'Normal' HBAc1?

lollyann1 said:

There seems to be a lot of discussion what is a 'normal' HBAc1; can anyone enlighten me what is actually normal?

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Can you clarify what you mean by "normal"?

the normal range stops at 41. I don't think there is any statistical stuff like averages

If you have a Hba1c of 42 to 47 then you are classes as prediabetic, 48 and over is diabetic.

lollyann1 said:

What the mean value is

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For people with diabetes or people without diabetes?
And, can you explain why you want to know as it may help provide the answer you are after?

lollyann1 said:

What the mean value is

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The levels are:
under 42 is non-diabetic
42 to 47 is pre-diabetic
48 and over is diabetic.

Is that what you mean?

Note that a normal HbA1c for a non-diabetic may not be a healthy one or a good target for the average T1.

Happy reading my friend: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

I’ll echo what the team above said: Hba1c is a variable relative to one’s own health condition and cannot therefore be “normal”. We need to compare and contrast with the levels of people in comparable conditions: I would never compare my non-T1D friends’ levels to mines, or mines to theirs, it would be absurd because our bodies are structured and engineered differently.

I hope this helps!

For me, as I'm a bit weird, not normal, but use normal for my testing regime, it is 'normal' for me to be an average of 37, as much as possible.
However, my normal may not be advisable for someone who has T1.( I'm lead to believe!)
My normal is not your normal.
We all have individual limits and go hyper or hypo at different levels.

Hope that helps!

After learning a fair amount about Type 2 diabetes over the past year since my diagnosis, I have become wary of the notion of a "normal" HbA1c -- both for diabetics, and non-diabetics.

For instance, when I was tested in 2009 I had an A1c of 5.5% (37) and so did my wife (we had our routine medicals at the same time). This is in the "normal" range ("pre-diabetes" starts at 5.7% or 39 in the U.S. definition).

Fast-forward eight years later and I was diagnosed with Type 2 in early 2017, based on an A1c of 8.3% (67) from a blood test taken at another routine medical. My wife's A1c however was the same as eight years earlier: 5.5%. (Unfortunately, we both neglected having annual medical during the intervening years so those are the only "markers" that we have.)

Should anyone who is non-diabetic be concerned if their A1c is 5.5% (37)? To me the clear answer to that question is a resounding "no" which is why I was not warned in 2009, even though with hindsight it now seems likely that my A1c at the time was probably in the middle of a continuous, stealthy increase that ended years later in a T2 diagnosis.

So to me the really important thing is "direction of movement" even if your A1c is "normal" based on a single test. But to find out that metric, everyone would have to have regular A1c tests even if they are not diabetic. That seems unlikely to happen anytime in the near future.

As for "normal" A1c for someone who already has T2 diabetes, that is a very individual thing isn't it? For Type 1, a very different situation too -- and for some T1s, a relatively high A1c is what makes sense.

Grateful said:

So to me the really important thing is "direction of movement"

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That is what is important to me, too, rather than the actual figure.

Mine is 48 (diagnosed T1 with 147 last Aug). Consultant told me to target 50 because much lower would indicate too many hypos.

What concerns me more is the spread within the day. For reasons I don't understand my normal lunch sent me up to 15 two hours after eating today. 30 mins of gentle riding on my old horse and I'm down to 4.5

Big swings worry me because I know it can affect eyes.

Circuspony said:

Big swings worry me because I know it can affect eyes.

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Yes they can, and also other places with small blood vessels. Roller coaster swings are more dangerous to us than slightly higher levels with no big swings.

Well that's slightly worrying! I've no idea what my first diabetic A1c was. I was diagnosed after fasting 10.4 then 12.4 the week after. In the intervening week I researched like crazy, and when my GP called to say "You're diabetic, come in and get some drugs", I said "No, I'm going to try this Newscastle Diet or Low Carb thing I read about". I did about 800cals a day kind of low carbish (no pasta, bread, sugar, rice) then low carb high fat, intermittent fasting, having discovered Dr Jason Fung. My A1c tests were 38, 34, 32, then 30! Lost 8.5 stones in the process. Wasn't easy but I was absolutely ******** myself about dying, basically! Major motivator. Now I'm struggling a bit though. A wee bit depressed with the constant need to be vigilant about what I eat.

Edited for language

@Incyb your results especially your weight loss are truely amazing! Huge congratulations! I find that if I stick to the same foods, and write a shopping list before I go shopping, then I don't need to think about what I'm 'missing out on' and this helps keep me sane. If I wander round the supermarket looking at things I can't have, then I too feel depressed. Christmas was very hard. Your results are fantastic so you need to keep it up.

Thank you! Very fortunately, my husband and teenage son joined me in the low carb way of life, so that makes it easier. There are huge chunks of the supermarket we now ignore completely!

@Incyb I love your cat bty. Does he low carb too? My cat is piling on the weight at the moment because of the cold.

Bluetit1802 said:

Yes they can, and also other places with small blood vessels. Roller coaster swings are more dangerous to us than slightly higher levels with no big swings.

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That's why I hate it when I suddenly for no apperent reason find my self in double figures odd time even up to 14 then next in a short time am in the low fours very disconcerting even though it does not affect average reading very much it can't be good for you.

JohnEGreen said:

That's why I hate it when I suddenly for no apperent reason find my self in double figures odd time even up to 14 then next in a short time am in the low fours very disconcerting even though it does not affect average reading very much it can't be good for you.

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I suppose the trick must be to avoid the high spikes, then there won't be such dramatic crashes. Are the high spikes are down to carb experiments/treats/meals out, or are they unexplained?

Some times they are totally incomprehensible I can eat a meal and most of the time handle it ok then bam I get a spike and some times I'm congratulating my self on how low carb I've been and will get a spike have to admit a few of them are down to an extra carby meal but at times it seems completely random mind you the prednisolone doesn't help diabetes can be a mystery and unpredictable at times.