a1c?

Hi,
I’m Amy and new to diabetes. What is A1C? I spoke to my docs receptionist about my blood test results. She told me my count was 426. And to rule out that this reading wasn’t becasue I just ate a whole angel food cake, there was another result that tested for months back that couldn’t be more than 6, mine was 13.
Is this the test result she spoke of? What do these numbers mean?
Amy:)

The A1C is a test that tells you and your doctor what your bloodsugar has averaged over the past 3 months. As I understand, it needs to be under 7. Keeping it under 7 helps avoid complications. My last one was 6.6. I was pretty happy with that.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
-Dena

Glycosylated (or glycated) hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1c, Hb1c , or HbA1c) is a form of hemoglobin used primarily to identify the average plasma glucose concentration over prolonged periods of time. Its name is sometimes abbreviated to A1C.

Amy,
This test tells what your numbers have basically been for the last 3 months. With a number of 13, it means your average is around 330. You should be around 120 or an A1c of 6

thank you. so basically this test tells me I’ve had diabetes for way more than 3 months and it’s been high all that while, even though the extreme thirst, frequent urination and weight loss was only recent.
thanks,
amy:)

Your A1C is the "average BG for 3 months~ The 426 would have been your actual BG (Blood Glucose) reading at the time. An A1c of 13 for instance means your "average BG for the past 3 months has been about 330… your “target” is below 7 according to the ADA…but once you get the hang of diabetes, 6 or below is even better …but just know this can take time…

thank you so much kristy. you and everyone have been sooo helpful!
Amy:)

Have you been losing weight? and how much recently? Please ask your Dr about LADA “Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults” T1…(essentially, it is “juvenile diabetes in adults”) and try to get tested for this…

i thought the same thing. it sounds more like she’s LADA and not type 2.

yes, i was 159 a week ago im now 142.

amy

Yes…I only wish I had known when I was diagnosed… I just took my Dr.'s word for it… And at first (for about 3 months) I did respond to oral meds and low carb…but after that my bg’s kept getting higher even with the increase of metformin~ one visit to the endo and he said LADA ( first time I ever heard of it) and confirmed it at my last visit with a c-peptide test…It’s sort of my mission now to help people in their 20’s 30’s and 40+'s presenting with normal or below weight to realize they CAN have T1 and NOT T2 just because the Dr. says so…

You are so welcome Amy…learn as much as you can between now and your next Dr appt and be ready to ask him/her lots of questions! (Make a list!) and remember, there are MANY of us here to help you with anything we can!!

Looks like you’ve got some good answers. In case you’re curious where this “3 months” figure comes from, here’s how that works.

A typical red blood cell lives about 3 months before your body replaces it, and all while it’s circulating in your blood stream, the glucose in your blood is sticking to the outside of that cell (sugar is sticky!). When you have blood drawn for an A1C, the lab looks at how much glucose is stuck to the cells, and from that, they can estimate how much glucose was in your blood, on average, over the last 3 months or so.

There are slight variations from one lab to another, and some people’s cells live a longer or shorter time than exactly 3 months, but it’s still a great way to gauge how you’ve been doing. You should also know that just because it’s super high right now doesn’t mean it’s going to take forever to get it down. Once you get started on whatever you’re going to do to manage your condition, it can come down pretty fast. You might consider having another one done in a month or two, just to see how you’re responding to your treatment.

Sorry if this is too much information … I’m going in for new labs on Monday and kind of have A1C on the brain tonight. :slight_smile:

sweetpotater

That’s a good explanation! Best of luck with your labs tomorrow.

hi and thanks,
great explanation. its unbelieveable how much there is to learn. yesterday my count was 323, today 349. It came down so m uch in 3 days and now not at all. what to do?
amy:)

ps how long after i eat something do i test to see how it reacts with me?

great luck with your lab test!!! I’m sure it’ll be very low!!
Amy:)

thank you very much. I know the strips are expensive. I haven’t gotten a script for them yet. I will next time I see my doc. When at the pharmacy I asked if I would get a deal the larger the quantity I buy. Guess how much? $90 for 100 strips!!! I’ll have to wait for my dr to give me the prescription.

thank you so very much.
have a great day, Amy:)

Hi Amy,
You have gotten really good answers and really good explanations. Also what i hope you see as well is that you have gotten a huge family that truly cares about how you are doing and responds to you no matter what the question. I am so very glad you have found us and are here with us.

Yep, $90 or so for 100 strips sounds very familiar. I think my OneTouch Ultra strips the last time I filled them were $95.50 for 100.