so what does the finger test mean ?

You use it to measure your blood glucose before your meal and two hours after the first bite. You are looking for a rise of no more than 2. I would not be happy with 8.9. Having said that, if you are unwell it will raise your blood glucose and all you can do is ride it out.

WackyJacky64 said:

I wasn't happy with 8.9 , it only happens when i am unwell. So does normal finger prick tests are a kind of indication of what the a1c is ?

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You can use the convertor on here: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html but obviously unless you are testing enough you won't really know what your actual average blood test value is. So if you are only testing once a day for instance it probably will not be correct.

If you download the mysugr app and record your numbers, after a few days it will give you an estimated hba1c. It took me around 6 days, testing 6 times a day. It is unlikely to be exact with the lab test but if you enter data over a period of time, I found it close enough, and highly motivating.

You need to test several times a day for the 6 to 8 weeks prior to an HbA1c test to get any value from using the finger pricks to estimate the HbA1c, and even then it is unreliable. If you test when you wake up and before each meal, plus 1 and 2 or even 3 hours after a meal and before bed you may have a better chance. You have no idea what is happening between finger prick tests, so the more you test the better idea you will have. It isn't just food that affects our blood sugar, it is also activities such as exercise, plus stress hormones play a big part, other medications, and illness.

Bluetit1802 said:

You have no idea what is happening between finger prick tests

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Yes, particularly while asleep at night, unless one invests in a CGM. Even then, there is always a doubt - was I sleeping on the arm with the sensor stuck to it? IMO the A1c is not the ultimate arbitrator, just one more unreliable test to add to the unreliable finger pricks, unreliable CGMs, unreliable food labels that bedevil us.