HbA1c Test Result

[AndyZ]

Hi there. I am a new guy to this forum and am seeking some advice. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I have just been advised by my GP that I am at risk of developing diabetes and I need to change my lifestyle. He concluded this following a HbA1c test which resulted in a score of 6 , which is 0.1 I understand, above the normal range.

I am 61 years old, a vegetarian, teetotal, non-smoker, and lead a pretty active life. I cycle and walk a lot, have a pretty normal BMI and I'm not crazy about chocolate and sweets or anything like that.

I am wondering if the test has been skewed by cycling energy bars that I have been using while training for a 200 mile cross country bike ride over the last three months.

I have been cycling between 50 and 100 miles a week, consuming several high energy bars and drinks during each ride. The bars or drinks typically contain 40 to 50 g of carbohydrate, about half of which is in the form of sugars. I would consume one roughly every hour of cycling.

I actually did the coast to coast, 15 hours cycling spread over three days, in June, finishing it three days before I had the HbA1c.

During the ride I consumed an awful lot of carbohydrate energy bars, gels and drinks and I'm just wondering if it has led to a mis-leading result from the test?

I don't keep count but I might have had one an hour on the ride, so anything up to 600gm of carbs on top of my normal diet.

I do not experience any of the symptoms mentioned in relation to diabetes, nor do I have any close family members who have had the condition, so I am wondering if the test has been compromised by my carb use.

I asked the surgery for a further test but the best they could offer me was another one in 12 months time.

I would appreciate any advice that friends in this forum could offer me.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this.

Andy

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum. Sorry gp surgery were of no help, best bet is to go make an apt to see your gp so you can discuss things with him or her.

PS you need to change the type of diabetes you have declared in your profile it did make me laugh

 

[LeeLee]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum. 🙂 For most of us the first follow-up is more like 3 months, so your GP clearly isn't all that worried - take comfort from that! You're already doing all the right things, with the possible exception of the energy bars which you're eating for the right reasons. Don't panic. If you're still worried in a few months, try asking your GP for a repeat test.

 

[AndyZ]

Thanks Sue, I took a guess on the diabetes type …since I haven't got it I thought it might be gestating. What should I put ?
Andy

 

[Mark T]

Welcome Andy 🙂

Yes, possibly the energy bars that have skewed the result, but probably not to the extent that a person with average healthy human glucose metabolism would appear to have a borderline diabetic metabolism (although, I'm not a doctor so...)

By the way, all carbohydrates in food will raise your blood glucose levels, not just the sugars.

 

[LeeLee]

Ummm... gestational is when it occurs in pregnancy. Do you believe in miracles?

If you are diabetic, it's probably Type 2 - I'd go with that until/unless advised otherwise. If you were type 1 you would be really ill by now because that's when you stop producing insulin (to grossly over-simplify).

 

[Redkite]

Hi Andy,

Sounds like your doctor is concerned you could be on the way to developing type 2 diabetes, which is not necessarily associated with being overweight or inactive. Some individuals are just genetically predisposed to become insensitive to insulin. The rower Steve Redgrave, for example, developed type 2 diabetes in his 30's, having spent several years doing very strenuous training fuelled by 6000 calories per day, mostly carbs. He needed the carb intake, but his pancreas eventually couldn't put out sufficient insulin.

 

[AndyZ]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I think I will go back to the doctor, the person I saw was a HealthCare assistant giving advice on lifestyle issues.

Andy

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Ummm... gestational is when it occurs in pregnancy. Do you believe in miracles?

I do as my ginger tom cat gave birth to kittens many years ago 😱

 

[itsallgood]

Andy it might also be worth investing in a blood glucose meter so you can get readings pre and post prandial, that way you could get a better idea of how your food intake is affecting your bloods. The HBa1c is more of a 3 month average.

Meters are very cheap/free and come with some strips to start you off but the strips are expensive unless you can get them on the NHS (remember you get prescriptions for free as a diabetic)

 

[LeeLee]

Meters are very cheap/free and come with some strips to start you off but the strips are expensive unless you can get them on the NHS (remember you get prescriptions for free as a diabetic)

The free prescriptions bit only applies if you're on drugs to control diabetes. In my case, there was a gap of 10 years between diagnosis and medication becoming necessary. If you can get the test strips on prescription, the cost will be lower than the actual cost even if you have to pay prescription charges. The GP may be reluctant to prescribe them, so be prepared for a battle!

 

[robofski]

(remember you get prescriptions for free as a diabetic)

I was told that you only get free prescriptions when you are prescribed medication for diabetes. When I was first diagnosed as a type 2 and was not on any specific diabetes medication I had to continue to pay for my prescription items, only once I was prescribed diabetes medication did I qualify for free prescriptions. This was a few years ago and things may have changed now but that was how I was handled.

(Should learn to check the next page of comments before hitting reply 🙂 )

 

[itsallgood]

I didn't realise you had to be using diabetes drugs to get free scripts LeeLee / Rob, I went straight on the Metformin at diagnosis. I'll keep out of it next time

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Andy is over 60 so it makes no difference to him as he has free prescriptions anyway. 🙂