Do I need to use a calculator or tables to work out MMOLS/L MMOLS/DL MMOLS/MOl? Blimey

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lordburnside

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I am 6.5 mmols/l at the moment. I am just trying to get my head around what levels a man aged 68 should be in.
I am guessing I need to average under 6.5 mmols per l. 6.7 mmols/l is 120 mmols/dl
The measurements are confusing. I need to be within 70 and 180 mg/dl which is 3.8 - 10mmols/l?
My CGM device is in mmols/l but my doctor gives gave me a reading of 55 mmols/mol which I think is 8.9mmols/l which would be 179 mmols/dl?
Now totally confused.

Can anybody give me the range I need to be in in Mmols/l (CGM), mmols/mol (doctor) and mmols/dl(US)?
 
Thanks for that. I have just realise MMOLS/DL are MMOLS/l times 18.
SO that double then multiply by 10 then knock a tenth off! LOL.
 
lordburnside said:
Thanks for that. I have just realise MMOLS/DL are MMOLS/l times 18.
SO that double then multiply by 10 then knock a tenth off! LOL.
Click to expand...
Fortunately, that's a calculation we don't need to make since we don't use mmol/dl. So it's something that only comes up when looking at things relevant to those countries that do use mmol/dl.
 
Thanks for that - I printed it all off at work!

So my reading of 55 mmol/mol (on diagnosis) would give me and HbA1C of about 7.15 but my monitor would show 8.85 mmol/l on average. I know I shouldnt get too hung up on the numbers but whenever you watch a youtube video its in US measurements often, my diagnosis was on mmol/mol and my CGM is mmol/l.

I understand it better now, My average on my CGM over a week is 6.4mmol/l which is OK but I can do better.
I ate a chunky KitKat on Saturday and that shot up my BG to 10+ very quickly. I won't buy any more.
 
If you are not in the USA then you need to totally disregard the mg/dl reading so you don't need to multiply anything by 18, that is just to convert between US and UK readings.

That 6.5 mmols/litre is your current blood Glucose (BG) reading at the moment in time when you tool it. It will go up and down in response to lots of different factors throughout the day and night, the main ones being food exercise and medication.

Your HbA1c reading of 55mmols/mol is a measure of the number of glucose molecules stuck to your Haemoglobin (red blood cells). Those cells have a life span of about 3 months and during that period they get glucose stuck to them as they travel through the blood stream. So if your BG levels are persistently high, they will be exposed to more glucose and more will stick to them. In effect it sort of correlates to your average BG levels over the previous 3 months from when it was taken. There are various conversion factors and tables which can help you to estimate what your HbA1c will be from the average of your previous 3 months of finger prick tests, but it just gives you a rough idea because you have no idea what your levels do between finger pricks unless you are using a CGM which samples every few minutes. If you only ever test before meals and not afterwards then your average of those readings will be lower than if you test before and after meals because food usually increases your BG levels, so it is important to have a representative sample of BG readings to obtain your average.

Just to make things a little more complex, there is a school of thought now which suggests that as an older person, your red blood cells will not be renewed as frequently as a younger person, so they hang around in the blood longer and therefore are likely to have more glucose stuck to them, so a slightly higher HbA1c may be normal in a person of more mature years, so whilst the diabetic diagnosis threshold is 48, it can be argued that it should be slightly higher if you are older, so your HbA1c of 55 may not be as bad as a younger person with an HbA1c of 55. Not saying you aren't diabetic and shouldn't do a bit of work to reduce it, but it isn't a huge cause for concern and any risk of complications long term is low at that level, unless you are planning to live to 120years.
Not sure if that makes sense, but my take on it is, don't make your life miserable trying to get your levels down unreasonably low. If you can get them to 45 that's great, but even 50 is good enough. I am 60 and have Type 1 diabetes. I can just manage and HbA1c of 45, but I have a few too many mild hypos achieving that and my consultant would be happy with me achieving low 50s for the rest of my life and I don't foresee me experiencing any significant problems at that level.
 
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Bruce Stephens said:
Fortunately, that's a calculation we don't need to make since we don't use mmol/dl. So it's something that only comes up when looking at things relevant to those countries that do use mmol/dl.
Click to expand...
Thanks but when I watch a you tube video or ead something online they can give US figures. Not sure why my doctor uses mmol/mol. I understand all this much better now.
For me it no bread, KitKats, sweets and my portion sizes are a little generous.
 
lordburnside said:
Not sure why my doctor uses mmol/mol.
Click to expand...
Your doctor used mmols/mol because that is the measure of HbA1c not BG.... see my explanation above which you may not have had a chance to read before posting that. BG and HbA1c are very different measures and don't directly relate to each other.
 
rebrascora said:
If you are not in the USA then you need to totally disregard the mg/dl reading so you don't need to multiply anything by 18, that is just to convert between US and UK readings.

That 6.5 mmols/litre is your current blood Glucose (BG) reading at the moment in time when you tool it. It will go up and down in response to lots of different factors throughout the day and night, the main ones being food exercise and medication.

