Can anyone help me understand HbA1c results please!

jannygreg

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a year ago my HbA1c was 91 and so I was put on metformin 2000mg per day, six months later it was 49 and today it was 48 - is this ok? the diabetic nurse only tells me these results and I don't know what they mean, hope someone can help. Thanks.
 

sally and james

Well-Known Member
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1,093
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Diet only

Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a year ago my HbA1c was 91 and so I was put on metformin 2000mg per day, six months later it was 49 and today it was 48 - is this ok? the diabetic nurse only tells me these results and I don't know what they mean, hope someone can help. Thanks.

well done about getting your numbers down... very fine
 
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daisy1

Legend
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26,457
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
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Cruelty towards animals.
@jannygreg

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 210,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Salvia

Well-Known Member
Messages
812
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only

Hi PosyPip, I'm always interested in charts and pictures, I find they help me understand things much more easily. I'm a bit confused about this chart, though, so wonder if you know anything more about why it was produced & what it was used for. Reason I'm asking is that it says that between 41-49 inclusive, the glycaemic control is excellent, which for me seems odd, as from 42-47 is prediabetes (presumably indicating not so good control), and from 48 onwards is diabetes, also indicating not so good control (see info in the post from sally and james above). I guess it depends, of course, on one's definition of 'control'
Edit: Equally, of course, I could have completely midunderstood the chart - not unknown :D
 

PosyPip

Well-Known Member
Messages
128
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I think this is for those with diabetes and the progression (or improvement) of Hba1c results. There is definition between 40 or less and 41-49; these approximate pre diabetes and well controlled diabetes; even though the nos are slightly different to those usually use.

In New Zealand only an Hba1c of 50 plus is considered diagnostic of type 2 - the actual numbers can be interpreted differently
 

Megsdad

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Something I was going to ask about has half been answered here, but not completely.
Diagnosed 5 months ago with hba1c at 80 but having reduced carb intake it's now 32. So less than 40 is thought of as well controlled but just how low can be considered as 'safe' pr normal?
 

Hiitsme

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,987
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @Megsdad that's a question I would like to know the answer as well. Some on here have HbA1c's in the 20's. I would like to know what is normal, a non-diabetic normal. Anyway very well done on your HbA1c reduction.
 

ChrisSamsDad

Well-Known Member
Messages
446
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
UKIP, royalty, football, gin, goat's cheese.
I think, from what studies are showing, that there is an association with low HbA1C and higher mortality (http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/35/10/2055.full.pdf) and possibly some connection with liver disease, but that's not saying that one causes the other, just that they're associated - i..e it could be that the low sugar causes liver disease or liver disease causes low blood sugar, or they're both a system of a third thing.

In the study about they mention a figure of 5%, which is 31 in the UK, or about 5.4mmol/L. Given that your body has a number of mechanisms to keep your blood sugar up to a certain amount, up to and including dissolving your own muscles - and you pass out and die if it's too low, for me, I'd be pretty happy if mine got down to 32, but worried if it got much lower, I've not seen any evidence that maintaiing it at very low values improves your life expectancy or quality of life. It would be very difficult to do a long term study of that and a short term study isn't really going to tell you the whole picture.

However, I would imagine that the right value for YOU is different for everyone, depending on your weight, level of exercise and state of your diabetes, it's not the only indicator - you need to consider your blood pressure, resting heart rate and cholesterol levels for instance. For each of those too, there's a 'too low' value and if you've got all those in the 'good' range and you don't have any problems as a result of getting them there, I'd say you're doing fine.