Newby question - HbA1c and BG meters?

[bobby1949]

I would like to know how reliable these meters are. I have had diabetes for about 10 years and still cannot get to grips with it.After my last blood test it was remarked my hba1c was high. I asked the doctor how to relate the hba1c to readings on my meter. The doctor did not know. Which left me confused. I now suffer high readings and am worried. Due to lockdown it is hard to see a doctor. I am on 90mg of glicsocide every day.

 

[Drummer]

I would like to know how reliable these meters are. I have had diabetes for about 10 years and still cannot get to grips with it.After my last blood test it was remarked my hba1c was high. I asked the doctor how to relate the hba1c to readings on my meter. The doctor did not know. Which left me confused. I now suffer high readings and am worried. Due to lockdown it is hard to see a doctor. I am on 90mg of glicsocide every day.

Hello Bobby. When you see high numbers after eating - what do you do?
To get lower numbers most people assess their carb intake from the food and reduce it by having smaller portions or swapping to a lower carb food. You only need to count the carbs - as you are on gliclazide you can't do a really low carb diet as that puts you in danger of hypos, but if you are consistently high then lowering carbs should help.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I asked the doctor how to relate the hba1c to readings on my meter. The doctor did not know. Which left me confused.

Welcome to the forum @bobby1949

I have split your question into its own thread so that you get more tailored responses.

The results from your BG meter are related to your HbA1c, but there isn’t a direct relationship or a simple mathematical way to convert one to the other.

HbA1c measures how many red blood cells have been affected by glucose in the bloodstream. The more glucose you have in your bloodstream the more red blood cells will be affected, so the higher your HbA1c. Since red blood cells last for around 120 days, HbA1c gives a way to assess general glucose concentrations over the last 3-4 months

Fingerstick BG gives you a snapshot of one moment in time, and is very responsive, so is great for showing reactions to particular foods and meals, but unless you check very regularly to catch all glucose variations, including overnight, the average BG of fingerstick results may not truly reflect the distribution and duration spent at different BG levels.

There are approximate conversion formulae which can estimate a likely HbA1c from averaged BG results, but these are only estimates and were generally retro-fitted from pairs of average BG and A1c results to give the ‘best fit’.

Not sure if that helps?

 

[Docb]

Hi bobby1949. Just too add to ED&D's post. One thing you can do is to work out an average of the blood glucose readings that you are getting from your meter. I am assuming that it is a meter given to you by your GP because you are taking gliclazide.

This is only a rough guide, but if your average is below eight, then it is likely that your HbA1c will be below 48. If the average is into double figures, then it is likely that your HbA1c is above 48. As I say, it is only a rough guide but it will give you some indication of whether your concerns are justified.

What sort of numbers have you been getting?

 

[trophywench]

@bobby1949 - have a read of this https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html - it should help!