Type 1: What are your HbA1c test results?

Becks96

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Hi mine was 98 % last time have high bm daily.find it hard to control for over 24 years had my left leg amputated 10 months ago hoping hba1c is much lower soon just have keep trying.
 

Diakat

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Hi mine was 98 % last time have high bm daily.find it hard to control for over 24 years had my left leg amputated 10 months ago hoping hba1c is much lower soon just have keep trying.
Hi @Becks96 I hope things improve for you. Has your leg healed now? What support are your diabetes team giving you?
 

Becks96

Newbie
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Well i have many things to say it all started in 2016 my left leg became blocked so had bypass which failed then had small cut on toe which never healed due to poor curculation and diabetes didnt help so had to be removed i lost my mum at 58 due to ms then lost my job and leg four months after.i have not had a diabetes consultant for 3 years now due to me and them not seeing eye to eye.i had carpels tunnel 5 years ago now its come back and will not do ops again due to nerve damage i have so wear hand splits also.but ive managed to get bms around 15mmol at mo.
 

luke8841

Newbie
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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Hi, my son has been recently diagnosed with t1d and thank god for our national health system. Even though we are a poor country, my son has a Freestyle Libre almost fully funded. After a rough month of hypos, we are finally able to deal with the hypers.
Every morning he wakes up with bg lower than 180, I give him his premeal bolus, he eats after 20 minutes, and then his readings are as if he never had insulin, he can go as high as 320. It is so frustrating, because 4h later we have to rush or he will have a hypo (he used to have them, but we can manage now because we lowered the Lantus dose).
His Hba1c is 10.6 and we are very lucky to have him, because when he entered hospital the meter wouldn't work because Glucose was higher than 600.
I am thinking of getting miaomiao so I can stop waking up every hour during the night to check on him, so any feedback is appreciatted.
Hope it is all settling down for you and becoming 2nd nature! it is a bit of a journey and i say that after >30 years T1D!
 

Dave P

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100
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
My recent HbA1c was 5.8%, the diabetes specialist told me this was too low and I should be aiming for 6.5% instead. I'm not sure that's good advice though. (Far be it from me to presume to know better than a consultant doctor but his advice seems at odds with what I've read online which is that around 5% is the ideal level.)

6 months later... my latest HbA1c is 5.5%. Nurse I saw was happy with this and when looking at my meter results said it was one of the best ones she's seen. I'll be seeing the same doctor next time who said 5.8% was too low, so hopefully I won't get a telling off if it's around this level again? It seems stupid that I should have to worry about this but I can't help it.
 

Dave P

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Hello Forum,

I'm a Type 1, 46 years so far as & diagnosed 1972. My Hba1c this month was 6.1. Just seen my consultant & he was unimpressed with that & said it's too low, near non Diabetic & raise level to 6.5 to 7. Ouch, I thought..that's me told. My Hba1c is usually around mid 6's. I've been using an insulin pump about 10 years & the Libre just over a year. I've complications... neuropathy, a childhood of blood sugar that misbehaved all the time!

Best wishes to all
Tux

Exactly the same as me then. It is stupid isn't it? I intend to ignore such advice and continue to shoot for 5 to 5.5. I am assuming they can't punish you by taking your treatment away if you ignore their bad advice.

I mean how can they complain that your levels are nearly as good as a non-diabetic - isn't that the point? To get ourselves as close to normal as possible to minimise the risk of complications? This helps us and helps the NHS. What's the problem with that?
 
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Heathero

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362
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Pump
My HBA1c was 6.5 . I got positive feedback. Using Libre has helped.
Just wondering if concern Re low HBA1c from professionals
Exactly the same as me then. It is stupid isn't it? I intend to ignore such advice and continue to shoot for 5 to 5.5. I am assuming they can't punish you by taking your treatment away if you ignore their bad advice.

I mean how can they complain that your levels are nearly as good as a non-diabetic - isn't that the point? To get ourselves as close to normal as possible to minimise the risk of complications? This helps us and helps the NHS. What's the problem with that?

may be of concern as hypos will affect this. Especially if not quickly treated?
 

Dave P

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100
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Type 1
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Insulin
My HBA1c was 6.5 . I got positive feedback. Using Libre has helped.
Just wondering if concern Re low HBA1c from professionals

may be of concern as hypos will affect this. Especially if not quickly treated?

Yes I know hypos can be dangerous and that is of course what the NHS are concerned with. However, they should look at the data in the proper context. Someone could have an HbA1c of 5.5% and have tight control with few hypos and no serious ones (like myself). Or, someone could have 5.5%, or 6.5% like yourself, but fluctuate wildly from very low to very high. HbA1c is a very blunt instrument and doesn't in and of itself give the full picture, it is just a very simplistic and limited measurement.

