Diabetes HBA1C test: ive had a test... - Diabetes Research...

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Diabetes HBA1C test

markini5 profile image
19 Replies

ive had a test done and results were said to be normal, haven't seen the doctor yet to find out the exact result . since the result over the phone ive tested myself twice .

accu chek Aviva

1, 11:45am result 6.5 mmol/l

2, 18:30 result 8.4 mmol/l 1 hour after dinner

I'm really confused as these results would say otherwise to the NHS blood test results.

ive also done fasting blood tests over many years despite having symptoms always comes back fine.

any ideas?

thanks

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markini5
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19 Replies
Theziggy profile image
Theziggy

Home testing kits can be out by 20%, though your results do seem a bit high. Your 8.4 after the meal is meaningless without knowing what your levels were before the meal so you can assess the actual rise caused by the meal.

I would keep an eye on it and look into managing your diet

hose1975 profile image
hose1975 in reply toTheziggy

Bear in mind also that the NHS guidelines are for TWO hours after eating, so it may well be that at that marker you were under the top end again.

Theziggy is right, though, that it helps to take a reading immediately before the meal: you should be looking for a reading no more than 2mmol/l higher at the two-hour post-meal mark.

Theziggy profile image
Theziggy in reply tohose1975

Most people's blood glucose spikes an hour after eating not two - test for yourself and see. THe NHS do not even recommend testing before a meal - how can you see how much foodstuffs raise your levels?

markini5 profile image
markini5 in reply toTheziggy

oh bugger, ive gone off what someone said on this post and done the test over 2 hours after breakfast..

even with 2 hour wait it still went up. details in other message

markini5 profile image
markini5

thanks for the advice guys :)

ive tested myself now before breakfast 5.3mmol/l

will test again in 2 hours and let you know the results

thanks

oceantragic profile image
oceantragic

Do you have Type 1 or 2?

I have no idea why they wouldn't tell you what 'normal' actually means yet.

Do they mean equal to that of a person whose pancreas is fine, i.e. below 6% or 42mmol/mol? Or do they mean between 6.5% to 7.5% which are the standard results people tend to check against? I guess you'll find out soon.

According to this page - diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1... - an average blood glucose of 8 would equate to HbA1c of 7, which could be seen as 'normal'.

markini5 profile image
markini5 in reply tooceantragic

Hi, I don't really know to be honest, no doctor has said what the exact result was.. guess that's what they tend to do when they only have 10mins per patient. ive had only basic tests.

I may ask to do the glucose test, would this be more likely to give a definitive result?

thanks

Estiebargle profile image
Estiebargle

It's my understanding that the HbA1c tests blood sugars over 3 months. Under 40 normal- 40-50 pre diabetic and 50+ diabetic.

It seems like you have a blood testing kit for testing blood sugars. I'm not sure what they mean.

I am in the other camp.. No symptoms at all but 56 on the HbA1c test. Hoping to retest and get that number down.

Get in touch with your local diabetes information organisations.

Good luck,

Stephanie

markini5 profile image
markini5 in reply toEstiebargle

Hi Stephanie, their are conversion chart showing range. according to this chart 8.4 is approx. 50+

Estiebargle profile image
Estiebargle

Oh no! And you're having symptoms too. Thats not good. Get on to your doctor!

Good luck!

markini5 profile image
markini5

just done another test 2 hours since breakfast.

7.2mmol/l approx 44 or 6.1%

ive had symptoms since a teenager , had many standard tests over the years and always come back normal

hose1975 profile image
hose1975 in reply tomarkini5

The HbA1c is not the same as your 'on the spot' tests. 7.2 mmol/l two hours after eating is within the limits (although whether the limits should be tightened is a matter for debate) and the rise was under 2 mmol/l from your pre-meal reading.

This is not to say that you might wish to rethink some of your food choices but your blood glucose rise is not so high and is coming back down as expected.

If you wish to take your (pre-)diabetes education by the horns you could do much worse than to read 'Blood Sugar 101' by Jenny Ruhl. Full of really interesting stuff and lots of references to studies about what constitutes truly 'normal' and at what sustained levels damage really starts to occur.

markini5 profile image
markini5 in reply tohose1975

ive checked again after lunch it had risen to 8.9mmol/l, I left it approx 30 mins before checking as I starting feeling sick and spaced out but sleepy at the same time..

hose1975 profile image
hose1975 in reply tomarkini5

But you don't know what the reading was before lunch and you've only left half an hour after your meal before testing. I strongly advise you to get into the habit of testing immediately before and two hours after eating for a better picture of your glycaemic control.

oceantragic profile image
oceantragic in reply tohose1975

+1 to that.

If you don't know what your food is before and a few hours after then you won't see what your food choices are doing to your glucose levels.

I'm still confused though, are you Type 1 or Type 2? Are you on insulin? My experience is with Type 1 so I'm not sure how often Type 2s are meant to test.

hose1975 profile image
hose1975 in reply tooceantragic

According to most doctors following NHS guidelines, never!

markini5 profile image
markini5

I'm not diabetic according to NHS. my doctor is on holiday now so will wait till new year to see where I go from here.

I did test before lunch but I already had sugary drink which may have messed with the reading? it was 6.9 11:23am post test 8.4 1:01pm then another test as I started to feel weird 8.9 1:09pm after this I ran out of test strips. :(

ceejayblue profile image
ceejayblue

6.4 at 11.45am I assume is after you've had breakfast and before lunch? Its fine! The 8.4 an hour after a meal isn't a worry! If you do test (as a T2 diabetic on metformin I don't test often) you should do it 2 hours after a meal, not 1!

If your HbA1c says you are in the normal range then you are not diabetic, be grateful for that and make sure you stay that way by eating a healthy diet, exercisingi and watching your portion and carb intake.

Activity2004 profile image
Activity2004Administrator

Sometimes, when I get the A1c checked, the results don't seem to be right, either. I sometimes think it's not worth doing the test because it doesn't come back the way I thought it should, but sometimes, it does. So, to make a long story short, you get the test done either way so you have some idea as to what you think it should be and hope it works out that way at the doctor's office when they give you the results at the appointment. I need to get the test done later this coming two weeks in time for my upcoming appointment. Should be interesting since I have the DEXCOM CGM Gen. 4 helping me for the last 6 months so far.

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