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Welcome to the forum @palacefatboy. Was that your first HbA1c test result over 47? Usually you would be given a second test after 3 months to confirm diagnosis. If second test is over 47 then yes you would be diagnosed as being diabetic.

48 is just over the threshold, and tests can be a bit out. I was diagnosed with a HbA1c of 49, and subsequent tests have been below 47, but I am still classified as diabetic.

Hi and welcome,

With a borderline HbA1c such as 48. you should have a second test done within a couple of weeks. This is in case the first test was inaccurate in some way. (Unless you also had a fasting plasma glucose test that was above 7mmol/l? And even then, a second HbA1c is the general rule before a diagnosis is made.) HbA1c tests are not 100% accurate as there is a small error tolerance.

Some GPs will keep us on the diabetes register permanently no matter how much we improve and maintain that improvement. Other GPs will remove us from the register after several HbA1c tests under the threshold without medication. It is up to the GP. There are no official guidelines.

palacefatboy said:

I Have been pre diabetic for a while and then this test came back at 48. Have been suffering lots of symptoms of diabetes especially tiredness, headaches and frequent toilet trips.

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Are you doing anything to control your blood sugars, or just leaving it to chance? Those symptoms you mention are symptoms of high blood sugars, and not ones you associate normally with pre-diabetes or an HbA1c of 48. There are also other things they are symptoms of, not related to diabetes. It is possible you are having high blood sugars after eating, which could cause those symptoms, then dropping back to normal levels before your next meal. What are you typically eating?

palacefatboy said:

I Have been pre diabetic for a while and then this test came back at 48. Have been suffering lots of symptoms of diabetes especially tiredness, headaches and frequent toilet trips.

Click to expand...

What really matters is not the diabetes / pre-diabetes classification, but what you do about it. You can almost certainly reduce your A1c and ditch a lot of unpleasant symptoms if you choose, and you have come to the right place to get advice and support to do so. Good luck!

Nothing magical happens in the body at 48. It is virtually the same as 47, or 49.
It is a roughly drawn boundary to help classify patients between pre-D and D levels.
My advice is get a meter, behave like you are diabetic and reduce carbs intake to work the score down below 40.
Good luck.