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Hba1c

Kipperkid

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Dec 2016 Hba1c 47 cholesterol 5.7 (no medication) BMI 40 BP 200/90 (no medication)
Referred to Slimming World

July 2017 Cholesterol 5.2 (no medication) BMI 35.5 BP 125/85 (on medication)
The woman I spoke to for the blood test results said I was still prediabetic but couldn't or wouldn't give me actual number for Hba1c so I don't know if it has improved or not. I think I will make an appointment to see the GP and ask for that information.

My question is basically how consistent is Hba1c as an indicator of how close to diabetic I am? i.e. if Hba1c goes down from 47 to 45 (for example) does that mean I have reduced my insulin resistance/I am less at risk of T2 or can it vary by several points without there having been any improvement in my state of health? Hope that makes sense........
 
There are always exceptions to the rule ( something to do with the renewal speed of blood cells) but I view my HBA1C as an indication of how close or far I am to a diagnosis of type 2 by my surgery.
 
It seems a shame to use the GP's time to get results that you should be able to view on line. Do you have Patient Access or similar running at your surgery? I was already registered for appts and repeat prescriptions on line but got results added when I was diagnosed diabetic in May. Last week I was able to see my HbA1c result just over 24 hours after the blood was taken!
 
I couldn't agree more! It is a waste of their time but seems to be my only option.

My surgery offer appts and repeat prescriptions online but not access to view my record/test results - I went into the section where you can theoretically request to have that access added to your login and there was a note that my surgery do not offer that service.

I have to phone up to get test results, which I did and was given the number for cholesterol but not for Hba1c - she said all she had was that I was still prediabetic. The number must be in the test results but I have no way of getting that other than making an appointment - totally daft!
 
If you could why not go down to the surgery and ask for a printout of your test results? Then you can also ask when they will be able to let you access them online. No need for an appointment.. if any argument kindly remind them whose test results they are... certainly not theirs...
 
I'm worried that I'll pay out for the printout and she will print out what she told me yesterday, which wouldn't get me any further forward.

How much does the Hba1c have to have reduced to be an improvement, though? Does it only count as an improvement if it comes out as no longer prediabetic or is a lower prediabetic score an indication that I am making progress in the right direction. I'm trying to work out whether the changes I have made to my diet in the last 6 months have helped or not.
 
The HbA1c result will be a number. Whether it's better or not you won't know until you get the number..
47 is the highest pre diabetic reading you can get so it's likely it has gone down. or remained the same or they would be saying you have developed Type 2 so that's a good bit of news to get.
 
If you are in the UK, printouts should be free. And the surgery should do it for you without quibble. If nothing else they have to release the information, if not I am sure they are in breach of the NHS patient charter and data protection. Good luck
 
In terms of changes to the diet if it's working you should lose weight?
 
Hi @Kipperkid Congratulations on your weight loss. If you are having a problems accessing your results from the surgery staff, perhaps you could contact the practice manager to make them aware of the problem.

As stated above, the hba1c number will be there as laboratory technicians work in numbers.

Have you considered home testing before and after meals or do you do this already? I know that some GPs discourage this, but you would always know if you were in the right ball park.
 

That will be enough to make me consider changing surgery if there is another one that is easy to get to. If you email the manager at the other local surgeries they should be able to tell you what on-line access to test results they provide.
 
Yes, I am in England.

Well, I spoke to surgery again when I collected my repeat prescription. Still insisted my result was 'pre-diabetic' but no number. When I pointed out I had a right to the actual number, she reiterated that I could have a printout if I paid for it. When I insisted I had a right to the information without paying for it, she offered to get the diabetic nurse to phone me and discuss it. Figuring she would at least know what she was talking about, I went for that option, although I wasn't convinced it would actually happen.......

Well the diabetic nurse did phone, and had no problem at all in telling me my result, what I difference it makes when you finally get to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about!

