Type 1: What are your HbA1c test results?

Greymalkin said:

Is there a private health group (favoured by contributors here) that will check my HBA1C every three months, rather than letting me wait for the NHS annual check?

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Have you talked to your endo or diabetes nurse to let them know you'd like to have your hba1c checked more often than once a year?
As far as I know, the NHS guidelines say every 3 months unless there's a reason not to. (I'm not in the UK but our guidelines are very similar. I only do once a year by choice, but this took a bit of work convincing my endo who'd prefer every three months or at least twice a year.)

Do you use a CGM? For me, the predicted hba1c isn't very accurate, but I find it a wonderful tool to see where I can adjust things.

As for having your hba1c checked privately, there are home tests available which you send to a lab.
I have no experience with these but I'll tag @AndBreathe for you, who has used them.
There must be a couple of threads on home tests as well but I can't find them. AndBreathe hasn't been around a lot lately, maybe @Rachox knows about them?

Thanks for the tag @Antje77 , hi @Greymalkin , I have used a company called Thriva, just once for an HbA1c, but do plan to use them again. The results were really quick and their Dr writes a little paragraph about what they think of your results.

Greymalkin said:

Is there a private health group (favoured by contributors here) that will check my HBA1C every three months, rather than letting me wait for the NHS annual check?

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In the US you can buy a home testing kit on Amazon. I would think you can in the UK too.

Antje77 said:

As far as I know, the NHS guidelines say every 3 months unless there's a reason not to.

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for type1 3-6 months if change in treatment can be more frequent.

nhs website said:

care plan
Reviews 2 to 4 times a year of your HbA1c level, which is your average blood glucose level for the last 2 to 3 months
Appointments and tests
an HbA1c test every 3 to 6 months

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above quote source from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-1-diabetes/treatment/

nice guidelines also are every 3-6 months for adults with type1 diabetes

nice guidelines said:

1.6.1
Measure HbA1c levels every 3 to 6 months in adults with type 1 diabetes. [2015]

1.6.2
Consider measuring HbA1c levels more often in adults with type 1 diabetes if their blood glucose control is suspected to be changing rapidly; for example, if their HbA1c level has risen unexpectedly above a previously sustained target. [2015]

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source for above quote = https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng17/chapter/recommendations

twice yearly should be minimal according to nhs page, nice guidelines and indeed the notes recieved from sars request in the past for type1 no clue why sars gives a bunch of stuff out unncessary ... cost them a fortune to pay for postage (email would imo be better... much less cost to them)

Thank you, all, for your replies and suggestions. I suspect that aside from uninterrupted supplies of insulin, test strips and (for the last two years) Libre sensors, my NHS care has been a bit superficial. I'm certain it was never, ever suggested to me that my HbA1c could or should be taken more often than annually.

I suppose that being active, diet-conscious and happily finger-pricking very regularly, I may have seemed to be largely self-sufficient in the eyes of the diabetes nurse I see every 12 months, especially compared with the many patients whose results aren't so good. Actually, when I look back at earlier results over ten years, my history is mixed at best, but that makes me keener than ever to keep things as near to perfect as I can make them.

I had heard of CGM-estimated HbA1c readings not aligning closely with the real thing when it is taken, but after my real reading of 5.4% last year, I was content to see my Libre steadily showing around 5.5%. Unfortunately that seems to have been optimistic this year. I'm not downhearted - just determined to do better.

Many thanks for Thriva suggestion, and the Amazon option...if I can't simply arrange three-monthly tests with my local health centre (Southampton seems extraordinarily over-stretched healthwise) I will do it myself.

Thanks again, to you all. Great forum.

Greymalkin said:

I suspect that aside from uninterrupted supplies of insulin, test strips and (for the last two years) Libre sensors, my NHS care has been a bit superficial.

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Greymalkin said:

but after my real reading of 5.4% last year, I was content to see my Libre steadily showing around 5.5%.

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If whoever provides your care still uses % instead of mmol/mol, they do seem to be a bit slow to adapt to current guidelines.
In the UK, mmol/mol has been used since 2009, first alongside the 'new' units but hardly anyone uses % anymore.