HBA1C comparison

[kathy s]

Hi all,
Had a chat with the diabetic nurse on Thursday who had asked me to keep a fortnight of before breakfast and before evening meal readings. I was able to give her a month's worth. Anyway she did a rough calculation based on my average and said it would seem my hba1c has come down at least 20 points ( I was 87) though obviously not exact until by next blood test in early September. They said I'm heading in the right direction but want to add to my medication . I'm on empagliflozin and normally they would increase that but due to having the one kidney will need to look at alternatives.
Though my weight was not an issue since June I've lost 9lb!
Question! How can they give a hba1c reading through by readings?

 

[Docb]

Question! How can they give a hba1c reading through by readings?

Educated guesswork based on experience!

I can do a bit better personally because I have correlations between my HbA1c readings and average waking reading 90 days prior to them being taken. Currently it is predicting an HbA1c of 53, and I would expect that to be within 2 mmol/mol of a measured reading if I had an HbA1c taken today.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Yes, agree with @Docb : educated guesswork and experience.

The main thing is that it sounds very much that you have been doing well AND that Nurse has been managing your expectations well - providing encouragement without committing to a definite result until the real test.

I'm mildly surprised there is a thought to increase your medications, even without your '1 kidney factor'. But I'm not T2 and know nothing really about either your circumstances or T2 in general AND I am in no way medically qualified. It just reads as though there is a treatment plan, it's working and could be given a bit more time to develop before needing more meds. One of the commonly agreed facts is that steady changes are generally better for our bodies than dramatic or too rapid interventions - both from a short term perspective and from a longer term sustainable stance. Particularly since you've mentioned now and back in June that you don't have a weight issue; in an odd way that seems to me to be almost more challenging to the overall diagnosis and long term containment of your D.

But regardless of my somewhat abstract "thoughts", great that you are going in the right direction.

 

[grovesy]

I always find HBA1C estimate out for me and that is with continuous use of the Libre 2. It is usall out be a about 5 points.

 

[Lucyr]

Question! How can they give a hba1c reading through by readings?

They haven’t given an hba1c. They’ve given a guess.

 

[Lucyr]

Anyway she did a rough calculation based on my average and said it would seem my hba1c has come down at least 20 points ( I was 87) though obviously not exact until by next blood test in early September. They said I'm heading in the right direction but want to add to my medication .

I assume the extra medication is because if the guess is right and your a1c has dropped by 20 points, 67 is still too high and would need improvement. So sounds like adding more medication is expected to bring it down further.

 

[Burylancs]

Hi all,
Had a chat with the diabetic nurse on Thursday who had asked me to keep a fortnight of before breakfast and before evening meal readings. I was able to give her a month's worth. Anyway she did a rough calculation based on my average and said it would seem my hba1c has come down at least 20 points ( I was 87) though obviously not exact until by next blood test in early September. They said I'm heading in the right direction but want to add to my medication . I'm on empagliflozin and normally they would increase that but due to having the one kidney will need to look at alternatives.
Though my weight was not an issue since June I've lost 9lb!
Question! How can they give a hba1c reading through by readings?

There are several formulae that seek to convert your bg readings and HbA1c and vice versa.

Before 2010 we measured HbA1cs in %s, such that 6.5% (DCCT units), the diagnostic for T2, was 48 in new money (IFCC units)

In 2010 the EMA of the European Union ruled that all member states should report HbA1cs in IFCC units instead of %s. And being good Europeans we followed suit. It was said to be a better, more accurate, more scientific method anyway. The other advantage cited was that it would stop diabetics believing that the HbA1c was an average of their own bg readings, 5s 6s etc.( a misconception we still see even on this group !).

Of course Brexiteers like Rees-Mogg and Kemi want to make a bonfire of EU regulations. I wonder if they want to return to HbA1cs in %s with 6.5% instead of 48. Hopefully they have never even heard of HbA1cs.