Hba1c very low but readings very high

[Inka]

Since going totally vegan my HBA1C has dropped from 65 to 39. That is the bit I just don't understand, how my results are so low but my readings so high.

Well done on that HbA1C drop! Perhaps your recent high readings are temporary and due to illness or infection? I’ve found even something mild can affect my blood sugar.

 

[Ljc]

Oops I never even considered a faulty meter or strips.
You should be able to get some control solution from the maker or it may have come with a special test strip

 

[CourtGirl]

Your HbA1c is excellent @CourtGirl

But I can understand the confusion if the BG fingersticks you are taking are so much higher than your HbA1c might suggest.

Have you had several low A1cs, or was the most recent one unexpectedly low for you?

I suspect you will just have to watch and wait and collect more information for a while longer to try to make sense of it?

It may well be helpful to shift the timing of some of your Bg checks to allow for ‘before and after’ checks around your mealtimes if you are keeping to 4x a day so that you can see the effect of different meals at different times of the day. These pairs of BG values give you clearly actionable information to try experimenting with different types and amounts of carbs, rather than just ‘background’ information.

Let is know how you get on 🙂

It was lower than I had anticipated. I think it had dropped 9 points 48 down to 39 (previous reading had dropped from 54 to 48).
My nurse suggested checking 4 times per day before each meal. This has proved difficult as I tend to snack in afternoon sometimes I'm ashamed to say I don't get a clear two hours of not eating in the afternoon!

 

[CourtGirl]

@CourtGirl are you able to test your meter is reading correctly?
Do you have access to another meter to check it against or any testing solution?
It could be worthwhile ruling out a faulty meter in case you are worrying unnecessarily.

Funnily enough that occurred to me this morning. I'm seeing the nurse next week so will test mine with hers.

 

[CourtGirl]

Since going totally vegan my HBA1C has dropped from 65 to 39. That is the bit I just don't understand, how my results are so low but my readings so high.

Well done on that HbA1C drop! Perhaps your recent high readings are temporary and due to illness or infection? I’ve found even something mild can affect my blood sugar.

Quite possibly, I kind of don't feel right. That might be anxiety with high readings and may explain my terrible sleep. I hate poor sleep more than anything.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

It was lower than I had anticipated. I think it had dropped 9 points 48 down to 39 (previous reading had dropped from 54 to 48).
My nurse suggested checking 4 times per day before each meal. This has proved difficult as I tend to snack in afternoon sometimes I'm ashamed to say I don't get a clear two hours of not eating in the afternoon!

Checking before each meal can be helpful in seeing generally how things are going day-to-day because the body should have dealt with the previous meal before you make the next check.

However it can ‘hide’ some big variations that may be happening in the meantime.

The alternative is to use 2 of those checks to specifically target BG response to a meal, checking before and 2hrs after the first bite, then adjust and reduce the carbs in the meal (swap cauli rice for rice... half as many slices of bread... celeriac rather than potato...) to see if you can reduce the ‘meal rise’ to 2 or 3 mmol/l

So one day you might focus on breakfast / eve meal checking befor and after each.

And the next day check on waking, then before/after lunch, then again at bedtime.

So you get a mix of targeted BG to tackle meals, and also some general ‘background’ information.

Finding ways to curb your snacking habits will help hugely too.

 

[CourtGirl]

Checking before each meal can be helpful in seeing generally how things are going day-to-day because the body should have dealt with the previous meal before you make the next check.

However it can ‘hide’ some big variations that may be happening in the meantime.

The alternative is to use 2 of those checks to specifically target BG response to a meal, checking before and 2hrs after the first bite, then adjust and reduce the carbs in the meal (swap cauli rice for rice... half as many slices of bread... celeriac rather than potato...) to see if you can reduce the ‘meal rise’ to 2 or 3 mmol/l

So one day you might focus on breakfast / eve meal checking befor and after each.

And the next day check on waking, then before/after lunch, then again at bedtime.

So you get a mix of targeted BG to tackle meals, and also some general ‘background’ information.

Finding ways to curb your snacking habits will help hugely too.

Thank you. Regular daily testing is new to me. I hate it!

Agree about the snacking. I need to fill up at meals which I don't tend to do.

 

[Inka]

Quite possibly, I kind of don't feel right. That might be anxiety with high readings and may explain my terrible sleep. I hate poor sleep more than anything.

Me too. A bad night’s sleep affects me a lot. It can be difficult to tease out the root cause eg poor sleep can cause higher blood sugar but also higher blood sugar can cause poor sleep; illness can cause high blood sugar but in addition high blood sugar can make you feel rough.

My only other thought is - is there any possibility you could have LADA? Could you just have had a gradual decline prior to this and now a sudden inability to control your blood sugar, which is not yet reflected in the HbA1C?

If it was me, I’d increase testing as said above and go through possible problems systematically, including a dodgy meter. Good luck - it must be frustrating and worrying.

 

[grovesy]

Most meter manufacturers have testing solutions for the meters, some will give free some charge for them . I would contact them.