Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Install the app
Install
Reply to Thread
Guest, we'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the
Diabetes Forum Survey 2024 »
Home
Forums
Diabetes Discussion
Diabetes Discussions
Is HBA1C accurate enough...
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Bluetit1802" data-source="post: 1512467" data-attributes="member: 94045"><p>Hi Julie, and welcome,</p><p></p><p>I'm so sorry you are having such a rough time.</p><p></p><p>I'm afraid I know nothing about thyroid issues.</p><p></p><p>Your random blood glucose test of 8.9 was good half an hour after a fruit bar, and your HbA1c's are all excellent. GPs never diagnose diabetes on the strength of a random test. Fasting tests followed by an HbA1c is the norm, although even fasting tests are flying out of the window nowadays. My surgery never does them.</p><p></p><p>The HbA1c can be unreliable in certain circumstances, mainly if your haemoglobin red blood cells aren't quite "average". This can happen if you are anaemic, or if you are one of those that happens to have red blood cells with a different life span than average. Red blood cells live on average for about 120 days before being replaced by new ones, and this is the basis for the HbA1c calculation. If you happen to have RBC that die off and get replaced with new ones in a shorter time, your HbA1c can be lower than expected. Similarly, if your RBC live a lot longer than 120 days before being replaced, your HbA1c can be elevated. Without special tests you have no idea how long your RBC live.</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/scientists-question-accuracy-of-hba1c-testing-due-to-red-blood-cell-age-variability.110793/" target="_blank">http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/scientists-question-accuracy-of-hba1c-testing-due-to-red-blood-cell-age-variability.110793/</a></p><p></p><p>If you are so concerned about this, all you can do is ask for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). This is a fasting test whereby after a fast you have a finger prick test to discover your fasting blood glucose at that time. You are then given a glucose drink and told to sit down for an hour. After an hour they test you again. You then have to sit for another hour at which point you are tested again. This is to determine your reaction to glucose. Anything over 11mmol/l at the 2 hour mark indicates possible diabetes.</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.diabetes.co.uk/oral-glucose-tolerance-test.html" target="_blank">http://www.diabetes.co.uk/oral-glucose-tolerance-test.html</a></p><p></p><p>You could also ask for a Fructosamine test, but will be lucky to get one. They are expensive and very few labs in the UK process them, so your blood has to be sent away to one of these labs for testing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bluetit1802, post: 1512467, member: 94045"] Hi Julie, and welcome, I'm so sorry you are having such a rough time. I'm afraid I know nothing about thyroid issues. Your random blood glucose test of 8.9 was good half an hour after a fruit bar, and your HbA1c's are all excellent. GPs never diagnose diabetes on the strength of a random test. Fasting tests followed by an HbA1c is the norm, although even fasting tests are flying out of the window nowadays. My surgery never does them. The HbA1c can be unreliable in certain circumstances, mainly if your haemoglobin red blood cells aren't quite "average". This can happen if you are anaemic, or if you are one of those that happens to have red blood cells with a different life span than average. Red blood cells live on average for about 120 days before being replaced by new ones, and this is the basis for the HbA1c calculation. If you happen to have RBC that die off and get replaced with new ones in a shorter time, your HbA1c can be lower than expected. Similarly, if your RBC live a lot longer than 120 days before being replaced, your HbA1c can be elevated. Without special tests you have no idea how long your RBC live. [URL]http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/scientists-question-accuracy-of-hba1c-testing-due-to-red-blood-cell-age-variability.110793/[/URL] If you are so concerned about this, all you can do is ask for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). This is a fasting test whereby after a fast you have a finger prick test to discover your fasting blood glucose at that time. You are then given a glucose drink and told to sit down for an hour. After an hour they test you again. You then have to sit for another hour at which point you are tested again. This is to determine your reaction to glucose. Anything over 11mmol/l at the 2 hour mark indicates possible diabetes. [URL]http://www.diabetes.co.uk/oral-glucose-tolerance-test.html[/URL] You could also ask for a Fructosamine test, but will be lucky to get one. They are expensive and very few labs in the UK process them, so your blood has to be sent away to one of these labs for testing. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post Reply
Home
Forums
Diabetes Discussion
Diabetes Discussions
Is HBA1C accurate enough...
Top
Bottom
Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Ad free.
Join the community »
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn More.…