Care to guess my A1C?

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tylersydney replied on Sat, Sep 19 2009 9:54 PM

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6

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Ron AKA replied on Mon, Sep 28 2009 11:11 PM

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tylersydney:

6

You were very close. I got my result today and it was 6.2. I find that kind of disappointing as formulas to calculate A1C from average BG would suggest more like 5.1. Further I don't really have room to lower BG without getting a lot of lows. I run quite close to the edge as it is.

It does highlight the issue that for the same average BG value the resulting A1C is different from person to person. This Study looked into the relationship. It appears in the graph below, from the study, that for a 99 BG (which I what mine was), the resulting A1C can vary from about 4.9 to 6.3. Unfortunately I seem to come in right at the high end of the range.

This seems to be another good reason for not relying too much on the A1C. If I was to try and force an A1C of 5, I would be into many lows.

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Madman replied on Tue, Sep 29 2009 9:28 AM

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heard an interesting tidbit recently. The more acidic the body, the lower the A1C will be for a given blood sugar level.  Now, that's not to say we should all run out and pump ourselves full of acidifying foods....

I am of the opinion that the higher blood sugars are still doing damage even though they may not be attaching themselves to the hemoglobin molecules.

It might be one explanation for the personal variances in A1c's though.

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Ron AKA replied on Tue, Sep 29 2009 1:47 PM

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Madman:

I am of the opinion that the higher blood sugars are still doing damage even though they may not be attaching themselves to the hemoglobin molecules.

I agree that the real measure is the actual BG's. I probably don't have an over acidic diet. Perhaps I need to get back to eating more grapefruit.

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shortie replied on Thu, Oct 1 2009 9:53 PM

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Acidity....hum......I used to drink a shot glass of very expensive balsamic vinegar every day when I was first diagnosed as diabetic a few years back.  Maybe I best restart that plan?   I do eat a lot of tomatoes and tomato sauce and vinegar based dressings......grapefruit is a no no for me tho because of Lipitor, but oranges also are acidic.....hum.....

shortie

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jen1229 replied on Fri, Oct 2 2009 7:45 AM

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There is another reason for me to resist Lipitor or other statins.  I can't winter without grapefruit.  I bought a bag of apples last week.  I just love the Granny Smith apples.  I'm still waiting for the results of my Blood tests which were taken last week but the woman who runs the tests was on vacation.  Hopefully, they will arrive today or tomorrow. I'm anxious to see what my A1C is.  My meter average is in the 160s.

Have a great weekend everyone. 

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Ron AKA replied on Fri, Oct 2 2009 10:42 AM

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I have never worried too much about the grapefruit and statin thing. It tends to increase the concentration of the statin in the body, so depending on where your cholesterol is, that is not necessarily a bad thing. I take Crestor and there is no warning in the prescribing informaton about it. The Lipitor PI says the effect becomes significant only when you consume more than 40 oz of the juice per day. A half a grapefruit is no where near that of course.

What is interesting is that at least with Crestor race can make a huge difference. A US study found that average statin concentrations in asian people for the same dose were double that of others.

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drLaurie replied on Sat, Oct 3 2009 1:02 AM

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Congrats on your 6.1, Ron.  No matter the disappointment, that's a good a1c.

Looking at your graphs, I sure understand your disappointment with that great number.  While 7 tests a day feels like a lot, I've come to realize the great variations that occur "between" tests.

A few years ago, my CDE suggested that I not only test before/after meals, but also 2hrs and 3hrs after.  With a good a1c, it's typically the case that overnight BG is in a reasonable range and that the "excursion from normal" is the post-prandials. 

Did I understand you right that, for an identical set of BG measurements, individual a1c readings can vary widely?  I didn't realize that and wonder if it simply reflects the period of time that one's BG is at that value.  One person could be at 70 for 12 hours and at  250 for 1 hour; testing once at each level.  Another person could be 70 for 1 hour and 250 for 12 hours and test once at each level.  Those actual BGs are radically different, but the meters would show the same results.

Notice also how a given value can be celebrated or cursed, depending on one's prior expectation.