Doctor wants me to come in for A1C blood draw

Do not go period. An a1c can wait for sure.

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I donĀ“t see why not. I still go in every fourth weeks for a blood draw. Where I live they have security at the entrance and only let people in if they donĀ“t have any symptoms.

What tests require that frequency?

I donā€™t believe it is the doctor just trying to drum up business. As far as I know, Medicare requires an A1c be done every three months. I imagine that at some point in the not-too-distant future, Medicare will up its knowledge to allow CGM readings to suffice - but itā€™s a government agency, so who knows how long itā€™ll take for them to change their standards.

6 months, Why in the world would anyone go for a checkup every 3 months?

Iā€™m in Manhattan, the US epicenter of this, so no one is going into any offices unless necessary. I have an appointment with my endocrinologistā€™s PA in May, and checked with the office about the details, whether they wanted me to draw blood, but assumed that the appointment itself would be telemedicine.

The PA is working on patients internally, so another PA responded that since my last A1C was 6.6, they didnā€™t think it necessary to get bloodwork. I can forgo the tests, but they seem to think the only reason to draw blood is for the A1C, but I like to keep an eye on all the other measures, lipid panel, levels of D and B, and kidney function numbers. Prior to this, when I explained my reasoning to the doctor, she approved the full range of tests, but it irks me that they only consider A1C.

For myself, now with a CGM, I know my A1C is 6.6, and although I find talking with the doctor herself rewarding, I donā€™t find the PA useful. I see the doctor in September, and I was tempted to cancel, but even if the PA was not helpful last time, she might have learned something in the interim, so I will be keeping the appointment.

GraveĀ“s. Adjusting meds.

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Because itā€™s required by the insurance company. Otherwise, of course no one would go that often.

I rescheduled to mid June. I will take the test a week earlier. I am using Dexcom Clarity now. I was surprised that it gave me helpful information about my trends. I kind of new but to see it in a graph was nice,

I had blood work done at Quest. Made a early, fasting, appointment. When I got to their office I was the only one in the waiting room. They were following protocol and in 10 minutes I was out of there. Usually there are 10 people in the waiting room.

Upload your meter/CGM/pump , if necessary print it out and mail it to the doctor. They will get more useful data from that than from an A1C. After all, an A1C is just an average. Letā€™s say the goal is an A1C of 5. Of your bgā€™s run 5,5,5, or 4,5,6 your A1C is 5. But it is also 5 if you run 0,5,10.

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there are at home A1C. Search for A1C and see if price is good for you. Not able to use insurance.

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A1C is exactly the type of test that should be rescheduled until things calm down with the virus. Iā€™ve put off all of my labs. None of them are urgent.

I wish I could get my doctor appointments done now. The ā€œflattenedā€ curve is still totally flat with no infections within 200 miles. The shutdown here is causing all kinds of problems for naught ā€“ you canā€™t become infected from tainted air 200 miles away. The risk here is greater later than it is right now.

Iā€™ve said as much several times. Iā€™m not sure where you live, but we live in NYC, so our risk is much, much higher than some more middle America areas. That said, it doesnā€™t take much to change that significantlyā€¦

I have an upcoming endo appointment with my Manhattan endo. It will be a televisit only.
I will do a home A1C the day before. He can see my Dexcom and Loop numbers via Clarity and Tidepool.

No way I am going into the heart of the maelstrom for a routine appointment. (And I donā€™t think they would allow it if I did)

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In order to get insulin supplies, Medicare requires a ā€œface to faceā€ visit every 90 days and for sensor supplies they require it every 180 days. They are allowing the telehealth as ā€œface to faceā€ and, since they are allowing telehealth, they arenā€™t allowing any excuses for not having the check up. Medicare has NO gray area and no excuses, they will not pay for supplies if you exceed their time limit. You check up may have related to thatā€¦???

Definitely not thereā€¦

(Unladylike snort of laughter)ā€¦Look at how long it took for them to allow the use of sensors in the first placeā€¦(I wouldnā€™t hold my breath) Also, Iā€™ve talked to one of the endocrinologists that Medicare has on staff to help make determinations on policies (on a different matter), I wasnā€™t that impressed.

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Baddog40, I understand your concern at this moment in time going in for an A1c test if thatā€™s all it is. I am scheduled to go to the lab as well next week for my 3 month blood work but it is more than checking my A1c. As diabetics we usually get our HDL LDL cholesterol, microalbumin, ketones, Lipid panels etc. It usually is more than just an A1c check as we are susceptible to other underlining issues.

Also I would hope everyone is wearing all appropriate PPEs (Patient & office personnel) upon arrival. Once again if it is an A1c then I understand but it should be more than that, at least in most cases.

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@MOOBM I actually started laughing as soon as I posted the first part of that sentence, which is why I posted the second part. :rofl: