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Hba1c- to fast or not to fast?

CranberryIce

Well-Known Member
Messages
410
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I am due to have a Hba1c test this week. I usually book them in so that they are first thing, before work- so generally it is before breakfast and nearly 12 hours since my last meal.

This time round it is late morning (in my lunch break). Do I not have breakfast that morning?

Will eating/fasting before have an impact on my results?

I have not been asked to fast by the GP.
 
HbA1c is an "average" of your blood sugar levels for the past 2-3months (depending on how fast your blood cells renew themselves). It won't be impacted by fasting or not. Hence no fasting instructions from the doc.
However if you are having a cholesterol test at the same time then it would be a better idea to fast for that one otherwise the results will be even more meaningless than they usually are.
 
You don’t need to fast for an HbA1c as it’s the average of the last 3 months, so what you’ve eaten directly before has no impact on the result. However I usually have cholesterol tested at the same time and a meal beforehand can raise the triglyceride levels so I always get an early appt and fast for it.
 

I don’t have my blood forms (as I collect them on my appointment day) but I am certain I will be having my cholesterol checked as I am “due” all my tests.

My last Hba1c was just over a month ago.. should I expect to see much change? My control in the last month has been improved massively.

Been advised to have regular/monthly Hba1c tests as I am wanting to conceive- but need to lower my hba1c first.
 
I'm a male Type 2 so not sure I'm in a position to answer your specific questions. I would imagine that if your control has been much improved then the HbA1c should have gone down a bit. Cholesterol tests should really be fasted if you want to get any useful info from them but you would need a full lipid panel. I'm not going to give any advice about what to do when fasting on insulin cos I have zero experience sorry.
 

Thank you. I am going to try and move my appointment to an early morning one just to make sure I have accurate results from the cholesterol test.

As long as it is lower than the last result...!
 
CranberryIce said:
Thank you. I am going to try and move my appointment to an early morning one just to make sure I have accurate results from the cholesterol test.

As long as it is lower than the last result...!
Click to expand...
If the Doctor didn't say fast and you ARE having a cholesterol test at the same time, maybe double check that the form says 'fasted' and not 'random'.
I was asked by the doctor recently to repeat a blood test because he thought I hadn't fasted. The form was from the DN. So a pointless waste of time money and effort by all concerned.
Good luck.
 

I have had my cholesterol tested many times but never been asked to fast... hmm.

Will double check before my test.
 
I had an HbA1c done in March and another in April (the nurse taking the sample asked if I’d like her to add it to the non diabetes tests I was there for, so I thought why not!). March was 50; April’s was 43 - I’d hoped for a good drop. The March test covered two months of Libre & low carb with a month of, well, Christmas. The April one was all Libre and low carb!
 

Well done- thats a nice drop

Will be interesting to see where mine is at, as this will be my first Hba1c since getting the Libre (almost a month).
 
What is 50 and 43. My readings are as follows.... 5.7 or 6.1 or 7.4 I'm a bit confused
 
Michael52 said:
What is 50 and 43. My readings are as follows.... 5.7 or 6.1 or 7.4 I'm a bit confused
Click to expand...

They are the newer way of measuring the HbA1c. Yours are the old way (in the UK) There is a converter on the main website. I can't give you a link as I'm away from home using an ancient phone.
 
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