Confused about the figures.

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Rosalind

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At risk of diabetes
Hi there
This is my first post.
I have recently been diagnosed as prediabetic with a rating of 44.
I had a look at some private health screening results I had done over the last few years (with Bluecrest) - I hadn't examined the blood glucose levels in the results pamphlet as they came out as 'green' (aka normal). They seemed to be on a different scale/rating system. December 2018 was 6.3 mmol/L December 2021 was 5.9 mmol/L and September 2022 was 6.9 mmol/L. Can someone explain how these numbers relate to the 42-47 prediabetic scale? I'm trying to understand it all. Also can anyone recommend what machine I need to keep track of my levels? Preferably without me having to prick my finger - if that is what's done at this stage.
 
Rosalind said:
Can someone explain how these numbers relate to the 42-47 prediabetic scale?
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They don't directly. The two measures are of different things. HbA1c (which is what the 42-47 is) is kind of like an average blood glucose over about 3 months, but that's an oversimplification. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c

To measure blood glucose you'd need a glucometer, test strips, and a finger pricker. (Pricking fingers isn't really something that can be avoided. There exist sensors that monitor continuously (CGMs) but they're significantly more expensive, involve having something stuck through the skin anyway, and you need to be able to check results against test strips.)

The introductory thread contains names of two testing machines that have reasonably cheap test strips (which is important for long term use) and guides on what to use testing for: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/board...for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/#post-938458

You might (reasonably, I think) consider that an HbA1c of 44 is only just in the range of pre diabetic and that you don't need to do anything about it. Maybe it's a one-off result that you'll never see again.
 
The 44 is an HbA1C result @Rosalind The other results look like one-off blood glucose results. The two things are different. The HbA1C is a kind of average of your blood sugar over the last three months and uses a different measurement system to the fingerpricks. You can get an approximate ‘conversion’ but I wouldn’t bother as it’s irrelevant really. Your 44 puts you in the prediabetic zone (48+ is diabetes).

If you want to test your blood sugar at home, there are two popular meters here. I’ll link to them in the next post.They do require finger-pricking but that’s not hard. There’s also the Libre sensor which doesn’t require fingerpricking but costs around £50 for 14 days and isn’t that accurate compared to fingerpricks.

You could also simply adjust your diet and have another HbA1C in three months to see how you’re doing.
 
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