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total confusion re new units

Ricky

Well-Known Member
Messages
297
Location
Merseyside
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I am in total confusion about all these newish units

1. What units does my meter read. I tend t6o be 6.5 fasting in the morning

2. My last blood test showed 48 mmol/mol in my test results I found online and they want to put me on metformin but what is this in the old units we used to use. Is it 6.5 because if so they seem to have reduced the baseline again

3. I also have found another recent blood test in my records online that says 6.1 mmol/l

4. What is the difference between mmol/mol and mmol/l . Which is the important one?

Since I am due for another fasting test next week I want to understand the results so I can go into the diabetic nirse who wishes to see me more informed. I have just been to see my homeopath who is also a GP and he said don't worry about going on metformin until the results are 70!!!!

About 12 years ago my results were 6.8 and I got them down to the low 5's by going on a low carb/low GI diet and exercise which I am still on. My diabetes is inherited - the whole family has it and nine of us is overweight or has ever been. My numbers are going up now despite my diet but I beleve this is to be expected as I am 68 now.

Thanks for answers to my questions
 
1. Your meter will read in mmol/l
2. Take a look at http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html
And remember Hb1AC is a measurement of the average BG over the last 3 months - it is not just the fasting BG.
3. this is likely to be a fasting blood test
4. It is not just the difference between mmol/mol and mmol/l : it is the difference in units AND the difference in a one off test and an average over 3 months at all times of the day on every day of the week.
 
Ricky said:
I have just been to see my homeopath who is also a GP and he said don't worry about going on metformin until the results are 70!!!!
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I wouldn't trust a GP who believed in homeopathy and certainly not one who was suggesting a HbA1c of 70 as a trigger point for treatment.
 
Mr_Pot said:
I wouldn't trust a GP who believed in homeopathy and certainly not one who was suggesting a HbA1c of 70 as a trigger point for treatment.
Click to expand...

With you on the homeopath front, but I had an HbA1c of 67 and my GP was happy to have me try diet and exercise. You can be having treatment without taking pills.
 
Mr_Pot said:
I wouldn't trust a GP who believed in homeopathy and certainly not one who was suggesting a HbA1c of 70 as a trigger point for treatment.
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That is actually offensive to me as I have been a Registered Homeopath (but I am not a GP) for 18 years!! If it didn't work I wouldn't still be in business!!!
 
Ricky said:
1. What units does my meter read. I tend t6o be 6.5 fasting in the morning
Click to expand...

This is mmol/l and is just a snapshot of what you are at the time, using capillary blood from your finger.

Ricky said:
2. My last blood test showed 48 mmol/mol in my test results I found online and they want to put me on metformin but what is this in the old units we used to use. Is it 6.5 because if so they seem to have reduced the baseline again
Click to expand...

Your 48mmol/mol is your HbA1c, a test that measures average blood glucose from venous blood over a period of about 2 to 3 months prior to the test. With a level of 48, it is highly unusual to be offered medication. Diet and lifestyle is normally the first option, with a review in 3 months. In the old units, it is 6.5% DCCT.

Ricky said:
3. I also have found another recent blood test in my records online that says 6.1 mmol/l
Click to expand...

This will be a plasma blood glucose test, taken from venous blood, and is a snapshot of what you were at the time of the test.

Ricky said:
4. What is the difference between mmol/mol and mmol/l . Which is the important one?
Click to expand...

They are both important. Only the HbA1c is measured in mmol/mol . That test will only ever be done at the surgery, and should be once every 3 months/6months/then 12 months depending on how well you do. Our meters are important and they are all in mmol/l in the UK. (other countries may differ)

Hope this helps a bit.
 
AlexMagd said:
With you on the homeopath front, but I had an HbA1c of 67 and my GP was happy to have me try diet and exercise. You can be having treatment without taking pills.
Click to expand...
Good point. I thought the homeopath/GP meant the OP did not need to do anything until an HbA1c of 70.
 
Mr_Pot said:
I am sorry if it offends you but homeopathy only works because of the placebo effect or because many illnesses only last for a certain time anyway without treatment.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/h...government-latest-prescriptions-a7852566.html
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I used to think the same about Aroma Therapy, though I still think the same of homoeopathy but I try to keep an open mind and not be dismissive if good science some day supports it I will be quite happy to accept it.
 
Hi. The HBA1C is a good test so take note of any results. Ignore a fasting blood test result in comparison as it can be affected by overnight liver dumps of glucose. Most surgeries no longer ask for a fasting blood test for your reviews as they now know the fasting bit is not useful; the HBa1C doesn't need to be fasting.
 
Art Of Flowers said:
See http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html. This has a chart showing HbA1C and blood glucose readings. 42 mmol/mol is equivalent to 7 mmol/l.
Click to expand...

Art Of Flowers said:
See http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html. This has a chart showing HbA1C and blood glucose readings. 42 mmol/mol is equivalent to 7 mmol/l.
Click to expand...
Yes I know this but I want to understand the difference between mmol/l and mmol/mol and also what to know what units my meter is reading.
 
Mr_Pot said:
Good point. I thought the homeopath/GP meant the OP did not need to do anything until an HbA1c of 70.
Click to expand...
I think that is what he meant re medication and 67 that your GP accepted is not a long way from 70
 
sally and james said:
So, @Ricky does homeopathy not work for T2 diabetes?
Sally
Click to expand...
Not for me so far but I live in hope!! Apparently Indian homeopaths who see a lot more patients than we do report that it does!! For a Type 2 patients who is obese who are the only type I have ever seen in my practice I have recommended diet as well as giving them a remedy but reckon it is the diet which has done the trick. The diabetes that runs in our family is different as none of us have ever been obese or even much over weight when it started at middle age.
 
Someone wrote <<With a level of 48, it is highly unusual to be offered medication.>> . According to my medical records online this level of 48 (or was it 46?) is actually diabetic so I thought that they would try to persuade me to go on Metformin which I really do not wish to do at this level. They seem to be lowering the benchmarks.
 
Ricky said:
Yes I know this but I want to understand the difference between mmol/l and mmol/mol and also what to know what units my meter is reading.
Click to expand...

Mmol/l = millimoles per litre. This is the unit you blood glucose measures in. this describes the concentration of sugar in your blood at a given point in time.

Mmol/mol = millimoles per mole. This is the unit your IFCC hba1c is measured in. I think this involves counting the atoms present.

https://www.nursingtimes.net/students/an-easy-guide-to-mmols/5041362.article
 

Yes, an HbA1c of 48 is the bottom of the diabetic range. However, guidelines recommend that diet and lifestyle are tried first when the HbA1c is low enough, which 48 is. This is normally followed by a review 3 months later. If diet and lifestyle isn't working, then medication is offered. They can offer you medication as much as they want, but you don't have to accept it - it is your disease and your body. My HbA1c on diagnosis was 53. Medication was never mentioned, and hasn't been mentioned since. I was given 3 months to reduce it with diet, and I did.
 
Thanks for that. My problem is that I have been on a low carb/low GI diet + exercise for about 12 years so I can't really do much to improve it without sacrificing the joys of eating when I am hungry I did reduce miy HbA1c dramatically 12 years ago but now it has crept back up despite my diet.
 
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