Abnormal HBA1C

[Fizzy1408]

Today I noticed on my surgery’s records that my HBA1C says “abnormal” followed by “no further action taken”. At what level should I be getting medication? I have managed my diabetes for many years by diet and exercise alone, but recently I’ve had other health issues and I don’t get out for walks as much as I’d like now (long story). My reading was 58 mmol/mol.

 

[JohnEGreen]

If you have already been diagnosed it may be that your doctor is trying to hold off on prescribing meds in order to give you a chance to bring your blood sugars down by other means i.e. diet and exorcise tough I think most GPs would probably have prescribed Metformin by now..

If you have no diagnosis as 58 is a diabetic level I would if I were you and I once was in the same situation talk to your GP and point out that you are in the diabetic range though it is fair to say that normally a second HbA1c should be done at some point to confirm this I argued with my then GP over this for about 3 years he just refused to acknowledge that I was in the diabetic range and it was not till I got a new GP that the situation was resolved after moving to a new area and I got a diagnosis on the first meeting with my new GP I hope that you do not have the same experience.

 

[Fizzy1408]

Hi, sorry, I’ve only just seen this, as I didn’t get any notifications.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2001, and have kept my glucose controlled by diet and exercise ever since, apart from one blip, when I was put on metformin for a couple of months - it didn’t agree with me and I had stomach cramps and diarrhoea. This was years ago. Due to other health issues, the only exercise I can do now is walking, so I’m not sure how else I can improve my readings. I’ve been to my diabetes clinic for my annual review, but I get the impression nobody is interested (I spoke to another doctor at my practice recently, by phone, who told me not to worry and my own doctor would be ringing me after my diabetes review, but she hasn’t). My thyroid (for which I take medication) is out of range too, and that’s also been ignored. My diabetes nurse has had enough and is retiring, it feels like the who NHS has had it soul knocked out by the pandemic. Nobody’s interested, nobody cares. I feel like changing doctor’s, but will it make a difference?

 

[KK123]

Hi, sorry, I’ve only just seen this, as I didn’t get any notifications.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2001, and have kept my glucose controlled by diet and exercise ever since, apart from one blip, when I was put on metformin for a couple of months - it didn’t agree with me and I had stomach cramps and diarrhoea. This was years ago. Due to other health issues, the only exercise I can do now is walking, so I’m not sure how else I can improve my readings. I’ve been to my diabetes clinic for my annual review, but I get the impression nobody is interested (I spoke to another doctor at my practice recently, by phone, who told me not to worry and my own doctor would be ringing me after my diabetes review, but she hasn’t). My thyroid (for which I take medication) is out of range too, and that’s also been ignored. My diabetes nurse has had enough and is retiring, it feels like the who NHS has had it soul knocked out by the pandemic. Nobody’s interested, nobody cares. I feel like changing doctor’s, but will it make a difference?

Hi there, do you use a glucometer at all, or do you rely on the hb1ac to show you how you are doing? If the latter, I would say definitely get yourself a glucometer & some strips. That way you can start a record of your daily glucose levels, first thing in the morning, then before meals and two hours after to see what levels you are reaching. Your hb1ac indicates your glucose average is around 9 which is too high on a long term basis. Do this for a few weeks and you will have the 'evidence' to show your Health care provider. The hb1ac on its own tells them not much really because it is an average and will not show whether you hit the teens at some point. I think most of us have found that keeping your own records and being extremely proactive is the best way to manage your health. Also I see you have been managing it up to now with diet which is great and of course when that no longer works you need more, but can you tell us a typical day's food as people may be able to help you improve it further. x

 

[Resurgam]

Although I did not get a rise as high as yours, a while back I had a raised Hba1c level - I was contacted and pushed to take a statin again. My Hba1c was never mentioned and I only learned about it recently, by which time I was back at the top of normal again.
At the moment I am getting appointments for all sorts of things, but the strain is showing. I am due to have a blood test, but there are no vials available. I needed to contact the surgery and could not get through by phone even after trying for over a week.

 

[Fizzy1408]

Hi there, do you use a glucometer at all, or do you rely on the hb1ac to show you how you are doing? If the latter, I would say definitely get yourself a glucometer & some strips. That way you can start a record of your daily glucose levels, first thing in the morning, then before meals and two hours after to see what levels you are reaching. Your hb1ac indicates your glucose average is around 9 which is too high on a long term basis. Do this for a few weeks and you will have the 'evidence' to show your Health care provider. The hb1ac on its own tells them not much really because it is an average and will not show whether you hit the teens at some point. I think most of us have found that keeping your own records and being extremely proactive is the best way to manage your health. Also I see you have been managing it up to now with diet which is great and of course when that no longer works you need more, but can you tell us a typical day's food as people may be able to help you improve it further. x

Hi, yes, I have a glucose meter and I do check my readings regularly, this is what has got me worried, because I’ve had high readings - particularly in the summer, when we had a bit of a heat wave, and I was trying to drink lots of water to try and bring the readings down and even missing meals, or delaying them until I felt they were at a fairly reasonable level.

