My doc ran an a1c test on me and my result was a level of 5.8, the nurse said he will discuss the result with me at my next appt which is a week and a half away... I was just wondering if any of you with experience with this test can give me some insight? The letter i rec'd from the doc says that 5.6 is normal, but mine arent high enough for medication (that's a relief at least), but didnt really explain what my result means... help please?

a1c is basically a look at blood glucose (sugar) over a period of a month (lil over) most dr's consider 6.1 and above full diabetic. At 5.8 they may class you prediabetic and talk about ways that you can control progression with Diet and Exercise and options that you may have.

thanks jewelie, pre-diabetes is what i am afraid of, considering the family history i have My Dad, Uncle, and Grandma all have (had in the case of granny) type 2 diabetes, while on my mom's side several family members have type 1 diabetes. So i have always known that i am at risk for diabetes, but i'm still kind of in shock that my results were above "normal". If ever i needed a reason to finally give up regular coke for good, i guess this is my wake up call

According to an online calculator an A1C of 5.8 translates to an average blood sugar of 107. I would probably have a party if I had a 5.8, and so would my doctor. My last A1C was a 9.9 (after 2 months on insulin) and the one before that was almost 13 (before insulin). Since diagnosis (1999) I have never had anything below a 7 (and haven't had very many below an 8 or 9). My next A1C test is scheduled for April 13. I'm hoping to be no higher than an 8.

According to an article on My Diabetes Central, the people who set the standards for the A1C test (National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program) say that a normal (non-diabetic) A1C is 4.5-6.0. For diabetics, the American Diabetes Associations sets the goal at 7.0.

I'm pre diabetic. I get 5.8 -- bloog sugar in excellent control.

So... I wouldn't worry about it.

http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org...expansion.html

A.

I agree -- IMO 5.8 is actually a good reading. Most diabetics I know feel that anything under 7.0 is good and normal.

My doctor said I had pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome when I had readings of 6.3 which is what I have now without meds (it usually stays in the 5-6 range esp on days I go for an extra walk in the evening). I took metformin for a few years and just went off it, when my numbers were consistantly in the 5's as the meds made me even more hungry than before. Now that I am off them, I don't have the food cravings like I had back then (only rarely when I haven't eaten enuff). I still have a supply of meds so that if they go up too high, my doctor wants me to start taking them again; so I am keeping a close eye on it.

I think you get differing opinions from different doctors; when my counts went down into the 4's, I felt ill as in light-headed, dizzy, shakey, etc -- not a nice feeling at all. I am using a healthy eating plan and exercise to keep my numbers down now ...

With diabetes and hyperglycemia, you have to remember that the line between normal and abnormal is artificial. The truth is that risk is rising even within the normal range. That doesn't mean that someone who is high normal is necessarily abnormal, for them, but I would caution against advising that "it's nothing."

sorry to scare you.....my dr. told me the numbers when I had mine tested, but it seems to disagree with everyone else. I bet it is nothing to worry about. I just know that mine was the same and they talked to me about diet and being pre-diabetic

This is a wake-up call, a pre-warning that you may be on the road to diabetes and you have a chance ... a chance to nip it in the bud. Not everyone gets that chance so you should do everything in your power to reverse the trend.

First, get a blood glucose meter. Your insurance may pay for it if you're officially "pre-diabetic" but even if you're not, do it anyway. They are cheap.

Then, look at this website called Bloodsugar 101

It gives you all the basics in easy-to-understand form and tells you how and when to test your blood and what the results mean, as well as techniques to keep your blood sugar down.

I tell you all this from my heart because diabetes runs in my family and I had a little scare just like you. I have totally reversed my blood-sugar trend, it is now quite low and my doctor is amazed. Good luck!

Thank you all for your responses. I guess different docs may go on different/outdated charts, as my doc said "anything over 6 classifies you as diabetic" when he ordered the test.. Since i wont be able to discuss this with him personally until my next appointment, i guess i am just freaking out a little.

