• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Confused with the meter reading and conversions

B

BrianPW

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi,
new to all this and confused with the meter reading and conversions
Was given a TRUEyou testing kit by the Nurse at the Diabetic Clinic but have seen a few things online regarding various measurements.
My meter says it reads in mmol/L and ive been on the converter page on the site https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html but i am confused as to which one i use.

on the top one, Convert HbA1c Units from DCCT/IFCC and to Average Blood Glucose, if i put 8.1 in the top "DCCT % " it equals 65 (my HbA1c reading from my blood test last week) in the "IFCC - mmol/mol" box but 10.1 in the "In mmol/L this is equal to:" box

on the bottom one, Convert Average Blood Glucose Level to HbA1c, if i put 8.1 in the "Enter average blood glucose level:" box it comes out with 6.7 "DCCT %" and 49.8 for the "IFCC - mmol/mol"

Could someone please explain it simple terms lol
 
BrianPW said:
on the bottom one, Convert Average Blood Glucose Level to HbA1c, if i put 8.1 in the "Enter average blood glucose level:" box it comes out with 6.7 "DCCT %" and 49.8 for the "IFCC - mmol/mol"

Could someone please explain it simple terms lol
Click to expand...
Your bg meter gives readings in mmol/L.
The converter (bottom one) shows what that reading would be on a HbA1c test. The tests are given in UK as either a percentage (DCCT %) or as a figure in the IFCC range.
The 65 IFCC reading at your HbA1c test would be the one used to diagnose you as diabetic. Below 42 is non-diabetic, 42-47 is pre-diabetic, 48 and above is diabetic.

Your single reading is just a snapshot of your bg at that moment which can be affected by various factors. It doesn't mean that is the result which you would get from a HbA1c test which would give you a reading for your average bg over the last 8-12 weeks.
 
HbA1c measures the amount of glucose that has attached to the haemoglobin molecules in your bloodstream and gives an indication of what your average glucose level has been over the past 2-3 months. Similarly I can get an indication from the length of my grass what the average rainfall has been, but it is not a measured average that you would get by actually collecting the rain. Using finger prick tests you could collect a lot of BG readings and work out a measured average of your glucose. The 2 calculators you mention give a conversion to and from HbA1c and a measured average. The problem with the measured average is that you would have to take a very large number of readings, including during the night, to make it accurate.
 
Back
Top