confused

[DaddysGirl1982]

I have been sent a blood test form for a fasting blood test to check my HbA1c again, but I was told by a practice nurse (I think that she's also the diabetes nurse at my doctors) that the doctor will send me to have all of my bloods redone in either 3 months or 6 months. I wasn't told that I would have to have another fasting blood test done after either a week or 2 on my medication.
I'm thinking of contacting my doctors to find out why I have been sent the form when I was told that I wouldn't have to have my blood tests done for another 3 months or 6 months.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I'm thinking of contacting my doctors to find out why I have been sent the form when I was told that I wouldn't have to have my blood tests done for another 3 months or 6 months.

That is odd. And HbA1c is the only test they want? (I ask because I didn't think it was usually a fasting test.) Sometimes (obviously) there's something wrong with the HbA1c or other tests and they want them redone, but this isn't that?

 

[rebrascora]

It depends what your HbA1c test result is I think with regard to repeating it so soon after diagnosis. If you are just 48, then sometimes they do a second test in the hope that it will have gone down a bit and they can then record you as prediabetic.
Generally, the only reason for a fasting blood test is to do a fasting serum glucose I believe, which really doesn't tell them anything significant, so a bit pointless. Some GP practices still insist on cholesterol being a fasting test, but it really doesn't need to be. My guess is that it probably doesn't need to be a fasting test but they are not up to date with current thinking/practices. Certainly HbA1c does not need to be a fasting test..... but it depends what other tests they may also be doing.
I would not worry too much about it. Having things checked out more frequently is not a bad thing.

 

[Anne Marshall]

I have been sent a blood test form for a fasting blood test to check my HbA1c again, but I was told by a practice nurse (I think that she's also the diabetes nurse at my doctors) that the doctor will send me to have all of my bloods redone in either 3 months or 6 months. I wasn't told that I would have to have another fasting blood test done after either a week or 2 on my medication.
I'm thinking of contacting my doctors to find out why I have been sent the form when I was told that I wouldn't have to have my blood tests done for another 3 months or 6 months.

I’ve just had my diabetes consultant appt where he increased my dose of insulin. I’ve got tan appointment to see a hospital dietician this week and have my diabetic foot assessment at my gp clinic. I have shared care seeing genetic diabetes specialist once a year and go practice diabetes specialist nurse 6 months late. Probably best to ring go to find out when they want the blood test

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I have been sent a blood test form for a fasting blood test to check my HbA1c again, but I was told by a practice nurse (I think that she's also the diabetes nurse at my doctors) that the doctor will send me to have all of my bloods redone in either 3 months or 6 months. I wasn't told that I would have to have another fasting blood test done after either a week or 2 on my medication.
I'm thinking of contacting my doctors to find out why I have been sent the form when I was told that I wouldn't have to have my blood tests done for another 3 months or 6 months.

Sounds like it would be good to check @DaddysGirl19i2

HbA1cs aren’t fasting as others have said - because they reflect glucose levels over 3-4 months, so your levels on the morning of the bloods don’t really make a difference.

Lipids (cholesterol levels) are sometimes requested as fasting, and sometimes not. Both are fine, but it helps the Dr to interpret the results if they know which was which.

 

[PeterB89]

Does anyone know if HbA1c tests are very complicated to conduct. The reason I am asking is that I have provided three blood samples at my local Hospital at the request of the Diabetic Clinic over a three month period. On each occasion when I have phoned back for the result the Diabetic Clinic claim that it came back as an invalid result from the same Hospitals path lab. At first they blamed the way the sample had been taken by my GP practice nurse, when I pointed out that each and every sample had been taken in their phlebotomy dept by a member of the hospital staff they went very quiet on the matter. Is it a complicated process or have I just been unlucky and they have messed it up three times in a row. It certainly does not inspire confidence in the path lab

 

[Sally71]

At our hospital they just get my daughter to prick her finger with her own finger pricker, suck some blood up into a little tube and then put that into a machine which gives the result within a few minutes. Not complicated at all, but I guess it depends what equipment they’ve got, not everyone gets their results that quickly so I think we might be lucky.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I just been unlucky and they have messed it up three times in a row.

I think it's just bad luck, yes. I don't remember having any problems with getting HbA1c results. Like @Sally71's daughter I've had a couple of fingerprint results too, but as she says that depends on the right equipment. (So you'd expect that to be likely in a diabetes clinic.)

 

[helli]

I think it's just bad luck, yes. I don't remember having any problems with getting HbA1c results. Like @Sally71's daughter I've had a couple of fingerprint results too, but as she says that depends on the right equipment. (So you'd expect that to be likely in a diabetes clinic.)

Unfortunately, there is no such equipment in my clinic.
I have to book an appointment at my GP surgery for 2 weeks prior to the diabetes review at the hospital. If the wind is blowing the right direction and I have made the appropriate sacrifice to the god of phlebotomists, the diabetes team are sent my results before my appointment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes, some of the test results make it and others get lost on the way.

Things have improved. I used to be given a blood test form at the end of my annual review and was expected to keep this for a year to tell the GP surgery what tests to do next time around. If I lost it, I would get no blood tests done. Now the computer remembers.

 

[rebrascora]

I has my bloods taken last Saturday morning at a local GP surgery I hadn't been to before.... booked 2 days previous through my GP receptionist and my consultant had the results by 9.30am the following Tues morning. HbA1c and cholesterol were the 2 I was interested in, so I didn't ask about anything else but I assume he would have mentioned if anything was amiss with the other results. Not sure if our path lab is just extremely efficient but I was very surprised he had results back 3 days later bearing in mind it was over a weekend!

 

[Leadinglights]

It could be that if you have any haemoglobinopathies like anaemia or high red red cell count then the result might be out of range so would throw up errors.
Hospital labs have instruments costing hundreds of thousands of pounds and usually it is just a matter of preparing the sample and putting it in the machine.
Of course the sample could be compromised by it being collected and put in the wrong sample pot and the sample pots for different test may have different additives.

 

[trophywench]

I've never had such a glitch yet in 50 years - so a real assortment of different individuals over different Hospital Trusts in different locations of England taking the blood and different hospital labs undertaking the tests. OTOH I have never in my life been remotely anaemic or had anything else 'up' with my blood itself. The sample pots DO all have different additives required for different tests - but as the HbA1c test is such a VERY common test being undertaken every day of a phlebotomists working life, getting it in the wrong one ain't very likely, to me.

No Hospital D clinic I have attended so far, had had a 'fingerprick' tester though I remember a lady member of DSF in London's clinic had one and the rest of us were all correspondingly jealous!

 

[Leadinglights]

There do seem to be plenty of Point of Care testers for HbA1C, even on Amazon and Ebay for relatively modest price so It would not be unreasonable for GP surgeries to actually invest in one given the number of diabetic patients there are on their books.
Research has shown they are not as accurate as Lab instruments but non the less would be cost effective as the lab tests will cost them anyway.