Hab1c

[WendyB61]

Hi
How often should we be having Hab1c tests? I was diagnosed type 2 January , had my levels checked after 6 months then thought it was every 3 months but my doctor says it’s every 6 months is this right?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I think it's one of the checks that should be at least annually. And there's not much point in doing it more often than every 3 months, but where inbetween it happens can vary depending on individuals. (It seems like my surgery is wanting to do one test a year for me, roughly, but I'm using Libre so I have quite a lot of information between blood tests and I'm pretty stable at present.)

(There seems to be a particular problem at the moment forcing lots of non-urgent blood tests to be delayed.)

 

[Leadinglights]

I think it depends on where you are following diagnosis and how good your management is of your levels. It seems a good idea to check reasonably often to check on progress with either dietary regime and /or medication but once things are going in the right direction then less often would be not unreasonable unless symptoms indicate something has changed.
If people are on medication then the other tests that are normally done at the same time are also important as meds can affect things like kidney function and vit B12 and cholesterol.
The current issues with blood tests are meaning anything other than very urgent are being delayed and unbookable.

 

[helli]

There is often a confusion around frequency of hba1c tests. I think this is partially due to differences between ccgs and people.
The three month thing probably cones from the fact that it is not worth testing any more often than every 3 months because the result shows your average levels over the last 3 months. But it is rare to get tested that often.
Things may be slightly different for me because I have Type 1 but my tests are usually more than 12 months apart. For me this is of little concern because I keep an eye on my diabetes management through daily testing. I feel the hba1c is an NHS box ticking exercise. The liver, kidney, cholesterol tests are more important to me.
As others have mentioned, there is a current issue with a shortage of blood testing vials which means in many cases only urgent blood tests are being performed.

 

[Lucyr]

Hi
How often should we be having Hab1c tests? I was diagnosed type 2 January , had my levels checked after 6 months then thought it was every 3 months but my doctor says it’s every 6 months is this right?

Every 6 months sounds more frequent than I’d expect if this is just at the GP, should be done at least annually though. My GP haven’t done any diabetes reviews since before Covid.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

As others have said depends on your management if coming down fine numbers wise then 6 monthly is fine. Do also remember there is a shortage of vials for blood testing at the moment so only important tests are being done.

 

[Docb]

From the NICE guidelines:

....Measure HbA1c levels at 3/6 monthly intervals, as appropriate....

They do not seem to define what is appropriate. That seems to be left to the treating doctor and that is presumably why some think 3 months to be appropriate and others 6.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

In my experience 3 monthly seems to happen more when newly diagnosed and/or having some sort of difficulty.

6-12 monthly has been my ‘norm’, though routine checkups are not really able to happen at the moment - covid, and the shortage os blood vials are throwing a spanner in the works!