I have been diagnosed as diabetic for 3 years, been on tablets for 21 months and insulin for 9 months. On August 25th I had an appointment at the diabetes department at my local hospital and my HbA1c was 37 despite my BG meter showing readings between 8 and 10 . I was told that the probable reason was either anaemia, faulty meter or sustained hypos. A blood test showed no anaemia, my meter was changed but still showed the same readings, and I am sure I have not had any hypos. A month later I had my 6 monthly review at the GPs and the HbA1c was still only 39. I was told to halve my insulin by half to 12 in the morning and 3 in the evening. As I was about to go on holiday I did not take this action till I came back (Monday 24th). My Bg was 14.6 at 6.30pm last night just before I took my insulin, and before my evening meal, 18.4 at 10.30pm when I went to bed and 13.2 this morning. Can anyone suggest why there is this huge discrepancy between my HbA1c and BG readings, and what I should do.
Gilly - I am not on any medication, never mind insulin, so this is really just for your information, and to reassurer you it isn't all that uncommon.
My HbA1c is always higher than my finger prick tests would indicate. It's the same when I use a Freestyle Libre, again, the sensor suggests a lower HbA1c than even the 24 hour traces for 2 weeks at a time, when my way of living (eating, drinking, exercise, sleep) is unchanged.
I have read quite a lot of articles on Google on the potential reasons for these discrepancies and a common, and logical (to me anyway) reason for this seems to be how long any individual's haemoglobin cells actually live. The longer they live, the more chance there is for glycation (sugar sticking to the cell surfaces) to take place. Once the cell dies, the body breaks it down, and this is an all very normal process.
This may not be the reason your numbers don't match up, and I haven't had any tests to prove this is what happens to me, but it makes sense to me that that
could be the reason. Because I don't take any medication, am well and still have an low HbA1c, I don't find it too much of a concern, but I can understand why it's more meaningful to you.
Hopefully you can get to the bottom of it all. If you do, it would be fab if you'd let us know what it is. Sharing information is all part of how we all learn.
