So I mailed off one of those home a1c test kits, and got the result back today.(6 days after I took it, they email it to you) And my a1c has come down,by 0.5%. I used the kit to decide whether or not its even worth my while to keep my endo appt. or whether I should just reschedule for a month from now. Its a standardized chart where under 7=optimal(under 170 average bg) and probably similar to the machine my endo’s office uses. I do not want to go to my endo appt. and have it be the exact same a1c (or worse) then last time. I know what I need to be doing and its not worth my while to be there. (or worth her time!)
What do you all think…is it worth my while? are fingerstick a1cs generally pretty close in range to each other? I want to have progress, before I go in there.
I used one once, and found it was accurate. That was 2 or 3 years ago maybe - not long after they came on the market anyway. I don’t think I would ever use one to replace a lab A1c, but they’re good to check between appointments I think. Like i said, I only used it once though.
Heidi:
I would keep your appointment … at least this one! You and I don’t know how accurate those “finger sticks” are and you should bounce it off your endo before taking it as gospel. And it may be that an arterial draw is needed for an accurate test. Also, it’s not only A1c but the doctor’s observations and queries to you that are needed to keep the disease in check.
So, I would say, my dear, take a good book or magazine and make it worth your while.
Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI
Here are two relevant discussions (that actually seem to offer conflicting advice):
Over the counter A1c
A1c test
I can definitely related to the feeling about going to the endo. I heard many times from my endo that she knows that I know what I need to do and that she can’t help me unless I help myself (she gave the lecture so well…).
But I would still say that it is a good idea to go.
See if you can make some good records of blood sugar records before your endo appoint and see if you can get advice on that? Just an idea…
Heidi:
I am speaking from lots of expirence and love when I say this. I did not see an endo or any doctor for more twenty years. It started with avoiding my endo, mush the same way you propose. It ended with me avoiding doctors at any cost and scared to go back.
When I got back to the doctor twenty plus years later I was a mess. A1C’s messed up, nuropathy, heart disease, on and on. could any of that have been avoided, perhaps. But I will never know. I suggest staying with the doc go ahead to the and tell her to bite you if she gives you a hassle.
Rick Phillips
Unless money’s an issue, I say go. I don’t think the fingerstick a1c is accurate (even the ones in the dr. office).