HbA1C test - 3 mths or less?

The Hba1c is an average and once a high average is established it takes an awful lot of low readings to show a marked improvement. If you test within the three months period then you may be re-testing some of the high blood cells that were present during the previous test.

A clear three months between tests is preferred and low readings for the whole of that three months is what you are aiming at.

rosalindp said:

Interesting thought:
Did you know that the great majority of people have more than the average number of legs? [Among the 65 million people in Britain there are probably 5,000 people who have only got one leg. Therefore the average number of legs is (5000 * 1) + (64,995,000 * 2) divided by 65,000,000 = 1.999923...... Most people have 2 legs, which is a greater number....... ]

Click to expand...

I see that, in a way, you have answered your own question. viz. How many more people will have to lose a leg in order to bring that average down?

rosalindp said:

Yup... thanks, I do understand averages. I was just wondering whether this blood test is (actually) an average of 3 months, or of a shorter period, say of 2.5 months? ... Thus, my question relates to Biochemistry rather than Maths.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately as our red blood cells don't come with a use by date its kind of hard to tell and we're probably all individual anyway.. I think the longest is supposed to be 3 month hence the gap but as with anything medical it's probably just a guess..

rosalindp said:

Hi

How long does it take for the HbA1C blood test to register improved levels, please? (Does it take a full 3 mths or is it less?)

My sugar levels were very high :-( :-( ... but have been pretty good since I started on Metformin, late June. (I take readings several times a day, using an Accuchek Performa meter so I know what it is right then.)

But... I've got other health issues I'd like checked out (eg frequent abdominal pains) - but (of course) the Drs see me as only as "a diabetic" and won't consider any other cause than high blood sugar - until I can show them a "good" HbA1C result. (I think that it doesn't need to be "textbook", just not super high anymore.) Hence why I'm keen to get an HbA1C test showing my -current- good sugar levels, as soon as possible.

Thank you. :- )

Kind regards,
Rosalind

PS I had a second HbA1C test only 2 weeks after starting the Metformin & it showed a drop of over 1% (but of course is still "high" so doesn't count as a "good" result).

Interesting thought:
Did you know that the great majority of people have more than the average number of legs? [Among the 65 million people in Britain there are probably 5,000 people who have only got one leg. Therefore the average number of legs is (5000 * 1) + (64,995,000 * 2) divided by 65,000,000 = 1.999923...... Most people have 2 legs, which is a greater number....... ]

Click to expand...

Hello from Mallorca

If its any help I am not a doctor, and info I put forth has worked for MY body, keep in mind the confusion and complexity of so called Diabetes is like this, I am given label of Diabetic here in Spain i.e. my A1C is 6.6%. Just one or 1% over the so call arbitrary cut off level!!! in UK and Spain of 6.5% HOWEVER, if I jump on the plane back home to New Zealand, as their cut off IS PRAGMATIC and sensible, its 6.7%, so I am under label of Pre Diabetes, no medications, sensible again, with recommendations, change lifestyle, low carb, diet,and walk walk walk. Putting aside, in Spain I am Diabetic, and New Zealand I am Pre Diabetic! how confusing is that one, I threw my Metformin out of the window.

The result of no Metformin,I reversed, lowered my A1C in 4 months by 23%! Think about that.

A1C are supposed to be looked as the god tool, in reality its not as black and white as that. The Docs don't tell you, the Lab Tests don't explain, how the test is taken and there are many variations, but they are based on sugar candy as they call it stuck to the red blood cells over a period of say 3 months supposedly! My doubt question of great concern, how can one number of one way of testing fit all sizes.

Diabetic red blood cells as I understand from reliable sources medical, LIVE for approx. 81 days, a non diabetic up to 146 days. A1C is tested on candy stuck to red blood cells! The person who is non diabetic no doubt will show they have sugar sticking to their cells LONGER than the diabetic, BUT, that does not mean to say they have higher sugar or more sugar, this indicates, the ASSUMPTION of A1C Testing everyones blood cells live the same is FALSE, resulting no doubt, the non diabetic person will show an inaccurate HIGH result on their A1C. This his never explained or informed, in my opinion, I take the A1C with a pinch of salt,Australia refuse to use the A1C as diagnosing,they use only as an added tool to get an average, and prefer to use real blood random and fasting finger tests for diagnosing. They like New Zealand take a more pragmatic approach, preferring not to mis diagnose people or put anxiety.

