Relion A1C at home test kit...

[markd]

I mentioned these a few weeks ago and being in the US for a few weeks (and my 'official' A1C not being due till close on year end), decided to invest $9 in one:

walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10575934#ProductDetail

Simple to use, sealed up and posted the same day.

Results arrived by email this morning, a bit higher than I'd hoped - 5.1, but several factors mystify me!

The emailed result says test result of 5.1 is normal, and that the reference range of the lab is 4.6% to 6.0%, so my result is a little below the middle of that range. I test fairly frequently, at all tmes of the day, and average down in the mid 4's, so you can see why I'm puzzled, since A1c of 5.2 implies rather higher average BG than I see - closer to 6 (depending on which calculation I use).

I'm on diet/exercise/2x250Mg Met daily and never experience spikes or lows - and only experience a very modest dawn phenomenon.

Hunting around on the 'net, I frequently see 3.5% to 5.5% as normal or reference range for UK labs.

So, do I rescale my US reading by a factor to normalise it to what seems to be UK practice (wishful thinking?) or just wait and see what happens at the end of the year.

Any thoughts?

Mark.

 

[hanadr]

They don't sell it at ASDA

 

[markd]

They don't sell it at ASDA

Apparently not, but Wal*Mart do mail order via the internet and $9 is below the VAT/Import duty cutoff...

 

[markd]

They don't sell it at ASDA

I was hoping for a *little* more feedback....

 

[pip]

They don't sell it at ASDA

Apparently not, but Wal*Mart do mail order via the internet and $9 is below the VAT/Import duty cutoff...

Does this mean it is possible to buy and use this kit in the UK and then post back for results ???

 

[markd]

Does this mean it is possible to buy and use this kit in the UK and then post back for results ???

I don't know that they ship internationally - although I used my UK address mailing, they just emailed the results to me as I requested. Once yoy have it in the UK, you can certainly mail it to the US lab, though you do need to add additional postage.

At less than £6 a throw, I'll probably get some more (I travel to the US a few times per year) just to fill the gaps in between 'official' A1c tests - If I can get some feedback on this reference range business, that is, so I understand a bit more what the results mean.

Mark.

 

[pip]

Thanks for the info, I would really love to try one of these, wish they would make them available in the UK.

 

[eggie]

Thanks for the info, I would really love to try one of these, wish they would make them available in the UK.

hi
did some googling nd came up with this link
superliving.co.uk/pharmacy/your-health/diabetes/blood-glucose-test-strips/glucomen-a1c-blood-test-kit-1-test.html

hope it helps
Thanks
Eggie

 

[spinningwoman]

I don't know if anyone else has tried this - it seems to work from a drop of blood so may not be as reliable as the doctors test, I suppose, but I want to try it so I've sent off for one. Will let you know what it is like.

 

[FordPrefect]

I really dont see why you would want an hba1c tester at home, especially with how costly this machine would be to regularly check your hba1c. If you are testing your sugars regularly then you should have some idea of the average value as most meters will calculate out the average. Just make sure if you are testing only once a day that you dont always do it at the same time.

I can see the usefulness of the hba1c as a rough guide to how well your diabetes is controlled but personally I cant see the value in doing this test more than every 3-6 months.

 

[spinningwoman]

The test kit arrived yesterday (Sept 30th) and I sent it off that afternoon. I have just had the result by email - 5.7%. I can't fault the service. As I've never had the test done by a doctor, I can't compare accuracy, but it is round about what I would have predicted from the kind of BG readings I get.

In case you are wondering, the reason I haven't seen a doctor is that I only found out that I had a potential problem by chance, when testing myself to prove to my husband that it really didn't hurt! And as his doctor has not been helpful at all, and we are about to move anyway, there didn't seem much point seeing her before we left. I have established by testing that so long as I keep to a reasonably low-carb or low-gl diet, which is what I have mostly done for the last 5 years anyway, I don't have a BG level high enough to be a worry. But as I did fall off the LC bandwagon until a couple of months, ago, I did wonder if that would show in my A1C level.

This way, I have a baseline for comparison in the future and some reassurance that I'm not risking anything by not seeing a doctor at this point.

 

[markd]

I got one too - my result came by email yesterday and it was 4.9 (down from the 5.1 Walmart/Relion one back in the summer) so I'm pretty happy with that.

Good to have the reassurance, since I've been seeing some funny postprandial spikes recently.

Mark.

 

[markd]

I tested after meals at 30 min intervals (and then a 15mins delayed set at 30 mins on a different occasion) to find my peak. Always between 45 mins and one hour, with very little difference in level at those two times so I just stick with a one hour measurement as a peak. Yes, I did try at 52.5 mins as well, and no real change...

I have a strong family history - both parents died with diabetes-related complications that made their last few years hell (although they each lived until their late 80's) and an elder sister who has just been diagnosed with full diabetes.My elder brother seems to be showing a few signs, but is refusing to do anything about it....

With a history like that, I take testing and lifestyle changes pretty seriously, including having lost well over one third of my starting weight since first hitting the pre-d level, and getting a lot fitter.

I now tend to test quite infrequently most of the time, but then test intensively, for short bursts, whenever anything in my life changes; diet, medication changes, fitness etc.

That way, I aim to have a **** good idea if anything starts to go awry well ahead of time, rather than waiting for symptoms to develop!

best,

Mark

 

[candyfloss]

I noticed the GlucoMen A1c blood test kit (re SuperLiving website) is for the UK only as "We do not ship this abroad because in the time it takes for you to post this back to the lab the blood sample will have deteriorated, and the test will not be accurate"
I therefore wondered if using US labs for an A1c test would the sample, posted from the UK, have detoriated to the point where the test will not be accurate also?

Maybe some professionals can comment on just how 'fresh' the sample has to be.......

 

[markd]

>I therefore wondered if using US labs for an A1c test would the sample, posted from the UK, have >detoriated to the point where the test will not be accurate also.

Good point - when I used the Walmart/Relion kit, I was in the US so the problem didn't arise. I don'trecall anything on the Relion packaging/instructions about 'freshness' times, so they must either assume that their postal servce is reliable, or that their process in the lab is less time dependent.

I'm over again later in the year, might have a look on the packaging then.

Mark

 

[candyfloss]

Mark

I did a little more research online and found the Relion product information leaflet. It states the sample should be returned to the lab withing 3 days (block capitals).

I dont know how fast airmail is these days, UK-US, but I would have thought 3 days might be pushing it a bit.

bruce

 

[cugila]

Hi folks.

11 posts back eggie posted this link to a UK source for HbAic test kits. Maybe you missed it ?

superliving.co.uk/pharmacy/your-health/diabetes/blood-glucose-test-strips/glucomen-a1c-blood-test-kit-1-test.html


This is posted at the bottom of the link !!

Country Restrictions: We do not ship this abroad because in the time it takes for you to post this back to the lab the blood sample will have deteriorated, and the test will not be accurate

 

[markd]

Mark

I dont know how fast airmail is these days, UK-US, but I would have thought 3 days might be pushing it a bit.

bruce

I'm sure you are right, but I ony used it in the US anyway.

I probably did see the info then, but it is a few months ago and with the passing years, my memory is failing me.....

Mark.

 

[markd]

Hi folks.

11 posts back eggie posted this link to a UK source for HbAic test kits. Maybe you missed it ?

superliving.co.uk/pharmacy/your-health/diabetes/blood-glucose-test-strips/glucomen-a1c-blood-test-kit-1-test.html

This is posted at the bottom of the link !!

Country Restrictions: We do not ship this abroad because in the time it takes for you to post this back to the lab the blood sample will have deteriorated, and the test will not be accurate

Nope, didn't miss it - that was the test I've most recently done, to the UK lab which is in Wokingham if I recall correctly from the reply-paid envelope.

Mark.

 

[cugila]

That's good. Do you think they are accurate then ?