The result was 46, so it has gone down one point. Obviously better than going up,so pleased with that but was hoping for more of a reduction. Her advice was to keep doing what I have been doing as it has caused it to go down rather than up, keep an eye on my sugars and get it retested in six months.

I have to agree, it makes me want to change doctors - I will be moving in December to a different area so will have to change then, anyway.

So is 47 down to 46 an actual improvement or can it vary by that much without there being any real change? What's the margin of error?

I don't test blood glucose, no one has suggested that and I don't really fancy it. So far I have reduced carbs to somewhere in the range 115-165 per day, working on gradually decreasing. I don't eat biscuits, cakes or puddings but very very rarely. Most of the carbs are therefore from veg and fruit, with a small amount of grains (I have IBS and can't cope with wheat, I'm ok with oats, rice and rye in small quantities).

The surgery offered for me to do the NHS pre-diabetes course but it is a year's commitment and as I am moving to a different area in December I don't think that will work. :-(
 
Kipperkid said:
So is 47 down to 46 an actual improvement or can it vary by that much without there being any real change? What's the margin of error?
Click to expand...

There is probably little difference between the two readings. There is a margin of error, which I think is around 4%. Also, the labs will round up or down when they measure a fraction. So 47 could be between 46.5 and 47.4. Similarly 46 could be between 45.5 and 46.4. Whatever you have been doing between the two tests has kept you virtually in the same place. Be happy it hasn't pushed you upwards.

I think you would benefit from self-testing. It really will show you, at a glance, what your food choices are doing to your levels and help you discover some of your red light foods, which may just be a few tweaks on portion sizes of the carbs you eat, or may mean eliminating an odd item.
 
Yes, an improvement ... BUT ... like it or not, you must test (not a big deal at all) so you must overcome that as you need to record fluctuations and establish what fits in with what your body can tolerate. How else would you ever know?

That is not a choice, it's a must to be perfectly blunt

Still too many carbs BTW
 
Yes, I know it's probably too many carbs, that's why I am gradually reducing it, can't cope with sudden reduction. It was stress that sent all my numbers haywire so I am trying to control/reduce my stress levels and sudden changes don't really help with that, sadly.
 
Below a “magic level” of carbs our body learns to live on fat, but this adjustment takes a few weeks. It is not good to cross over this level two often. The problem is no one can tell you what level it is for you.

Therefore you risk getting into a “no man’s land” where your body does not like having few carbs, but you are stopping your body using fat by having too many carbs. The key is to find food you love that contains few carbs and forget about how much fat the food has.
 
Hi @Kipperkid, so glad you finally got that number. Before you sign up with a new GP confirm you can get access to all your test results online. I do and it has been a revelation.

I got a meter within 3 months of being told I had prediabetes and it has shown so many improtant things that no doctor/ lab test could. For example I can tolerate a few new potatoes but not jacket potato or mashed. I learnt that porridge sends my bloods sugar into double figures but not one slice of cheese on homemade spelt and rye bread toast. I also learnt the amazing effect of regular gentle excercise. I could go on and on but I won't I promise.
 
I've been looking at the low carb course on this site - that seems to suggest that levels of the sort I am aiming for (hoping to get to under 100g a day eventually) could be sufficient to do the job.

@ringi you seem to be saying that reducing carbs will only work at levels low enough to put you in ketosis, above that it doesn't help - am I understanding you correctly? From what I know of low carb so far, ketosis is unlikely over 50g but may need to be significantly lower. Is that right?
 

Until you know your personal carb tolerance level you won't know how many grams is ideal for you. You are right to guess that ketosis is unlikely over 50g and in some people less than this. Some have to drop very low to achieve it. (like 20 or 30g)

If you eat to your meter, and do as your meter advises, you will find your own ideal level. It may even be that 100g.is OK for you It may not. Only time and testing will tell, but if your meter tells you your levels are too high, you need to drop some more carbs.
 
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