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Hba1c test result

L

Leamill

Active Member
Messages
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so last August had Hba1c test due pins and needles only. Came back as 50, Dr says diabetes.Set me up on the pathway
To the diabetic team. Second test 3 weeks later 39 how can that be. So four tests done in one year come back as 50, 39 34
and 36 last week. Is it possible that first test was so wrong, have been dismissed from the diabetic team now. Really ******
Off with it all.Had me worried for a full year, any thoughts
 
In the 2 or 3 months prior to the test that came back as 50, were there any changes in your life? In your diet? In your exercise regime? In your general health? Were you on some medication in that period?
 
Long talk with Dr last evening, she has never seen Hba1c drop 11 points in three weeks. Dr now writing to the Lab for explation
Of first test result. Which set me on the pathway to diabetic help. I am 59 years old, I eat clean and indoor row 7 hours a week which is all normal for me. I was told your diabetic with the first number of 50, so now they have retracted that statement due to
Low numbers since. W.H.O require two numbers above 48 to confirm diagnosed diabetes, I never got two above that number. Remember HBA1C is the gold standard of diabetic diagnosis,so for year I was diabetic they thought (Dr) and last night DR says
No now your not, have not enjoyed the ride the DR put me on for a year.I wait for the letter from the Lab for my next move on
this mess
 
There are conditions such as iron anaemia that can cause false high HbA1c readings, but I do feel it was a bit hasty to diagnose diabetes on the result of just one test as you say it should be on the basis of two consecutive high results.

I think all you can do now is try and put this all behind you and move on with a thankfully non diabetic life.

Good luck and best wishes for the future.
 
Thank you for your kind words. Of course I will move on from this experience. But when is a diabetic not a diabetic, the
Aim of all T2 diabetics is to keep close control on that HBA1c number.So if a diabetic gets the numbers in the non diabetic
range are they no longer diabetic. Remember I was told I was diabetic last August and set on the pathway quite quickly, with
all the help and protection of the diabetic team. A Dr has now retracted the diagnosis a year ago based on my numbers.Can you imagine if both numbers came back over 48, I would have been rubber stamped as diabetic and spent the rest of year as
a diabetic with numbers in the 30's. How many people have been dismissed from the diabetic team due to getting it wrong.
 
On the laws of probability alone quite a few I should think.Personally and this is just my opinion I think it highly likely that you never where diabetic. I on the other hand am a diabetic even though my last few HbA1c tests have all been at about 38 due to tight control of BS levels.

Edit to add.

My doctor has told me he will never remove me from the register all though my BS levels are lower.

He says at this moment I am not diabetic blood sugar wise but I am and always will be a diabetic.
 
Last edited:
Leamill said:
Long talk with Dr last evening, she has never seen Hba1c drop 11 points in three weeks. Dr now writing to the Lab for explation
Of first test result
Click to expand...

I would be very interested to know what the lab has to say. I'm sure others would, too. Would you be willing to come back and tell us?
 
Of course I will share with you all the explanation from the lab. The Dr is very guarded in what she saying now, she was uncomfortable with me.The whole team followed the first number, never where the later numbers questioned. I deliberately
stopped training and carb loaded and gained weigh looking for an answer still returned a number of 36.You cannot do this
to some one, talking about a diagnosis of diabetes is serious stuff and then saying No the Lab got it wrong. No Lab would
Get it this inaccurate.
 
It does seem you have had a bad experience and hopefully this can all be resolved quickly for you. Have a hug from me.

Thank you for offering to share the explanation with us.
 
I had a similar experience. Last September I was given a blood test after seeing the doctor about high blood pressure. I was very overweight at the time. My Hba1c came back as 75 so my doctor told me I was diabetic. Given Metformin (2000mg day) and Atorvastatin as well as blood pressure medication. I then followed the general dietary advice from the nurse. I did start to lose some weight fairly quickly due to cutting down on sugars and some carbs etc. no increase in exercise though. I did get a finger prick meter straight away but glucose was always low i.e. around 5, maybe 6 or 7 after meals
I did another blood test in December which came back as 38. Doctor just said carry on.
Since then I have been a bit stricter in my diet and exercise regime, low carbs no sugar etc. I have now lost over 4 stone and am quite close to my ideal bmi.
Last blood test 2 weeks ago showed Hba1c as 34. Not much comment from doctor about why the massive drop from the first test. I asked him if it would now be ok to drop the Metformin and the statins as my cholesterol had also improved. He said It was up to me, I do not have to take anything if I don't want too !! So helpful.
He just gave me another blood test form to retake in 6 months time.
No wonder so many people are taking more interest in what medication they are given nowadays. Before the world wide web we had no option but to blindly ingest whatever we were given without question.
Even getting a copy of my blood test reports can be a hassle if the wrong receptionist is working that day, have to get permission from doctor etc. I told her the only permission she required was mine !
The other receptionist is absolutely fine about it.
Blood pressure now back down to normal till my next visit :)
 
Thanks for sharing your experience, never never go into a subject as heavy as diabetes with out asking the hard questions.
I did as I was told by the diabetic team, and now the diabetic team are a little uneasy right now. I do get the impression of
Closed ranks.I don't know if the Lab will even answer the request for an explanation of the first test,more uneasy people
I think.I will pursue this tenaciously, and I think they know that.
 
So spoke with the Dr this evening.She now says we never said you have Diabetes,you have heightened HBA1C test result of 50.
Really don't understand where this is going. So its OK to dip into the 50's for a while,then dip back out again and not be diabetic.
So one year on after four tests and diabetic appointments, I am not diabetic,still waiting for the Lab to respond to the request of
explanation.
 
Leamill said:
So spoke with the Dr this evening.She now says we never said you have Diabetes,you have heightened HBA1C test result of 50.
Really don't understand where this is going. So its OK to dip into the 50's for a while,then dip back out again and not be diabetic.
So one year on after four tests and diabetic appointments, I am not diabetic,still waiting for the Lab to respond to the request of
explanation.
Click to expand...

I don't know what planet your doctor lives on, but an HbA1c of 50 is very definitely diabetic. Anything over 47 is diabetic. Once over 47 you are diabetic.
 
Well that's what I was led to believe, W.H.O say you must have two over 48 in a two week period.Having just the one over 48
is a hightened HBA1C. So not diabetic till you get two.My first number was 50 three weeks later 39 my haemglobin cannot change that fast. So is this a new diagnosis of Hightened HBA1C not pre diabetes or diabetes but just Hightened and then descents back to the mid 30's all by its self
 
Leamill said:
Well that's what I was led to believe, W.H.O say you must have two over 48 in a two week period.Having just the one over 48
is a hightened HBA1C. So not diabetic till you get two.My first number was 50 three weeks later 39 my haemglobin cannot change that fast. So is this a new diagnosis of Hightened HBA1C not pre diabetes or diabetes but just Hightened and then descents back to the mid 30's all by its self
Click to expand...

Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you were saying the 50 was your latest result. I have no idea what is going on in your case. You will have to wait for the lab report and explanation.
 
So if a person gets a one off test result of 50 HBA1C where does that leave them. Clearly not a W.H.O diagnosis of diabetes.
But for a moment in time, 120 days actually the life of my haemglobin on test day it was 50.Yet now after a year on tests and
diabetic clinics, I walk away from this because all subsequent numbers are in the mid 30's. Not a single person in the team
Considered is this a mistake. What could spike my numbers and then drop so fast in 3 weeks.Dont misunderstand me, happy
Not to be diabetic,but so many people followed this blindly,because of heightened HBA1C test.
 
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