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test strip results and HbA1c results

BioHaZarD said:
3 months later I see my doctor and showed him my results between 4 8 and 5.5 everyday with meals. He was impressed and ordered another hbA1c. They came back as HbA1c 5.5%, cholesterol 3.5, my blood pressure has always been great. I booked a DN appointment to update her and she could not believe it, eh called my her star pupil and said she has never seen one of her patients that as come down under 6%. If that's the case why does she not change her advice, she cannot be a very good DN if she as ever helped her patients get good control. Her man advice used to be for me " I can give you more pills o eat more carbs". She accepts this works for me and to continue.
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This for me is the most damming indictment of the NHS "eat carbs and don't test" advice that I've heard. This woman admitted that she had never seen a diabetic with a HbA1c less than 6%. None. Zip, Zero, Zilch, Nada, Niet, Nein, Non.
 
CarbsRok said:
BioHaZarD said:
Grazer said:
Completely agree Jo. Who's Jo? :lol:
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Sorry, Jo is Defren. Hopefully it's not a secret!
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Don't worry the secret is safe with all 41247 members :thumbup: :lol:[/quote]

:lol: No, not a secret. Jo anna (catza) and I were the cheerleaders for Stephen (Borofergie) doing the 30 day paleo challenge. We were team Joanna. However I resigned when he decided to carry on and I point blank refused to keep shaking those pom-poms until he decided to come back to the dark side and eat squirty cream again.

Jo(anna) :lol:
 
drippihippy said:
now feeling very confused; I was diagnosed T2 in January of this year, Hba1c 8.8
My recent HbA1c result was 7.2, 3 months before that I had mistakenly thought it was 5.6 however, my local surgery has told me it was the Cholestrol result that was 5.6 and not the HbA1c [which was 7.4]
I test 2/3 times daily with strips and on average I am mostly in the mid 5's 2 hours after meals, sometimes in the 6's and sometimes in the 4's after exercise [cycling twice daily] I have checked that the meters are accurate.
My strip results have been in the above ranges for the last 5/6 months yet my HbA1c is 7.2, I would have expected it to be lower given my daily blood test strip results, I don't eat sugar, junk food, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereal, and only 2 slices of Granary bread a day, maybe I'm expecting too much too soon but surely there is a correlation between strip results and the HbA1c figure?
I can't understand why the HbA1c hasn't come down, given the fact that I test several times a day and try to keep tight blood sugar control - it begs to ask the question what is the point of testing regularly and trying to keep control of my blood sugar if it has no effect?
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Hi drippy,
I can't remember where I read it as it was a few years ago now, but from what I remember you would have to test at least 10 times a day to be able to match your finger test with an A1c.

That aside though ask for a print out of your results just to make sure there hasn't been a mistake.
 
There is an HbA1c converter on this site which I find very good. Think the trick is to aim as near the non diabetic levels as possible by blood glucose testing to see which foods are ok for yourself-people can differ. T1 and T2 are very different and I think a lot of the literature given out is aimed at T1 which is unsuitable for T2. We T2's need to control by testing in order to have quality of life now and in years to come thus avoiding complications caused by spiking.
 
Another thought drippi:

It may be that your doctor is confusing an ordinary blood test with the HbA1c test. That happened to me once.
 
I am T2, and was diagnosed about 2 years ago. I did buy a meter and test strips, it's my health after all. I have stabilised my diet and take, 50 mg Vildagliptin, and 750 mg of metaformin. The point is my HbA1c was running in the low 6s, last time about 2 months, nothing different it was 4.7. Why, I have no idea, my doctor just said good, normal level now. Conclusion HbA1c tests are inconclusive.
 
Need to remember that although the HbA1c is SUPPOSED to give a "3 month average", it is very heavily weighted to the last month, and certain trials suggest to the last TWO WEEKS! So you only need to have a few slips in the fortnight leading up to the test, or have a bit of an infection giving you high blood sugars, and suddenly your HbA1c will bear no resemblance to the levels your testing has indicated.
 
As a GP specialising in DM, David252 will have seen a great many obese T2s who smoke, drink, get little exercise..., many year in year out.

It is an unfortunate fact that the members of this forum are in a very small minority. We have taken an interest in our DM and taken control of it so it does not take control of our lives in years to come.

I have had one of the structured training courses and saw my GP shortly after the end of it. She asked what I think and I said that it seemed to me that there is an assumption in the NICE guidelines that a patient will not be able to lose weight, stop smoking, get regular exercise, watch what carbs they eat... and keep it up for, hopefully, decades. She agreed that was the case and said that it is very rare for a GP to diagnose Type 2 DM and see the patient take control, lose weight and bring their BG and cholesterol under control.

Another poster said that a DN called them a "star pupil". That is a good way to think of it. We are top of top set. We could get an A* in GCSE Type 2 Diabetes management, but the NHS has to try to get as many people as possible above Grade C. Just like many Grade C students at school, no amount of advanced study will get someone up to A* unless they are motivated to do so.
 
Yep. I think everything is geared towards those who won't change their lifestyle.
It's why they say not to change your diet but to rely on drugs.
I suspect it's mainly due to time. Doctors/nurses don't have time to assess and monitor patients or to tailor treatment to individuals - also suspect a lot of the training given now ignores the personal aspect and tries to fit the patient to the treatment.

I think I was lucky that I was asked to monitor for a few weeks the the nurse looked at the results and said I didn't need medication. I've never really had any advice though.


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