Surprise result HbA1c 54

[Resurgam]

I have been ill for months, covid, then 'flu' then a hacking cough, and had a blood test as soon as I felt well enough to leave the house.
For various reasons I have not been able to eat normally for months Covid started mid October and if anything the 'flu' was worse/ I really was expecting much higher, but 'only' 54.
Thankfully, I have been feeling a bit better and seeing lower numbers on finger prick tests, but only in the last day or so , after the blood sample was taken.
It seems that long term low carbing can lead to recovery or resilience. I am not planning to abandon low carbing but might not be as strict in future as it appears it is no longer necessary for me.
I will not get another test for almost a year, but it would be interesting to see if my HbA1c will have dropped in the next few months as I recover.

 

[Pipp]

I have been ill for months, covid, then 'flu' then a hacking cough, and had a blood test as soon as I felt well enough to leave the house.
For various reasons I have not been able to eat normally for months Covid started mid October and if anything the 'flu' was worse/ I really was expecting much higher, but 'only' 54.
Thankfully, I have been feeling a bit better and seeing lower numbers on finger prick tests, but only in the last day or so , after the blood sample was taken.
It seems that long term low carbing can lead to recovery or resilience. I am not planning to abandon low carbing but might not be as strict in future as it appears it is no longer necessary for me.
I will not get another test for almost a year, but it would be interesting to see if my HbA1c will have dropped in the next few months as I recover.

I guess that was a bit of a disappointment for you, @Resurgum?
Has your GP offered any advice?
HbA1c reading of 54 is still considered to be ‘well controlled’ , so hopefully the higher reading is just a one off, due to your recent long bout of illnesses.
Sometimes life chucks us a bit of a shock. I know when I had some health problems last few years, my HbA1c hit mid fifties. It happened after I had covid. Gradually reduced back to low to middle forties , but took almost two years. During which time I had lots of other health issues going on, too.

I think we are of a similar vintage? If I am correct beyond state pension retirement age? I am less concerned about higher BG levels than I was 15 years ago. So far no diabetic complications, after 21 years with T2 so can be less strict about HbA1c, though would prefer to keep to lower end of pre-diabetes or just below. Not losing sleep over it.
Hope you continue to make full recovery.

 

[Resurgam]

I will be 75 years old in April, and have been feeling a bit better in the last few days, and that dreadful cough is now almost gone.
After everything I was expecting my HbA1c to be far higher as I was simply unable to get out of bed some days, no shopping or cooking , though perhaps the days I didn't eat at all helped counter those when I ate high carb foods I would normally avoid.

 

[Pipp]

I will be 75 years old in April, and have been feeling a bit better in the last few days, and that dreadful cough is now almost gone.
After everything I was expecting my HbA1c to be far higher as I was simply unable to get out of bed some days, no shopping or cooking , though perhaps the days I didn't eat at all helped counter those when I ate high carb foods I would normally avoid.

Sometimes we just have to do whatever we need to, just to get through life.
When I was ill, for weeks at a time all I could manage to eat was banana and toast. I have since found that it has a negligible effect on my BG levels. Especially if I use seeded wholemeal hovis that has been in the freezer. I think you are right, in that the days of fasting meant fewer than usual calories were consumed. A variation in intermittent fasting, perhaps? So the higher carb was not that important, over the time you were ill. Maybe our bodies have a way of letting us know what we need to consume at a given time?

 

[lovinglife]

It happens @Resurgam, and you’ve been ill for a while & sometimes our diabetes has to take a bit of a back seat & something else needs more attention. Like @Pipp I was ill for a few weeks over Christmas 2024 and had to have a very bland BRAT diet for a couple of months, like you I went up to 55 on my HbA1c at the end of January 2025, my next one in March/April I was back down to 47 so you’ve every chance it will come back down