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Type 2 Diabetes
HbA1C not correlating with blood glucose levels
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<blockquote data-quote="Yorksman" data-source="post: 395903" data-attributes="member: 55568"><p>They measure different things. Your meter measures the glucose levels in your blood plasma. HBA1c is a measurement of the number of red blood cells which have glucose bound to them, otherwise referred to as glycated haemoglobin. Glucose does not easily bind to red blood cells and whereas your the glucose in your plasma is rapidly up and down all the time, your HBA1c is much more steady.</p><p></p><p>Many things bind, either easily or with difficulty to your red blood cells. Oxygen binds easily but not as easily as carbon monoxide which displaces the oxygen. Alcohol on the otherhand doesn't bind with the red cells and stays in the plasma.</p><p></p><p>If you have permanently high levels of glucose in your plasma, you will get high levels of HBA1c eventually. Conversely, if you keep your plasma levels low permanently, your HBA1c levels will slowly decline. Red blood cells live 100 - 120 days and your HBA1c has a half life of 60 days so declines in a curve typically seen in radioactive decay:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.splung.com/nuclear/images/radioactivity/half-life2.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>However, because you eat regularly, you are topping your plasma levels up which, in time, will top your hba1c levels up. There is a relationship between the two, but it's not linear and it's not obvious.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yorksman, post: 395903, member: 55568"] They measure different things. Your meter measures the glucose levels in your blood plasma. HBA1c is a measurement of the number of red blood cells which have glucose bound to them, otherwise referred to as glycated haemoglobin. Glucose does not easily bind to red blood cells and whereas your the glucose in your plasma is rapidly up and down all the time, your HBA1c is much more steady. Many things bind, either easily or with difficulty to your red blood cells. Oxygen binds easily but not as easily as carbon monoxide which displaces the oxygen. Alcohol on the otherhand doesn't bind with the red cells and stays in the plasma. If you have permanently high levels of glucose in your plasma, you will get high levels of HBA1c eventually. Conversely, if you keep your plasma levels low permanently, your HBA1c levels will slowly decline. Red blood cells live 100 - 120 days and your HBA1c has a half life of 60 days so declines in a curve typically seen in radioactive decay: [img]http://www.splung.com/nuclear/images/radioactivity/half-life2.png[/img] However, because you eat regularly, you are topping your plasma levels up which, in time, will top your hba1c levels up. There is a relationship between the two, but it's not linear and it's not obvious. [/QUOTE]
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HbA1C not correlating with blood glucose levels
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