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T2 HbA1c results

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in April 2003 whilst in hospital undergoing surgery. A member of the hospital medical team performed a finger prick test and recorded >18 mmol/L. Just before discharge, I was told my HbA1c was 110 mmols/mol and issued with a glucometer, test strips and medication.

As my general health and dietary intake improved, my meter readings came down; the highest HbA1c result on record at my GP practice is 59 mmol/mol
Most recent result in September 2022 was 44 mmol/mol. My annual HbA1c test is due this month.
 
AmandaBee said:
I've just been diagnosed (scary) and my hba1c is 65
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Hi, I was diagnosed 3 months ago, my test was 60 so quite similar. Just got my 3 month test back and it’s now 41, I’m so pleased.
And that’s without removing all carbs. But I’ve give up all cakes, biscuits etc. and switched a lot of foods round. I’ve also lost 2 stone so far.
It’s scary at first but just keep reading lots about it and you will get there.
 
Diagonsed 2015 with HbA1c of 95. Down to 50 in 3 months and then 33 after another 3months. Managed to stay in the thirties for a while but my husband was diagosed with terminal cancer so 4 years of supporting him and coping with his death it went up to 48. Now having moved to the other end ot the country it was 46 last year, Then 45 this year when I told the nurse I was not satisfied she let me have another test 3 months later and now 42. This was so hard work and having to cut out so much I don't think I can keep it up.
 
My last one was 42 about 2 weeks ago in my local gym. NHS one due in November. The gym one was just a finger prick and they put that in their machine. I was wondering how accurate that is compared to bottles of blood in the NHS. I know I have to put some work in between now and Nov as I am eating much more but my weight is staying the same not going up. I am a little nervous.
 
Is there some kind of index to convert our BG (e.g. my BG levels in the morning are below 6mmol/L. ) levels to an HbA1c value? I keep on forgetting to ask my M.D.? Thanks!
 
oldnevada said:
Is there some kind of index to convert our BG (e.g. my BG levels in the morning are below 6mmol/L. ) levels to an HbA1c value? I keep on forgetting to ask my M.D.? Thanks!
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There is, but it's heavily caveated around accuracy, and it's only a rough estimate. Doesn't need to be said, but it's only as good as the amount of data you have to form your average fingerprick readings, i.e. if your average is only based on 5 readings, it's probably not your true average.

Anyway, it's the second calculator down on this URL:

Average Blood Sugar Level Converter - HbA1c

Use this calculator to convert HbA1c to Average Blood Sugar Level. HbA1c indicates what your average blood glucose level has been in the past 30-90 days.
www.diabetes.co.uk www.diabetes.co.uk
 
flonvic said:
I hope it was okay for me to start this thread.I know T1s have a thread for results,so I thought why not do one for t2s
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I think it's a wonderful idea. The T1 hba1c frequently gets posts from new T2 members who didn't notice it's a T1 thread. Doesn't do to tell them off for an honest mistake while still getting the hang of the forum and sometimes diabetes too, but now we can simply refer them to this thread!
 
Paul_ said:
There is, but it's heavily caveated around accuracy, and it's only a rough estimate. Doesn't need to be said, but it's only as good as the amount of data you have to form your average fingerprick readings, i.e. if your average is only based on 5 readings, it's probably not your true average.

Anyway, it's the second calculator down on this URL:

Average Blood Sugar Level Converter - HbA1c

Use this calculator to convert HbA1c to Average Blood Sugar Level. HbA1c indicates what your average blood glucose level has been in the past 30-90 days.
www.diabetes.co.uk www.diabetes.co.uk
Click to expand...
Thank-you, @Paul_
 
oldnevada said:
Is there some kind of index to convert our BG (e.g. my BG levels in the morning are below 6mmol/L. ) levels to an HbA1c value? I keep on forgetting to ask my M.D.? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Not really, because they measure different things. The fingerprick test measures blood glucose at that instant. You only have data for the times you test - so no information about what happens while you're asleep, for instance. It's also possible to construct a testing regime that avoids the points when your blood glucose is likely to be elevated (although it's self-defeating).

The HbA1c counts the number of glycated red blood cells - that''s the cells that have had a glucose molecule attached to them. Because red blood cells live about three months, glucose levels from three months ago affect an A1c reading today.

That said, you can sort of estimate how you're doing. If (eg) you're seeing consistently good readings at +2hrs after eating (within 2mmol/l of your baseline reading and not above 7.8mmol/l) and maintain that for three months and more, it's highly probable that this will reflect in a considerably reduced HbA1c.

When I was new, I tried to add up the fingerprick readings, average them, and plot them against HbA1c. It didn't work - it suggested a much lower HbA1c than actually happened, although the real reading was more than good enough.
 
Paul_ said:
Diagnosed in July this year, hba1c of 83. The day of that blood test was also my first day of low carbing, so that result belongs to a person that no longer exists.

Next hba1c is booked in for early November, so fingers crossed.
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Was dianosed this March at 82 so very similar to you., What sort of numbers do you get now in the morning (fast) before and after meal etc? My next AC1 test is also in November.
 
Kernow Debra said:
Diagnosed April 24, 2023 with a shocking 87.
Started on meds, found this wonderful forum and changed diet/exercise.
Weight loss enabled me to exercise and function again.
First retest July 24 had dropped to 38 !

All meds then stopped, am due another test October 24 to see how I’ve done flying solo.
The clock is ticking
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What meds did they put you on at 87? At 82 I was told to take Metformin and Dapafligglozin, I refused both and went solo
 
0110 said:
Was dianosed this March at 82 so very similar to you., What sort of numbers do you get now in the morning (fast) before and after meal etc? My next AC1 test is also in November.
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Morning results are still a little unpredictable, ignoring the fact there's a 15% error margin on BG meters. I very much tend to agree with @KennyA that the first morning reading isn't worth worrying about too much. I track it, but it's more of a curiousity and building data thing for me, not something I stress about.

Some mornings I get 5s. Most mornings I get low 6s. However, on occasional mornings I still get high 6s and low 7s - presumably my liver thinks I need to be ready for an early morning ironman triathlon on these days!

Before meals I'm consistently in the 5s range, with occasional high 4s if I've timed exercise 2-3 hours beforehand and not eaten after it. I'm on keto levels of carb intake, so the highest 2hr post meal reading I get these days is 6.5, but I'm mostly in the 5s for this too.

My current 7 day average across all 28 readings I've taken, regardless of timing, is showing as 5.7. Not necessarily meaningful, but the majority of my readings seem to be between 5 and 6 now.

Worth also mentioning I've lost quite a lot of weight since diagnosis and my morning reading has tracked downwards in-line with that.

How are yours doing?
 
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0110 said:
What meds did they put you on at 87? At 82 I was told to take Metformin and Dapafligglozin, I refused both and went solo
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Metformin, 5mg Dapagliflozin and Atorvastatin.
The statin I stopped taking after a week or so.

Dapagliflozin was great initially, my leg pains disappeared within 48 hours.
 
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