Metformin yes, it will show your sugars are lower, i.e.lower A1C, but the sugar is still in your body, it simply has been shuffled around.

The Medical system, re Diabetes are treating the sugars!!!!!! its not good to have high or low, but they are missing the real problem with Diabetes, they doctors should be TREATING FOCUSING ON THE CAUSE WHICH IS INSULIN RESISTENCE, AND NOT THE SYMPTOM. The Sugars are merely a symptom of the cause, but No they refuse to do this, and keep on saying ONES SUGARS SHOULD BE LOWER,LOWER, LOWER, treat the cause, intermittent fast get rid of the sugars naturally, out of the body, not just floating in the body, the metformin GIVES A FALSE RESULTS, SO WHATS THE POINT OF CHECKING ONES FINGER MANY TIMES A DAY, when you do not know what your REAL blood levels are i.e. having reduced them naturally i.e.

NO MEDIATION, CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE,LOW CARB EATING, WALKING MIN30 UP TO 1 HOUR A DAY, NOW CHECK YOUR FINGER BLOOD LEVELS, AND YOU WILL KNOW AND HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE THE NUMBER YOU SEE IS REAL, NOT FALSE, BECAUSE YOUR BODY IS LOWERING YOUR SUGARS NATURALLY.

Just a suggestion box.

Hope this assists.

Mallorca

rosalindp said:

How long does it take for the HbA1C blood test to register improved levels, please? (Does it take a full 3 mths or is it less?)

Click to expand...

An HbA1c test is a measurement of the percentage of your red blood cells which have become glycated, ie they have glucose stuck to them. As there is a constant turn over of red blood cells in the body (old ones die, new ones are made) a measurement of the amount of glycation indicates how much sugar there has been drifting around your veins and arteries over the past few weeks/months.
Because we are all a bit different, the speed of blood cell turnover varies. Someone with high blood sugar levels will be killing off their red blood cells faster than a healthier person. So, how long will it take to show an improvement in HbA1c? In theory, if the test is actually sensitive enough and you make a drastic change in sugar consumption, there would be a change in 24 hours, but in practice, this would be a waste of everyone's time. A month should show an improvement, especially in someone who has had very high sugar levels and has taken drastic action. My husband had an estimated HbA1c of over 100/ over 15% on diagnosis, went immediately Low Carb and three weeks later had an actual test which came out at 75mmol/mol or 9%. Three months after this and continuing strict low carb diet, the next test was 38 or 5.6%.
I would, therefore, suggest that a one month gap would show if you were heading in the right direction, but closer to three months may be needed to show a really dramatic change. If you are in the UK, you are unlikely to persuade the NHS to pay for tests before three months is up.
Sally

rosalindp said:

Yup... thanks, I do understand averages. I was just wondering whether this blood test is (actually) an average of 3 months, or of a shorter period, say of 2.5 months? ... Thus, my question relates to Biochemistry rather than Maths.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

I wrote this once since no-one seemed to be able to answer my questions of a similar nature.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/logic.596/#comment-568

I was diagnosed after two HbA1c tests then tested again one month later. My numbers originally were very high. I reduced my numbers and was told I would be tested again in three months. I can only assume that the test after just one month was to see if added meds were appropriate or whether the 'scare tactics' had worked to to get me to lower my sugar intake (they did). I gather then that even after a short space of time, if there is a radical approach to diet and excercise, this can show up in HbA1c.

Retesting HbA1c after as little as 4 weeks can show if there has been a big change in BG. An improved diet etc should be clearly visible in a change HbA1c after 8 weeks. This is all by looking at the change in HbA1c results.

But for the absolute value of HbA1c to reflect a change to diet etc, there should be at least 3 months before the HbA1c test.

Remember that your first HbA1c is unlikely to have covered 3 months of having the same BG each day, therefore it is possible for the HbA1c to go up, even when the daily BG has gone down if the BG were a lot higher at the end of the 3 months for the preceding HbA1c. (Think back to the stats you did as part of A level maths to understand this.....)