CJZee, unfortunately I don't have insurance, but i am looking into getting a meter, just for my peace of mind if nothing else. Thank your for the link, lots of helpful info there

Not sure if it's the same in the states (I'm in Canada) but I wouldn't buy a meter. When you purchase strips (usually 100) the meter is free. You have to purchase the strips anyway, so I wouldn't bother paying for the meter. I've seen ads etc. that have coupons that you can print out for a free meter, but when I need a new meter my pharmacist just fills out the card in the box when I get a refill on my strips prescription - no coupon required.

doggirl

I agree with DOGgirl, and I am in Canada too; I didn't have to pay for my meter either ... just ask at your local pharmacy if you can get a free meter when you purchase some testing strips. Tell them that lots of people you know got them free and that might remind them.

Yes, as I said in my post above, you will hear differing opinions from different doctors and nurses on where the line between pre-diabetes ends and full-fledged diabetes starts. YOu can relax now that you know that you are not over the 6-7 mark as your own doctor stated. Mine originally wanted me down into the 3-4 range, but he realized that was too low for me; each person is different too ...

While you can definitely get meters for free, the cost of most testing strips really adds up. They make their money on the testing strips, so they can offer the meters themselves inexpensively.

I ended up getting a WalMart ReliOn meter, because the strips are more affordable than the strips from other meters. I do have insurance, and I could probably get a prescription... but I'm only pre-D at the moment, and am monitoring more to see how various foods affect my bg rather than to see if I need more or less medicine. So if I don't monitor for a couple days, it's no big deal. I don't have prescriptions to worry about. That may come in time, but at this point I don't have to test all the time. I'm in the "information gathering" stage of pre-D.

Hi.. I suddenly got aphasia. I went to the ER and was admitted.. the doc was looking for possible causes for the aphasia. He did an A1C and it was normal 5.5. He ordered finger sticks before meals and some were normal and some were nearing 150. I am also on a steroid inhaler, which may account for some elevated blood sugars.

Anyway, my point is that my doc said I have metabolic syndrome. Can people have a normal A1c and still have metabolic syndrome? That doesn't make sense to me.

Keep in mind that the A1c is an "average" of your blood sugars. If your sugars are regularly elevated, it will show in a high A1c. But if you have high spikes, but then drop down to normal or below, the A1c may "even out" through the averaging. Even so, the high spike after meals can show an early problem with sugar metabolism.

That's why just testing your fasting BG (in the morning, before you eat), or just testing 2 hours after meals, may not be enough for you to figure out what's going on in your body.

It's all about finding out what your own patterns are.

If you test fasting and before meals, and you consistently see high numbers, it usually means that your baseline BG isn't getting back down to normal.

If you test before a meal and 2 hours after, and you start low and 2 hours later are high, this means that your insulin push from eating isn't enough, or that it's enough but isn't being metabolized correctly.

If you test before a meal and it's high, and at 2 hours it's high but only 20 points higher than before the meal, you have to look at the difference between the two. It's not just the second number... but also how high you were before you ate. going from 97 to 140 is different from going from 130 to 140. They show different things.

And, you may want occasionally to test pre-meal and then one hour AND two hour. The one hour test will show you how much your meal is spiking your blood, and the two hour will show you how your body has reacted over time to that spike. If you only test at two hours, you may be spiking really high at one hour but not realize it.

All that being said, do NOT feel like you have to test all the time, unless your doc has told you to. I test fasting most days, because it's one of my "problem areas". Every other day or so, I test before and 2 hours after a meal, to see how my body is reacting over time to food (and I test breakfast one day, dinner another, etc.). And when I try a new food, or I'm trying to see if I can eat a particular problem meal without problems (wishful thinking, usually), I test before, 1-hour, and 2-hour, to see the pattern of how my body reacts to that particular meal.

Just remember that it is the PATTERNS in your blood reaction that you're looking for. From those patterns, your doc can determine whether your main problem is getting your overall sugar down, or spiking from food, or problems with fasting BG.