Accordingly, in my opinion, any professional who makes the blanket statement that (say) 5.5% is too low, but 6.5% is fine, is not doing their job properly. And the thing is they don't have to guess! Because we go in there with our electronic meters with the memory bank full of all the data from our testing, they upload it to their computer and it shows exactly what numbers we've had and how good or bad our control is.

Of course, if I had 5.5% but was getting loads of hypos all over the place, it would absolutely be proper for them to say "hang on a minute, this is no good, you need to stop aiming for such low numbers because you're having all these hypos". But for someone who is disciplined enough to have good tight control? They should be saying carry on what you're doing, this is good.

6.5% is fine but AFAIK is not low enough to guarantee not having complications. It equates to an average blood sugar level of around 7.8 which many of us would be uncomfortable having for long periods. For a few hours after a high carb meal is one thing but to average that all the time is arguably not ideal.
 

Heathero

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362
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Type 1
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Pump
Yes I know hypos can be dangerous and that is of course what the NHS are concerned with. However, they should look at the data in the proper context. Someone could have an HbA1c of 5.5% and have tight control with few hypos and no serious ones (like myself). Or, someone could have 5.5%, or 6.5% like yourself, but fluctuate wildly from very low to very high. HbA1c is a very blunt instrument and doesn't in and of itself give the full picture, it is just a very simplistic and limited measurement.

Accordingly, in my opinion, any professional who makes the blanket statement that (say) 5.5% is too low, but 6.5% is fine, is not doing their job properly. And the thing is they don't have to guess! Because we go in there with our electronic meters with the memory bank full of all the data from our testing, they upload it to their computer and it shows exactly what numbers we've had and how good or bad our control is.

Of course, if I had 5.5% but was getting loads of hypos all over the place, it would absolutely be proper for them to say "hang on a minute, this is no good, you need to stop aiming for such low numbers because you're having all these hypos". But for someone who is disciplined enough to have good tight control? They should be saying carry on what you're doing, this is good.

6.5% is fine but AFAIK is not low enough to guarantee not having complications. It equates to an average blood sugar level of around 7.8 which many of us would be uncomfortable having for long periods. For a few hours after a high carb meal is one thing but to average that all the time is arguably not ideal.
Yes indeed.
 

Gary61

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68
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Just came back from the clinic and was informed that it was 6.1 or 43%. Really pleased with this as it is my first hbA1 with my new Medtronic 670g pump. And this result is basically eating what I want at whatever times I want as well. This pump rocks:)
 

margamandan

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Hi Gary 61, eating anything you want, when you want, how does that work? I miss those days, prediabetic.
 

Gary61

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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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I sometimes have to pump large amounts of insulin to do this such as on pancake day lol. Sometimes my sugars will reach high ish levels, but I know that usually within 2hrs they will usually start coming down. Sometimes it literally is guess work, but I'm prepared to take on more carbs if that's the case. It helps enormously having a real time B.S. to look at as I can pump small amounts periodically if they are rising too much.
I'm not saying that everyone should do it, but I feel comfortable cheating the system to a degree and because I'm very experienced and considered as having excellent control, I feel I can get away with it. This pump though has really made a huge difference in allowing me to carry out this process.
 
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Marie 2

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I eat what I want as long as it's vegan for me. I find the most important thing is timing and the proper dose of course. My A1C was 32 last time (5.1%).

But prebolusing and timing are critical for me, but also having a pump to make small adjustments whenever needed and a Dexcom with alerts have been extremely helpful. The alerts let's me know something is going on before I get there.
 

Dave P

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Hi Gary 61, eating anything you want, when you want, how does that work? I miss those days, prediabetic.

I assumed this is common if not the norm for type 1s, it works by taking enough insulin to cover what you eat?
 

porl69

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Hi Gary 61, eating anything you want, when you want, how does that work? I miss those days, prediabetic.

Carb counting and injecting based on what you are eating. Ask your DSN about the DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) brilliant course that will help with your diabetes
 

margamandan

Active Member
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Type 1
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Insulin
I assumed this is common if not the norm for type 1s, it works by taking enough insulin to cover what you eat?
Well so far not for me. Maybe one day. I Always have a high hb1ac, or been having lows trying to hard. Finally just started to get lower, but only after changing hospital and meeting someone who takes a little time to help me with decent advice. My background bolus figure was wrong, so I had no stability. I'm also somewhat insulin sensitive, regularly only carb counting 0.5-1.5 units of novorapid required. I also didn't know I need more insulin in the am, compared to the pm.

I'm much more hopeful thanks to her, and still learning.
 
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margamandan

Active Member
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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Carb counting and injecting based on what you are eating. Ask your DSN about the DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) brilliant course that will help with your diabetes
Yes, i intend to do the dafne.
I've heard it's a gd course.
 

Wayward Blood

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77
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
My last one (January) was 5.8, which is the highest it's been for me in quite some time. I'm aiming for non-diabetic levels really (I'm Type 1 and follow a low carbohydrate diet), providing I can achieve that without frequent hypos.