Blood testing at the doctor

[farfromhomedk]

hi everyone,

i have recently changed doctor, because of communication issues with my old doctor. my new doctor is a good fit, but there is one thing that is having me wondering.

i recently got my second 3 month blood test, down from 53 at diagnosis to 45 to now 35, but this new doctor only tested a small drop from my finger, while my old doctor took way more blood from the arm, and ran a test that took a couple of days.

is there a difference between the two types of tests? can i trust the result completely? the new results are such a relief (my doctor told me she has diabetes too and hers werent even as good as mine. i like her style.) that i left with a little bit of scepticism. please help me understand this!

 

[Lamont D]

hi everyone,

i have recently changed doctor, because of communication issues with my old doctor. my new doctor is a good fit, but there is one thing that is having me wondering.

i recently got my second 3 month blood test, down from 53 at diagnosis to 45 to now 35, but this new doctor only tested a small drop from my finger, while my old doctor took way more blood from the arm, and ran a test that took a couple of days.

is there a difference between the two types of tests? can i trust the result completely? the new results are such a relief (my doctor told me she has diabetes too and hers werent even as good as mine. i like her style.) that i left with a little bit of scepticism. please help me understand this!

You may be overworrying a little. Your numbers are fine.
You have only just had your annual hba1c to confirm your average blood glucose levels.
I believe your doc was just seeing how your bloods were today.

However, I would continue to do what you are doing as its working.
Congrats on your results.

 

[CollieBoy]

@farfromhomedk
The old test looks to be the normal "take venous blood-send away for test-get result back" tthat s done at a lab(usually at the local hospital) whereas the newer one appers to have been done at the surgery itself, which is done from a fingerprick sample!

 

[Oldvatr]

If you google A1C Now, you will find some data on home HbA1c testers, They are sold via Amazon. They used to be made by Abbot Labs, but were quite inacccurate at the time (2013?) Then Abbot withdrew them, and they are now made in USA by a different company under the same brand name, and look very similar to the old Abbot one. I believe this model is quite accurate compared to a vampire drawn sample, and many GP practices are beginning to use this type of kit. There are other suppliers of professional kits that GPs can use since these are specifically licenced for medical use in an office, but not for home use.
Personally, i prefer the old way of testing, since those lab tests show more than just the HbA1c. You can get a health check on your cholesterol,lipids, iron level / anaemia and other health indicators that the home test will not give.

 

[Oldvatr]

You may be overworrying a little. Your numbers are fine.
You have only just had your annual hba1c to confirm your average blood glucose levels.
I believe your doc was just seeing how your bloods were today.

However, I would continue to do what you are doing as its working.
Congrats on your results.

Good point. The fingerprick test is probably not HbA1c but a normal bgl test, in which case it will not correlate to the HbA1c result from the lab. i wasn't thinking clearly. But the one stop tester is coming to a GP practice near all of us.The people who do the SD Codefree also provide the HbA1c laboratory standard test gear but do not offer a portable tester yet.

My codefree read about 1.3 mmol/L higher than my latest HbA1c, whereas my NEO read 0.9 mmol/L below.

 

[farfromhomedk]

thanks for your replies, but im confused now.

she told me it was the three month checkup. i am to have one every three months, same as with the old doctor, because the test measures three months back. i live in denmark, so maybe it is because things are a bit different here?

are you saying that the two measured different things, one the long term (3 months) blood glucose, the other current (that moment)?

sorry, i am still new to this and do not know all the technical terms.

 

[Oldvatr]

thanks for your replies, but im confused now.

she told me it was the three month checkup. i am to have one every three months, same as with the old doctor, because the test measures three months back. i live in denmark, so maybe it is because things are a bit different here?

are you saying that the two measured different things, one the long term (3 months) blood glucose, the other current (that moment)?

sorry, i am still new to this and do not know all the technical terms.

I understand that in Denmark they use mmol/L for the home test results, so the figures you quote seem to be HbA1c results as given by the lab or a specific HbA1c tester, and not from a home tester such as most of us use. One would expect a professional instrument as used in the practice to be frequently calibrated, and hence fairly accurate.

 

[CarbsRok]

thanks for your replies, but im confused now.

she told me it was the three month checkup. i am to have one every three months, same as with the old doctor, because the test measures three months back. i live in denmark, so maybe it is because things are a bit different here?

are you saying that the two measured different things, one the long term (3 months) blood glucose, the other current (that moment)?

sorry, i am still new to this and do not know all the technical terms.

It's sounds as if you HbA1c was done by finger poke instead of the fairly normal old fashioned way in the UK.

So yep no worries that was the 3 monthly test you were expecting.
All type 1's and many type 2's also test their blood sugars at home which is a right then and there measurement not a 3 monthly average which is what you had done.

 

[Pinkorchid]

If you google A1C Now, you will find some data on home HbA1c testers, They are sold via Amazon. They used to be made by Abbot Labs, but were quite inacccurate at the time (2013?) Then Abbot withdrew them, and they are now made in USA by a different company under the same brand name, and look very similar to the old Abbot one. I believe this model is quite accurate compared to a vampire drawn sample, and many GP practices are beginning to use this type of kit. There are other suppliers of professional kits that GPs can use since these are specifically licenced for medical use in an office, but not for home use.
Personally, i prefer the old way of testing, since those lab tests show more than just the HbA1c. You can get a health check on your cholesterol,lipids, iron level / anaemia and other health indicators that the home test will not give.

Yes I would definitely want the old test which does as you say cover everything not just HbA1c