Blood test results

You should ask for a copy of all test results, you can then understand them better.

It doesn't matter how the results are presented, there are conversion charts you can use. The HbA1c will be % or mmol/mol.

What is important is that you are able to understand the results and be happy that they are OK for you.

I suggest you make an appointment to see the DSN and ask for a copy of any recent test results. Then ask on here what they mean.

A good HbA1c for a T2 would be below 6.5% or 48 mmol/mol although I aim for much less than that.

Home testing meters use a very different method of testing to the HbA1c and the units are also very different.
H

diggerhtfc said:

Should I be asking for blood test results soon after having my blood taken?

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Yes.

I have only just joined the Forum, mainly out of curiosity and hopefully to obtain useful information from the players. I have had Diabetes type 2 for several years now and my HbA1c reading has gradually increased from around 5.8-7.5 % (old readings) over the years, but then I have got older as well. I am examined every 6 months by my Doctors Diabetic nurse. I am on 500 mg. Metformin tablets - 3 per day.

What is often ignored is that everything gets worse with age except wine and Brandy. Our entire bodily functions and all the vital organs depreciate as we get older and the Pancreas is no exception. WE should recognize this fact at all times and certainly our medical masters should when dealing with age dependent issues. I get the impression that they turn a blind eye to age and pontificate on as if we had all just popped out of the egg.

My various other associated readings are very good for my age and life seems to be a series of stepping stones from one check to the next. I have no problems yet, although like all medical people they would like my HbA1c reading to be less and so would I. My recent check yielded 58 (new readings) Last time it was 63 and has gone down. A good result seeing that Christmas was included in the check period.

See :-


The chart is in old % units, just convert from the table.

My experience so far is that any reading under 64 does not mean considering jumping off the nearest bridge in a frenzied panic attack of jitters. Nothing serious to worry about, just try to get it down by following your medical adviser and do not be naughty with your diet. Remember, there is no gain without pain.

Exercise ? Well it depends on your physical condition and attitude. It is not the cure-all remedy that the whole medical world appear to say it is. Years ago my own Doctor who was a regular jogger and Doctor to the then England football team, kept nagging me to go jogging like him as a means of "keeping fit". I considered it until I got the sad news that he had dropped dead while jogging. That settled exercise for good in my book - keep it ! Can we say "Exercise Kills" like they proudly stamp "Smoking Kills" on every packet of cigarettes ? He died in his 40`s and I am still here in my 80`s.

I am not over-weight, do no exercise at all other than daily routines and I am still around at the age of 81 alive and kicking, relatively fit and able. I smoke a pipe, curse and drink, all in moderation and have done for well over 50 years. Life is good. I would stress that I am VERY responsible in what I eat and what I do and in no way am slap-happy or Gung-Ho.

I would like the Forum to bring some logic and sensible comments into the magical world of HbA1c readings, such that people with readings not considered ideal by the theoretically minded medical wizards madly obsessed with dubious averages, are not scared out of their skulls by insensitive medical waffle or daunted by the historical but imaginary dominating authority of their medical Masters.

I think that the estimation of average blood glucose in the chart isn't quite consistent with recent calculations., especially at the lower end.

This is a calculator from the ADA informed by recent research.
http://professional.diabetes.org/GlucoseCalculator.aspx
on that an HbA1c of:
4% is the equivalent of an estimated average of 3.8mmol/l
5% =5.4 mmol/l eAG
6% =7.0 mmol/l eAG
7% = 8.6 mmol/l eAG
8% = 10.1 mmol/l eAG
9% = 11.8 mmol/ eAG
10% = 13.4 mmol/ eAG
14 % = 19.7 mmol/l eAG

phoenix said:

I think that the estimation of average blood glucose in the chart isn't quite consistent with recent calculations., especially at the lower end.

This is a calculator from the ADA informed by recent research.
http://professional.diabetes.org/GlucoseCalculator.aspx
on that an HbA1c of:
4% is the equivalent of an estimated average of 3.8mmol/l
5% =5.4 mmol/l eAG
6% =7.0 mmol/l eAG
7% = 8.6 mmol/l eAG
8% = 10.1 mmol/l eAG
9% = 11.8 mmol/ eAG
10% = 13.4 mmol/ eAG
14 % = 19.7 mmol/l eAG

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Your input is highly appreciated.
My crucial point is that all these facts and figures involve averages. No individual is average, average is the hypothetical mean of a selected sample. To discipline your mind on average values is simply a guideline and our medical friends know it.

Average this and average that means very little in practice when studying an individual. Unfortunately Mother Nature does not recognize averages, it is only we humans that have to use them in order to apply practical criteria to the masses and hence try to establish a profile for the individual. It is the practice of most technical and scientific work. We live on averages.

I would just add a point that is of paramount importance to Diabetics. Obesity is now a serious threat to civilization and most Governments recognize it by introducing countless measures to guide people on diet, exercise and other aspects of health control. With Western populations reaching around 60% obesity including children, the matter is the most serious threat to global health resources we have today. Like smoking, compulsive and repetitive eating of unhealthy convenient foods is a self inflicted wound.

Your Diabetic readings, Cholesterol, blood pressure, kidney, liver and heart rates etc. etc. go completely haywire. It threatens to bankrupt every countries health care funding in the very near future. Not just my words, but the factual forecast of the World Health Authority.

The trouble is that a high proportion of obese people are also Diabetic. This combination is a guarantee of a short, troubled and most likely painful life. Every Diabetic and obese person MUST reverse their natural and addictive tendencies of placing compulsive eating before Diabetic control, otherwise it will simply be a steady road to an early death, costing the health care organizations countless billions or trillions of dollars in wasteful treatments that could and should be allocated to other patients with more demanding and treatable medical needs.

Exercise ? Well it depends on your physical condition and attitude. It is not the cure-all remedy that the whole medical world appear to say it is. Years ago my own Doctor who was a regular jogger and Doctor to the then England football team, kept nagging me to go jogging like him as a means of "keeping fit". I considered it until I got the sad news that he had dropped dead while jogging. That settled exercise for good in my book - keep it ! Can we say "Exercise Kills" like they proudly stamp "Smoking Kills" on every packet of cigarettes ? He died in his 40`s and I am still here in my 80`s.

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No - exercise does not kill but unlikely things do happen, if you didn't immediately dismiss the opinion of any statistically literate experts ("theoretically minded medical wizards madly obsessed with dubious averages"). The chances of winning the lottery is negligible but somehow someone always seems to manage to get the numbers right .

Stasitics is important because it is rather hard to tell if there's a casual relationship or mere coincidence; your experience is a self-selecting* n=1 experiment, and since we lack time machines it's impossible to know what would have happened if you had done things differently (you take a pill and get better but might have gotten better anyway - so does that mean the pill is worth taking or a scam?)

* higher BG increases the risk of heart disease (as shown by DCCT and other trials), but dead people don't visit forums to share their experience so all you hear about is the lucky ones.

compulsive and repetitive eating of unhealthy convenient foods

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I'd love to see any studies that found compulsive eating a major cause of obesity. Words like "compulsive" have a specific meaning, you know.