the things we try to avoid as a T2. There's only one way to do that, frequent testing.

Becoming somewhat obsessive is not necessarily a bad thing in this case. Of course you don't want to overdo it to the point where you are afraid to touch any food at all, but gaining insight into your body's patterns is wise, not obsessive. It truly is the very best tool we have at our disposal.

When I started, my doc thought I was obsessive because I was testing between 10-12x per day. I don't think it was. I wanted to learn - I NEEDED to learn how foods were affecting my body. I was very intense with testing for the first 7 or 8 months. I've tapered greatly since then but only because I learned a great deal. Now I test only randomly (maybe once a day) or in cases where I'm trying a new food. But that's only because I feel very comfortable with what I learned over those months.