what is considered a well-controlled diabetic?

[zelack]

everytime i read a study there's this vague reference of well-controlled diabetes minimizing your risk. my a1c has been on the higher side lately (6.5, usually in the low sixes to high fives) but i feel like i have to run it a little elevated because i live in the city and "need" the cushion in order to function on my feet. buuuut...i am also getting surgery...and i know that diabetes complicates healing and risk during surgery. so i'm very scared i'll end up super scarred/won't heal properly/get infected because i am not 'perfect'. idk.

[Jan74br]

Conventional medical wisdom says A1c under 7 = controlled diabetes.

Most people in the DOC believe that controlled diabetes is the A1c of a non-diabetic, though, so A1c under 6, not under 7.

But in the end, the A1c is just one measure. You can be 6.5 with stable BGs in the 80s-140s and you can be 6.5 with wild swings between 50-200, you know? Clearly the person in the first case has good control and the person in the second case is "out of control". They'll have the same A1c, but the one going to the 200s on a regular basis (like me... my A1c is 6.5 too, and trust me, I do not have control yet...) will have difficulty healing.

[Jan B]

I think you'll be fine! Doctors, anyway, would tell you that with an A1c under 7, healing shouldn't be a serious issue. Just do your best after surgery and don't expect any issues!

I've had several surgeries/procedures over the years and have never had any problems at all. Unless you have additional health problems and/or don't take care of the site and rest as appropriate, there isn't a good reason for you to worry IMO.

[PinkRose]

Having an A1c of 6.5 is a well controlled T1D. So you shouldn't worry. You have normal healthy BGs most of the time.

Also by it's nature T1 typically tends to be more volatile in nature because the body produces no insulin & we only rely on the action of the insulins we inject. So next time you have some swings, don't feel too bad either. It's just the nature of the beast sometimes.

[Corinne]

you'll be okay! your A1c is great anyway!! Mine is 7.5 and i've never been lower than 6.5 i think. good luck with everything!! and as PinkRose said, it's the nature of the beast. You can't always be perfect!

[amccrazgrl]

I would say well controlled is not to many <70 or >200 blood sugars.

[ecure]

The perfect control is around 4.5 A1C... Test a healthly person without pre-diabetes and you will get around this a1c..
It's almost impossible to get 4.5 A1C if you have diabetes especially type 1 but some lucky diabetics with special diet will reach 4.5 A1C without hypo.

[Jan74br]

The perfect control is around 4.5 A1C... Test a healthly person without pre-diabetes and you will get around this a1c..
It's almost impossible to get 4.5 A1C if you have diabetes especially type 1 but some lucky diabetics with special diet will reach 4.5 A1C without hypo.

Actually, average non-diabetic A1cs range from 4.6-5.4 for the most part, with the values 4.0-4.5 and 5.5-5.9 being less prevalent. So 4.5 is a rare number even for a non-diabetic.

[ecure]

Jan74br yes I said perfectly healthy . not everyone are in perfect health... a lot of people at risk to develop diabetes type 2 but I must admit a lot of people eat a lot of unhealthy food. It may explain high rate of high a1c.

[Jan74br]

Jan74br yes I said perfectly healthy . not everyone are in perfect health... a lot of people at risk to develop diabetes type 2 but I must admit a lot of people eat a lot of unhealthy food. It may explain high rate of high a1c.

Sorry, but this sounds a bit influenced by some propaganda to me, ecure. Like "Non-diabetics have blood sugars of 80-85 all day", when there is research out there showing them spiking to 160 even after a meal. There is no real evidence of that, and the "perfect health" thing is also not part of these statistics. Perfect in the sense of no diabetes, but I'm sure they don't ask the people in these researches if they have the flu a lot, or anything else that relates to "perfect health", and therefore can't establish what is "perfect health" A1c and what is not. They can only establish what is non-diabetic A1c.

[PinkRose]

I must say that I always find it slightly amusing and most baffling how diabetics will endeavour to make even diabetics feel bad about their BGs!!! So now we learn that a lot of non-diabetics should be concerned about their A1cs. No wonder your normal regular diabetic can often feel mortified by their numbers when listening to the harsh pronouncements of other diabetics. Gimme a break!

[Jan74br]

I must say that I always find it slightly amusing and most baffling how diabetics will endeavour to make even diabetics feel bad about their BGs!!! So now we learn that a lot of non-diabetics should be concerned about their A1cs. No wonder your normal regular diabetic can often feel mortified by their numbers when listening to the harsh pronouncements of other diabetics. Gimme a break!

I've heard people in the DOC freaking out about a BG of 84, cause "normal is 83"; people claiming diabetes complications start at 100 BG; people claiming A1cs in the 5s are bad for you; and now, that 4.6 A1c is already unhealthy.

I call this the Blood Sugar Olympics. Where does it end? It is a harmful pressure to make people worry about perfectly normal BGs. If 100 or 84 or 106 caused diabetes complications, then non-diabetics would have diabetes complications all the time, and the only so-called diabetes complication found among non-diabetics is heart disease. They don't get diabetes-related kidney disease, neuropathy, retinopathy, or the less common diabetes complications. So this is all an unjustified panic with no scientific proof.

[PinkRose]

Jan it will only end when our A1cs reach zero - which ALL of us will end up with one day!

[Cormac_Doyle]

I've heard people in the DOC freaking out about a BG of 84, cause "normal is 83"; people claiming diabetes complications start at 100 BG; people claiming A1cs in the 5s are bad for you; and now, that 4.6 A1c is already unhealthy.

I call this the Blood Sugar Olympics. Where does it end?

I've been reading this forum consistently for over 3 years. I have not seen ANY of these things said.

Perhaps, in using the phrase DOC (Diabetic Online Community) you are including other sources and other forums in addition to this one, but doing a search on here, you will find that the advice given in THIS forum is as follows:

Post-meal readings should not exceed 140; fasting *should* be under 100, but under 120 is OK
A1c - under 6.5% is OK; under 6 is Good; under 5 is Dangerous* (for most people; T2 and T1 are different cases ... a T2 can safely push it lower than a T1)

Note that these are the targets; when starting out you may well be glad to aim for an A1c of less than 8, or a fasting result under 200 ... as interim targets these are certainly better than a complete lack of control!

Diet - eat to your meter (see above); the "recommendation" will almost always be consider how much Carbs, and what kind of Carbs ... but I have NEVER seen anyone told eliminate ALL Carbs (as in all veg, fruit, etc) but in eating to your meter you do have to look at the effect of eating Carbs and whether it fits within your own personal tolerances.

[ecure]

A nondiabetic person will have an A1c result between 4% and 6%. A1c and eAG: The Test | A1c and estimated Average Glucose
Pre-diabetes (increased risk of developing diabetes in the future): A1c is 5.7% - 6.4