I’ve just been diagnosed with type 2. My HBa1c was 11.1.. so I’m on metformin..trying to get my head round all this.. however on the finger prick machine, my level was 15.1. Today that is down to 7.3.. that’s in 3 days.. is this good or bad?
Thank youHi @Dawn3750 That is good!
So, let's start with the HbA1c. That is a sort of average of your blood sugar levels over the past three months. If you had one done tomorrow, it would be about the same, but if you have one done in three months time, hopefully, it will be down.
The finger prick test is the amount of sugar in your blood stream, in that particular finger at that moment. It will vary considerably according to what you have eaten and a number of other factors (wellness, stress, exercise). The metformin will only have a limited affect on these numbers and takes a while to build up in your body. Taking a tablet now, won't affect blood sugar levels in an hour's time!
I'm going to tag @daisy1 for you. She has a very good post, which will appear here a little later on, with lots of info for newbies. Welcome, by the way, and do keep asking questions.
Sally
I’m based. That’s the only figure I know at the moment ..Hi, I am going to tag @daisy1 to get you the beginners starter info which may help. Your HbA1c ssems to be in a different unit system than I get mine in so I assume it is %. Are you UK based? Certainly a spot check meter reading of 15 or so seems elevated, but a reading of 7,5 is good, assuming again the units are UK mmol/l. The starter pack contains a lot of useful info, as does the main site homepage.
Sorry based in UKI’m based. That’s the only figure I know at the moment ..
An HbA1c of 11.1 relates to an AVERAGE blood sugar level of 15.1, so your HbA1c will reduce.I’ve just been diagnosed with type 2. My HBa1c was 11.1.. so I’m on metformin..trying to get my head round all this.. however on the finger prick machine, my level was 15.1. Today that is down to 7.3.. that’s in 3 days.. is this good or bad?
I was diagnosed in July with an A1C of 11.8%. My blood glucose steadily decreased but I'd get a lot of spikes. 14.2 one day then 9.8 then back up again. My profile picture is my three-month graph. It wasn't a smooth decrease but spiky as heck.I’ve just been diagnosed with type 2. My HBa1c was 11.1.. so I’m on metformin..trying to get my head round all this.. however on the finger prick machine, my level was 15.1. Today that is down to 7.3.. that’s in 3 days.. is this good or bad?
As others already explained, your HbA1c is an average of 3 months, and the finger prick is what your blood glucose is doing right that moment. If you're randomly testing, it's not telling you all that much though (though that 7 is good news). Your blood glucose continuously varies throughout the day. The thing is to keep those variations small, and relatively low. If you want to know what's going on with your bloodglucose, there are a few times a day that really tell you what's what. Quite a few people here start with a fasting blood glucose: checking where it's at right when waking. Keep in mind there exists such a thing as dawn phenomenon: your numbers may be high in the morning because your liver helpfully dumps glucose into your bloodstream to give you energy to start the day. So don't be too alarmed if your numbers seem extra high in the morning. That's normal, and especially when you've just been diagnosed, likely to be relatively high. it's the last number to go down. Then there's testing before a meal, and 2 hours after the first bite. Ideally, you don't go up more than 2.0 mmol/l from before and after the meal. If it goes higher, the meal you ate contained more carbohydrates than your body could process back out. (Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so that's not just sugars, but fructose and starches too). This is why the bulk of T2's here eat Low Carb/High Fat or even keto (VERY low carb). It's a way to get bloodsugars under control, quite frequently without additional medication, tackle fatty liver disease, lower cholesterol and weight. (And as it happens, it worked miracles for my foodintolerances as well.). Then, to get back to the subject of testing, there's the option to test before going to bed. To me, the most useful tests are the meal-oriented ones, but it's a personal choice whether to do all tests, some or none... Though the more information you have, the better. If you want to help yourself and your doctor get some insight in what your bloodglucose is doing, test your little heart out and write down what you ate. A food diary can make a whole lot a lot clearer in a short period of time.I’ve just been diagnosed with type 2. My HBa1c was 11.1.. so I’m on metformin..trying to get my head round all this.. however on the finger prick machine, my level was 15.1. Today that is down to 7.3.. that’s in 3 days.. is this good or bad?
Sorry if I'm derailing the thread, but how did you find out?Our cat already had diabetes
He had pancreatitis, so that came up in the tests, when they checked whether his pancreas did anything after that... And it didn't. (Night is a T3c).Sorry if I'm derailing the thread, but how did you find out?
(He was staying at the vet's at the time as an in-patient)Sorry if I'm derailing the thread, but how did you find out?