I’ll 3rd that! Healthcare and knowing about other’s is the best all the way around!
We use these monthly. I bought 10 from American Diabetes Wholesale, and I used the link from the “resources” tab on TuDiabetes to get a 7% discount. If you get a big pack like I did, overall it’s more expensive, of course, by on a test by test basis, it’s the cheapest way to go. Also, the meter lasts through all 10 test. However, to call it a meter is really overstating it. It does have a LED screen and a small battery, but it’s not the electronics nor the sturdy packaging of a glucose meter.
Well, Another way to not even bother with a A1c , but maybe once a yr?
If you can test at least 6-8x a day and then total it up to get your daily ave.
Use your Test meter’s 7 day & 30 day ave.
Just write it down for each Mon. Morning ( End of the previous 7 days ) and keep a record of each week
Do the same for your 30 day readings
Ave 3 mos? total them all up to get an average
Using the A1c’ chart guides to divide your Ave by to give you the A1c
And you really should highlight all the Hypo’s ( < 70’s) and Hyper’s ( +140’s) you have daily and write down How many you have of each day , for each week, then Month , then qtrly…
You can also get the Equiptment to hook up your Meter to the computer to get a Print out of about the last 90 days and it will also show your Deivation readings as well.
I strive for a 115 meter ave for the 7,14 & 30 days and that keeps me in the 5.5% range
using MDI- Insulin Pens of Novalog and Levimire…
and don’t forget, our meters can be off by upto 20% … Mine is off about 7% per comparing to my lab Tests over a Yr , going in for a Vlood test every qtr…
And It really is important to get a Full Blood make up at least every yr… Not just testing for the A1c’s…along with a Urine test as well.
hope that helps
CVS has a diabetes care program that includes A1c monitoring. The site talks about A1c testing in general and doesn’t specify that they do it, but I remember it was on the brochure they were handing out when they were doing the free testing.
They do A1c but not for free from what I gather from the sit. Here is the link to the page.
http://www.minuteclinic.com/services/healthconditionmonitoring/diabetes/
I don’t have hypos - I am type 2 on Metformin. Plus, since I have no insurance and not much money for strips, I only test 4 times a day now. 6 to 8 times a day I can not afford.
Thanks for the advice but I really can’t see the point of only testing the A1C once a year. The A1C is an average of the previous 3 months. If I do that that I still only get the previous 3 months. Once a year doesn’t tell me anything different. I think the A1C is important esp. if someone forgets to test or can’t always afford a zillion strips.
I have no insurance/no job/no money - I can’t afford a meter that will give me a print out! I have cheapie basic Walmart Relion - not a super meter.
True, Duck. Thanks! And sometimes I miss a test or I forget to test after the 2 hours sometimes so how does that help me with doing the averages manually than right?. And I can’t afford to test like before and after I exercise and all the other times people who have insurance and access to the best meters and strips can test.
So that is why I think the A1C is very helpful. Plus, it is a nice way to keep yourself in tune to what you are doing. I think the advice of only testing once a year is not good advice in my opinion. Not to mention I suck at Math! 
Hi FHS,
Yes, I already mentioned earlier in the thread that I went to that and I asked the nurse if they would be having it again and she said she didn’t know and it is was not part of their regular services.
Thanks!
That is expensive! I just need my A1C done - not all that! The Walmart send in test is only 9$.
There may be a reagent in the meter itself that only is good for the 2 tests. ???
I haven’t tried it yet but do plan to. I want to buy one so I can see where I am at and report it to my dr so i can get on that pump sooner! I do know that walgreens carry the A1C test. I’ve seen it at another drug store too. I wished they come out free. I would love to check it at home and not deal with insurance crap in paying for it.
Yeah, I went in for the one time free test as well. I thought you were asking about regular A1c testing through CVS, free or otherwise.
At the time I asked if they did microalbuminuria testing and the nurse handed me the brochure for the comprehensive diabetes care program which includes A1C testing. It’s confusing, but it looks like all the details are on the Minuteclinic site, not the CVS site.
I’m still not sure if you can just go to CVS/Minuteclinic and pay for a single A1c test without having to sign up for the entire care program. Since they use the A1c Now kit anyway, might as well just buy the kit and DIY.
Yes, Crystal posted the MinuteClinic blood test on here. It is $69 and up - it includes a bunch of stuff that I probably only need to get tested once a year. I just had a full blood done about six months ago at diagnosis so right now - since things are going good for me - I just need the single A1C.
Right now, the cheapest option is a Walmart one that you mail in. It is only $9 for one test. So I think I will be doing this for now - until I can afford otherwise. Even if I could afford it - it still seem like a waste to me to buy a testing meters that only works two times. That seems a bit ridiculous. I have a a beef on much waste that produces.
My experience , July 2010 : A chain pharmacy opened up in my town and offered the Bayer A1C test ( no charge ) …I took advantage of the promo , 3 days before I went to the Lab for the test .Result : 6.5 at the Pharmacy , 6.9 at the Lab. I recall the Pharmacist saying, there can be a variance ( of 15 percent ??) …he was not too far off.
Yeah, I don’t know. I was hoping someone on here who using them could tell us if they can tell by looking at the thing. When I got the free one done at CVS and the nurse used it, it looked similar to our everyday BG tests and strips sort of deal. It just took longer to process… But I can’t remember for sure. I couldn’t open the package to look.
Ok, so I bought the A1C test from Walmart.
It is strange sort of test. You have to put drops of blood on this carboard thingy and let it dry and than you mail it in. You can get your results by email. Of course I couldn’t get my drops to fall down so place them on the paper.
I hope I did it right. Ugh, it has those dinosaur lanclets that make you bleed like a stuck pig. So, now i have two bandages on. (one on the wrong hand because I didn’t know how the stupid lancelet worked and stuck myself by accident! LOL!)
Kinda of not very sure of how they can get my A1C off of a cardboard thingy with blood on it but we shall we. The instructions don’t say how to set the card part up and you kinda of had to guess. And the envelope to mail it in is thin - what if it gets wet in the mail?
My last A1C was 4.9 and my numbers have been pretty much the same as far as I know (although I did reduce my tests to save on strips). So I expecting around the same number. If it is WAY off, I will know the test is wrong.
I think this might be the same test Rod did… I got it free from joining DLife. It took a while, but it seems to have worked… he did get his result back… it was 7.1 or something. I wondered the same things as you did… and I had to keep squeezing his finger to get blood on the dot, and actually, I skipped their lancet thing and used his own lancing device, just on a deeper setting. lol He was chicken and didn’t wanna stab himself with just the lancet they sent. To this day, the lancet is in my pile of lancets… Unused. lol
LOL!
Yeah, these lancets really make you bleed - like the ones the nurses use. They want the blood to “flow freely” so you can drip all over the place.