Your HbA1c reading of 55mmols/mol is a measure of the number of glucose molecules stuck to your Haemoglobin (red blood cells). Those cells have a life span of about 3 months and during that period they get glucose stuck to them as they travel through the blood stream. So if your BG levels are persistently high, they will be exposed to more glucose and more will stick to them. In effect it sort of correlates to your average BG levels over the previous 3 months from when it was taken. There are various conversion factors and tables which can help you to estimate what your HbA1c will be from the average of your previous 3 months of finger prick tests, but it just gives you a rough idea because you have no idea what your levels do between finger pricks unless you are using a CGM which samples every few minutes. If you only ever test before meals and not afterwards then your average of those readings will be lower than if you test before and after meals because food usually increases your BG levels, so it is important to have a representative sample of BG readings to obtain your average.

Just to make things a little more complex, there is a school of thought now which suggests that as an older person, your red blood cells will not be renewed as frequently as a younger person, so they hang around in the blood longer and therefore are likely to have more glucose stuck to them, so a slightly higher HbA1c may be normal in a person of more mature years, so whilst the diabetic diagnosis threshold is 48, it can be argued that it should be slightly higher if you are older, so your HbA1c of 55 may not be as bad as a younger person with an HbA1c of 55. Not saying you aren't diabetic and shouldn't do a bit of work to reduce it, but it isn't a huge cause for concern and any risk of complications long term is low at that level, unless you are planning to live to 120years.
Not sure if that makes sense, but my take on it is, don't make your life miserable trying to get your levels down unreasonably low. If you can get them to 45 that's great, but even 50 is good enough. I am 60 and have Type 1 diabetes. I can just manage and HbA1c of 45, but I have a few too many mild hypos achieving that and my consultant would be happy with me achieving low 50s for the rest of my life and I don't foresee me experiencing any significant problems at that level.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that informative answer. I guess I will not renew my blood quite as quickly as a younger person so my new health regime will not show up in my HbA1c for maybe 4 months or more. I think I can live with my current diet and exercise regime until the summer so I am expecting my next Doctors reading at the end of April to be 47 and then in July 45 but thats wishful thinking. All I know is I have given this my best shot and cannot do much more! I am going on holiday to London at the end of March and there's a pub or two to visit - maybe I will sin for a week!
 
lordburnside said:
Thank you for that informative answer. I guess I will not renew my blood quite as quickly as a younger person so my new health regime will not show up in my HbA1c for maybe 4 months or more. I think I can live with my current diet and exercise regime until the summer so I am expecting my next Doctors reading at the end of April to be 47 and then in July 45 but thats wishful thinking. All I know is I have given this my best shot and cannot do much more! I am going on holiday to London at the end of March and there's a pub or two to visit - maybe I will sin for a week!
Click to expand...
So I think what you are saying is that my BG is a measure of how sticky my sugar is and the HBA1C is a measure of how much of it has stuck!
 
lordburnside said:
So I think what you are saying is that my BG is a measure of how sticky my sugar is and the HBA1C is a measure of how much of it has stuck!
Click to expand...
Aside from "sugar" which I have highlighted in your reply above, should read "blood", which I am guessing you meant, then I think that is an absolutely brilliant synopsis of the situation!
 
lordburnside said:
So I think what you are saying is that my BG is a measure of how sticky my sugar is and the HBA1C is a measure of how much of it has stuck!
Click to expand...
Nothing to do with how 'sticky' the sugar is. Blood glucose from a finger prick is the concentration of glucose in your blood.
 
lordburnside said:
So I think what you are saying is that my BG is a measure of how sticky my sugar is and the HBA1C is a measure of how much of it has stuck!
Click to expand...
Not quite.
Your blood glucose measurement is the glucose in your blood plasma at that moment in that finger - or wherever.
Over time the glucose affects the blood cells, and the HbA1c number is derived from them, but it isn't a direct correlation, just a general indication.
 
Great. I am just trying to understand all this.
The beauty of diabetes is that you start to eat better and start to exercise. I feel about 10 years younger. My liver hasn't seen alcohol for 6 weeks so thinks its on holiday. I am 6% lighter and I seem to be content!
 
lordburnside said:
Great. I am just trying to understand all this.
The beauty of diabetes is that you start to eat better and start to exercise. I feel about 10 years younger. My liver hasn't seen alcohol for 6 weeks so thinks its on holiday. I am 6% lighter and I seem to be content!
Click to expand...
Yes, it's odd isn't it. You get diagnosed with a serious health condition which ends up making you feel younger and healthier..... obviously only if you put the work in to manage it well of course, but that is the way I see it. I now feel that I will likely live longer with a better quality of life as a result of my diagnosis, because it was the kick up the backside I unfortunately but obviously needed to look after myself better.
 
Yes - you are advised to take exercise and not be overweight. Now that I have no option but to follow this advice I wished I had done it sooner! Walking a quite therapeutic.
I do blame the food manufacturers as well - they have tried to kill me! I remember M and S sold chicken in a cheese sauce it was absolutely delicious but the chicken breast was so small so I ate both in the pack. It wasn't til I noticed they were 2000 calories that I stopped buying them. Tasty food is for entertainment.
 
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