All interesting stuff. I know that it isn't as straight forward as the usual spiel about it representing last three to four months- I think it might be interesting to see what your HbA1c comes out at now you've stopped losing weight- I'm thinking that if mine was realistically capturing say 4 months ( or longer if my red blood cells last longer than average) then for all of them I've been heavier than the next day if that makes sense so if weight loss is the key, then as I lose more and reach a stable weight, I'd assume my test would stabilise and reflect my current average more, if that makes any sense. I know my meter was higher say 3 months ago so that may explain some discrepency.
@cold ethyl and
@DeejayR I am a bit relieved you have both said your meter averages are lower than your HbA1c. Most folk on here say they see similar results. I Know
@AndBreathe is another whose HbA1c and meter averages don't tally. I started testing more, and after a "dodgy" meal I test every half an hour until I know I have passed my peak and back to normal levels. My peaks are all in the first 90 minutes. My average 2 hour readings across all meals are a lot lower than the earlier ones. This pleases me because that is what is meant to happen. It shows my non-medicated insulin is working. However, because I feel I am now catching my higher levels and am back down again by between 2 and 2.5 hours, I cannot understand why my average A1c remains at 7.1mmol/l. According to this website (somewhere), there is a paragraph about this where it says because of the capillary/venous differences, meters read higher than A1c's, so why do ours read lower? Conundrum, not stressing, just curious.
Sorry to derail your thread
@beatdise
My last HbA1c equated to 7.8 (it says on the printout) which I also was disappointed with, being higher than the 5-6.5 range I operate within usually. My meter average is 6. However, nil desperandum. Self-testing is unreliable, I know, but it does encourage me to keep trying.
My meter averages about 5.7 with all the dodgy errors and strange strips in. My latest Hba1c suggests an av of 6.6 so I'm going to start testing at 1hr and other times just to see what's happening when. We may just have longer lived red blood cells I guess and then there's meter accuracy, venous v capillary blood and HbA 1c tolerance too. I know that varying average blood glucose levels can end up with identical HbA1c results so I think as long as we keep testing ourselves and can get a handle on our spikes then that's as good as it is going to get. And unless I'm being dense, it is the day to day levels that give us an idea of whether we are entering risk zone for complications given so many other factors influence the HbA1c result.
From the diabetic uk site, it may help explain why there is a diffo between your readings & the hbA1c.
How does HbA1c differ from a blood glucose level?
HbA1c provides a longer-term trend, similar to an average, of how high your blood sugar levels have been over a period of time.
An HbA1c reading can be taken from blood from a finger but is often taken from a blood sample that is taken from your arm.
Blood glucose level is the concentration of glucose in your blood at a single point in time, i.e. the very moment of the test.
This is measured using a fasting plasma glucose test, which can be carried out using blood taken from a finger or can be taken from a blood sample from the arm.
However, fasting glucose tests provide an indication of your current glucose levels only, whereas the HbA1c test serves as an overall marker of what your average levels are over a period of 2-3 months
My personal estimated is 38 but my last hbA1c came back as 44. 6 points above my personal estimated.
We could never test enough to be able to get the same reading as the hbA1c, ours is only ever a guide line to help us see how we are doing but with the knowledge in the back of our mind that the true hbA1c will be higher, thus the closer our estimated is to the 48 target the more likely the true hbA1c will be over. well that's how I see it.
Sorry to go off thread but thought it may be of interest to some.