Prediabetes Is there a way to calculate average blood glucose from my meter readings?

[tiredgirl91]

It shows the last 14 day average. Basically I have 2 questions about this.

1)Can this number somehow "predict" how my next HbA1c is going to look like?

and

2) If I want to calculate my average fasting, or average post meal numbers, would it make any sense to write this numbers separately and then make my calculations?

 

[jjraak]

I used the sugr app.

Enter details daily,
Give it enough days and it estimates the HBA1c.

Wasn't too far out when I used it & got my official HBA1c.

Doing it yourself, ?
no idea.

Just another headache imho when the app works so well .

 

[HSSS]

This website has lots more to it than just the forums. This page is designed to convert USA style # to uk style mmol hba1c but includes a handy equivalent in blood glucose mmol. You can enter any of the 3 figures and get the others. But remember these are different measurements of different things. Bgl will never be consistently the same and this equivelcy assumes that they are. Also the estimate will only be as good as the readings in your meter. (Or it’s average taken from these) So if there aren’t many or they are all the low readings or all the high ones it won’t be very good. A larger number of wide ranging samples gives the most likely estimate. Also remember hba1c covers 12 weeks roughly so if your readings at the start of that time were very different to now so will the hba1c be until it all new red blood cells being exposed to the new way of life.

HbA1c Units Converter - DCCT to IFCC

Since June 2011, the way HbA1c values are reported has switched from a percentage to a measurement in mmols/mol.

www.diabetes.co.uk

 

[Robbity]

My Contour Next meter allows me to calculate up to 90 day averages from my glucose readings. for fasting, pre meal, post meal, and overall levels. There are various converter options that will use glucose levels (I use my 90 day overall figures) to predict an HbA1c. e.g. on our Diabetes .co.uk main site here converts both ways or Accuchek have another one here

There are also formulas for calculating such conversions, so maybe check this following link if you're mathematically minded (which I'm not!), or "Ask Google" for options:
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/hba1c-calculation-formula.66126/

The 2 converters I use both consistently predict my 90 day overall averages to be slightly lower than my actual HbA1c blood test results. So I see no reason why if your 14 day averages are for all results, recording and totalling them wouldn't give you a fair idea., but the only way to find out is for you to try it and see.... Just remember as @HSSS has pointed out though: "....these are different measurements of different things"!

 

[tiredgirl91]

@Robbity
Many thanks for this detailed response, just what I needed now (Thankfully I have always loved mathematics and I know in advance this will be interesting for me)

 

[Robbity]

@tiredgirl:
As a maths lover consider how we arrive at averages - IMO they're funny things - we can get identical HbA1c results from quite different numbers - either combinations of highs and lows or from fairly stable ones: the first can indicate possible lack of control/ unstable glucose, the second much better control. So from an individual's point of view our actual glucose results will provide the most useful information about good management (or lack of) , but the average HbA1c results that our GPs /DNs rely on may provide a far less useful or accurate picture.

 

[EllieM]

Also bear in mind that the calulators between hba1c and average blood sugar assume you are an average person with an average set of red blood cells. Quite a number of things can make your hba1c read high or low so I personally regard average blood sugar as more important. But it's very hard to calculate a true average without a cgm, as if your readings are always done at certain times of day the average won't reflect the values at the time of day you never test. (eg you could miss a hypo or hyper if it happened regularly at the middle of the night and you never tested then).

However, if you are looking at your own body and how it changes with time, then any of these methods can work to detect whether your levels are going up or down, as long as you stay consistent and are comparing like with like.

HbA1c

Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) should not be interpreted in isolation; the measurement accuracy and other parameters, including treatment goals and comorbidities, need to be considered.

www1.racgp.org.au