 

[KK123]

Hi, yes, I have a glucose meter and I do check my readings regularly, this is what has got me worried, because I’ve had high readings - particularly in the summer, when we had a bit of a heat wave, and I was trying to drink lots of water to try and bring the readings down and even missing meals, or delaying them until I felt they were at a fairly reasonable level.

Thanks for replying, would you mind sharing those readings with us, I'm not trying to be nosy but it would help people to comment and maybe explain their own possibly similar experiences.

 

[Fizzy1408]

Although I did not get a rise as high as yours, a while back I had a raised Hba1c level - I was contacted and pushed to take a statin again. My Hba1c was never mentioned and I only learned about it recently, by which time I was back at the top of normal again.
At the moment I am getting appointments for all sorts of things, but the strain is showing. I am due to have a blood test, but there are no vials available. I needed to contact the surgery and could not get through by phone even after trying for over a week.

Hi, yes, I was pointed in the direction of a statin too, I’ve resisted up to now, because I have fibromyalgia and have enough problems with my muscles, (long story) and was taken off Bedroflumethiazide, as it was causing problems with my potassium levels - I do take another blood pressure tablet though. I’ve recently read that statins increase your risk of skin infections as well, and that’s not desirable in people with diabetes.

it does seem very difficult getting hold of doctors at the moment and when you do, most of it is over the phone. So I hope you get better luck than I did.

 

[SuNuman]

Hi there, do you use a glucometer at all, or do you rely on the hb1ac to show you how you are doing? If the latter, I would say definitely get yourself a glucometer & some strips. That way you can start a record of your daily glucose levels, first thing in the morning, then before meals and two hours after to see what levels you are reaching. Your hb1ac indicates your glucose average is around 9 which is too high on a long term basis. Do this for a few weeks and you will have the 'evidence' to show your Health care provider. The hb1ac on its own tells them not much really because it is an average and will not show whether you hit the teens at some point. I think most of us have found that keeping your own records and being extremely proactive is the best way to manage your health. Also I see you have been managing it up to now with diet which is great and of course when that no longer works you need more, but can you tell us a typical day's food as people may be able to help you improve it further. x

Hi. Just out of interest how did you work out the glucose average from the a1c? Thank you. X

 

[Fizzy1408]

Thanks for replying, would you mind sharing those readings with us, I'm not trying to be nosy but it would help people to comment and maybe explain their own possibly similar experiences.

Yes, that’s fine. They’ve ranged between 9.7 to 15.1 and anything in between recently, the 15.1 reading was just before I went to bed, so I sat up and had a cup of tea and after a while it dropped to about 12 I think it was - the memory on my meter reader only stores up to 14 days.

 

[Fizzy1408]

Hi. Just out of interest how did you work out the glucose average from the a1c? Thank you. X

They seemed to have changed how it is presented in my notes, the HbA1C was 58 mmol/ml. This is how it appears on my on-line doctor’s notes.

 

[catinahat]

how did you work out the glucose average from the a1c?

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html

 

[Fizzy1408]

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html

Thank you!

 

[HSSS]

Has your diet changed? Has more carby and starchy foods crept in? Have you had covid? All of these as well as reduced exercise can have an effect. A lot of people have struggled during the pandemic. Many diagnosed at higher levels aren’t given medication straight away and are able with low carbing and loss of any extra weight to reduce them back down again.

 

[SuNuman]

They seemed to have changed how it is presented in my notes, the HbA1C was 58 mmol/ml. This is how it appears on my on-line doctor’s notes.

Yeah I think that is equal to a % of 7.5. X.

 

[SuNuman]

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html

I see. X thanks.

 

[LionChild]

Today I noticed on my surgery’s records that my HBA1C says “abnormal” followed by “no further action taken”. At what level should I be getting medication? I have managed my diabetes for many years by diet and exercise alone, but recently I’ve had other health issues and I don’t get out for walks as much as I’d like now (long story). My reading was 58 mmol/mol.

Are you on a low carb diet? Would you be prepared to try that to bring your numbers down?

 

[danziger]

I’m not able to exercise due to disabling illness but have still been able to bring my HbA1C into non-diabetic range through medication (not metformin) and low carb and plan to come off medication soon, so there is hope of bringing it down even if you can’t exercise. Sounds like you do need to get the thyroid sorted and that a new doctor might not be a bad idea, but could perhaps look at cutting more carbs in the meantime?

Oh, also: counterintuitive I know, but often protein helps bring down my bg, especially if I’ve gone too long without eating for my liver’s liking!

 

[Fizzy1408]

Has your diet changed? Has more carby and starchy foods crept in? Have you had covid? All of these as well as reduced exercise can have an effect. A lot of people have struggled during the pandemic. Many diagnosed at higher levels aren’t given medication straight away and are able with low carbing and loss of any extra weight to reduce them back down again.

Not specifically more carbs, although I’ve struggled with mental health recently, which has led me to stay in more. My granddaughter died at 15 days old - long story, she was in an incubator from birth, and also my dog had to be put to sleep in lock-down because he had a tumour which was masked by his arthritis, it had spread and they couldn’t save him, then my husband fell on some scaffolding and ended up having surgery, so I’ve become a recluse basically. Sorry, if it’s too much information.

 

[Fizzy1408]

Yeah I think that is equal to a % of 7.5. X.

Is that still a good level?