How often do you have the A1C test done? I saw a new GP last week and she had the A1C done. When the results came back in the mail, she had written “re-check in 6 months”. I called her office to ask for clarification, and sure enough…she says that I only need it done every 6 months. Is this something new that I’ve overlooked until now? I feel a bit uneasy going for 6 months w/o having it done. Am I losing my marbles??
Mine’s been every quarter ever since diagnosed 6 years ago. I’d feel “uneasy” too if my endo said 6 months.
I get mine done every 4-5 months, b/c that’s how often I schedule my endo visits currently. A few years ago before I moved to where I am now living, my endo at the time would only see me every 6-7 months (he was crazy good, and had a very packed schedule…so visits had to be scheduled about 7 months out b/c he was booked through then), and that’s as often as I’d get an A1c done.
I think if you’re at target level, as long as you’re not having any major issues, then no worries. If you’d like it more often than that, I’d bring this up to your endo. If she doesn’t budge, you could either 1) get a new endo who agrees with having an A1c run more often or 2) purchase an “at home” kit from the pharmacy and run it yourself, between visits to the endo.
Once a year. My A1C is very predictable.
Mine gets done every three months. It’s an average of 2-3 months of sugars so if you go longer than that then you’re missing data.
Hmm…interesting. I go every 3 months…
The average lifespan of a human red blood cell is 100-120 days. But again that’s an average (so some will be much shorter, and some will be longer). A1c measures the amount of glycated hemoglobin associated w/ those RBCs, but the A1c accuracy may actually be heavily weighted more towards the short end of 2-4 weeks (according to some researchers) as upposed to the 3 month end of the spectrum.
So depending on your body’s way of processing RBCs (and how often they get phagocytosed and new ones are made), the A1c may or may not represent “3 months” of data.
I don’t know if there’s a way to test for your body’s specific RBC lifespan (outside my realm of understanding at this point), but if you want the ‘most accurate’ accounting of your A1c, check it every month (so you don’t miss anything)…for me that seems a little overkill 
Especially if you’re logging nearly all of your BGs in your PDM (whether through testing w/ the built in meter or through manually entering those numbers when you use other meters)…it’s going to give you your BG average, and it seems like you could also pick up on trends (for example if your numbers are consistently running low for a week, or are running high for a week). But again you’ve got to go with whatever you are comfortable with…
Every 6-9 months months for me. Has been every 3 since last June when I got the pod, but my last one was last month and my next one is in August so back to my old schedule. I get them done through my family doc. Havent seen an endo in probably 15 years.
I see and endo now and they are done approximately every 3 months. Previously I saw a GP and I cannot remember how oftem she had them done. I have good insurance coverage, so every three months is not a financial hardship, plus I am very labile, so more frequently is better.
Was the a1c number good? I’ve been on an every 6 month schedule for years. I think if you are stable then why go more often?
Every quarter. That’s how often I see my endo.
I have one every 3 months as I see the endo this often. Plus see my GP every 3 months, eye doc every 6 months and foot doctor every 6 months & dentist every 4 months.