Correct number & meal distribution.

[indio02]

I have a "GlucoNavii Standard" BGM from Amazon (the £15.99 kit one) which shows a reading in mmol/L.

I've found a HBa1c conversion chart that shows various heading %, mmol/mol, mmol/l.

I'm assuming my BGM is showing reading in mmol/l ie the last in the list above. I just want to know I'm reading the correct information.

Most of my readings are mid-five to mid-seven but my morning reading are consistently & noticeably higher.... yesterday was 8.8 and this morning 10.4 (eeeek!) both before breakfast.

I normally have a small breakfast (yoghurt & blueberries) then a small light sandwich at lunch BUT then have my main meal of the day at around 6pm which is diabetic friendly in terms of ingredients but it equates to about 80% of my daily calorie intake. Is this what's likely to be giving me such high morning fasting readings?

Any thoughts/advice appreciated!

 

[Leadinglights]

The units for reading from a home monitor are mmol/l so you are looking at the correct one.
Morning readings are often the last to come down and for some people can remain stubbornly because of something which you may see being referred to as Foot on the Floor phenomenon which is a hang over from our ancestors where the liver releases glucose to give you the energy for the hunt for breakfast and for your organs to function.
The more consistently you keep within the range of 4-7 mmol/l before meals and no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours post meal, your fasting level will start to come down. If your before meal level is higher than that then it is useful to keep your meal increase to no more than 2-3mmol/l after 2 hours. Pairs of readings are more useful than a single or random readings.
Try testing before you get out of bed to see if that makes a difference to your fasting reading.

 

[Dragonheart]

The % and mmol/mol refer to lab tested hba1c tests that show the effect of glucose on red blood cells over the last three months. The uk mostly use mmol/mol and the USA %.

The USA use mg/dl for the daily fingerprick to see what your glucose is doing right now at this moment in time and you can convert this measurement to our uk mmol/l ones by dividing the larger USA mg by 18

In those conversion charts that go between two different types of test (that measure different things) it’s important to remember it’s using an average blood glucose (fingerprick) not an actual single figure. In other words it will tell you a certain hba1c is the equivalent of always having fingerpricks of a particular number. In reality that doesn’t happen as it constantly changes- sometimes by a lot so the result is more accurately the average of all the figures you get. Doing the conversion the other way around you need a lot of fingerprick readings from across many days reflecting all the levels you experience to get a half decent estimate of what your hbA1c will be. Using just a single reading or only the best ones or only the worst ones will give a false equivalency.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I've found a HBa1c conversion chart that shows various heading %, mmol/mol, mmol/l.

Worth bearing in mind that there is no arithmetic conversion between fingerprick results and HbA1c as the two measure very different things - one is a spot check moment in time, the other an expression of exposure to glucose over 3-4 months. So while the conversion chart might be a handy ready reckoner, it can’t be relied upon to be completely accurate 🙂