DIABETICS!!: whats your HBA1c???

tbh

philten wrote: »

Thats the one - they were making changes a bit too easily for my liking without getting the full picture. e.g. looking at last 3 days reading and changing my basal rates up and down, imo need to look back further than that to get a pattern, tried saying this but were not listening!

he was the reason I stopped going to the Mater and started going to Vincents private. My mam still goes to him and swears by him, but he's just to brusque for my liking.

tv3

Got my most recent and its 9.2.The doctor said it should be between 4 and 6.9;)

BC

I attend the mater - not Dr F though!
I find my doc great - very encouraging, very thorough and full of information.

TV3 - 4 sounds very optimistic of your doctor!!

tv3

BC wrote: »

I attend the mater - not Dr F though!
I find my doc great - very encouraging, very thorough and full of information.

TV3 - 4 sounds very optimistic of your doctor!!

Is it???why?

robinph

4 would be a bit low for a "normal" person wouldn't it? Or they'd be very close to that number anyway I think so expecting us to be able to aim to get to that is asking a bit much.

Edit: Seems that an Hba1c of 4 would equate to an average bg reading of 3.3. Feck that for a target, no one should be keeping quite that low:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hba1c

tv3

Yea i agree it is abit hard.What are you told to aim for??

robinph

I've just been told below 7 before, which I think I may have only actually managed twice over the years.

Not sure what my current numbers would be like though, but after they completely forgot about me last year I've just got the letter through for this years checkup next month. I'm just hoping that the marathon training I've been doing is going to have done good things for the numbers rather than bad though as either is possible with the amount of energy gels I've been downing in training recently.

BC

I've always been told below 7 also.

My doc says around 5.8 would basically be considered normal.

Alanstrainor

Aye below 7 is what i "try" to achieve, 4 would be way too low tbh, i mean, to get an average of 4 you must be "low" almost all the time...

SeaSide

DrIndy posted this Link a while back.

Shows the relationship between Blood Glucose level and HbA1c

Caros

Well I'll let ye know what mine are tomorrow, had blood tests done a fortnight ago and was told to phone yesterday for results but in the meantime got a letter TUESDAY evening from dr asking me to make an appointment with her to discuss test results. Phoned yesterday to make said appointment and while I was at it asked for the results but they wouldn't give them to me over the phone, so frankly I'm kinda sh*tting it here till I get to see Dr tomorrow evening.

I'm a type 2 diabetic and I found out last year when I went for a medical for a job, currently on glucopgae tabs and tabs for BP.
Anyways i'll be back tomorrow!

Caros

Yikes 9.9% !!! Dr has me on an extra glucopage tab now daily for the next 8 weeks to see how that goes. So here's hoping...

BTW that link above is great, thanks.

Agnes1975

6,1 %

tv3

What is the best way to get it to the "normal"?

tbh

trial and error - take regular readings so that you know what effects food and exercise have on your body, and do more of the stuff that keeps it low, and less of the stuff that makes it go high. I make it sound so easy, don't I?

tv3

Yes you do ha.Does the diet orange have any effect you reckon??Or the likes of mixed nuts??

robinph

Finally went for my HBA1C test today after missing last years one. I think I'm actually going to get a bit nervous about it this time as I'm really curious to see what effect all my crazy activities over the last while will have on the numbers. There were some activities good for ones health and some bad so it may have all evened itself out though.

robinph

Well it was 8.0 in the end, although that is actually still a slight improvement on last time. They were surprised at my HR of 45 though, so the marathon training did do some good at least.

tbh

HR?

edit: nice one on the 8.0 :)b

robinph

Sorry, the heart rate from the ECG thingy.

There was lots of other numbers that they had about me as well, which they said were all OK, but none of them mean anything to me so the HR was the only one I remembered really.

robinph

I just managed to find a list of most of my Hba1c's going back to '99, although a couple of years seem to be missing from my list. It actually looks like I was managing to keep better numbers of between 6.4-7.2 for several years until the end of 2004. For some reason though since then all of the numbers I have have been around the mid 8's. Not sure what was changed back then now, but wish I'd spotted that trend earlier as they clearly didn't notice that in amongst all my other notes this morning so must be missing something else that was changed then.

Although I'm certainly not the model diabetic, I also wasn't before 2004, so not sure what may have caused that jump in the Hba1c numbers?

tbh

robinph wrote: »

I just managed to find a list of most of my Hba1c's going back to '99, although a couple of years seem to be missing from my list. It actually looks like I was managing to keep better numbers of between 6.4-7.2 for several years until the end of 2004. For some reason though since then all of the numbers I have have been around the mid 8's. Not sure what was changed back then now, but wish I'd spotted that trend earlier as they clearly didn't notice that in amongst all my other notes this morning so must be missing something else that was changed then.

Although I'm certainly not the model diabetic, I also wasn't before 2004, so not sure what may have caused that jump in the Hba1c numbers?

where were you dx'd? Might have been the honeymoon thing

robinph

I thought that honeymoon period was more just within the first few months though, but that was way back in '97 now so cannot remember exactly what was going on then. The numbers came down from an 8.2 in '99 though fairly evenly and then remained at the 6.4-7.2 for most of the next four years before suddenly jumping back up to 8.something and staying about that same point since then.

I could easily get them back down again though if I just behaved myself a bit more so it's more than trying to blame whatever they changed in my regime back then. Would just be curious to know what it was, more just out of interest as to which system fitted in better with my lifestyle I guess. There have been a few changes over the years as to what/ when and how much I've been taking though so remembering what was changed then is a bit beyond me.

He did managed to slightly scare me though when he said there was some very very slight signs of early retinopathy though. He was just saying it was very minor though, but with any luck that will kick me into action a bit more now. Need to keep my eyes in good form so that I can see all the bumps in the snow, and the edge of cliffs, when skiing through fog.

colrow

jagabomb wrote: »

hi just wondering out of curiosity really i suppose, what are your average HBA1c readings?? mine were always about 9ish never went higher than 9.7 and recently they are about 7.9-8ish...
yours please??

My last one was 5.7, and I got told that it was too low, and should be at 7.0, that was the advice from a stupid practise nurse in Scotland, she took me off diamicron, and my bg soon started to climb, i went to see my gp back here in Waterville, and he put me back on it. I'm werkin in Glasgow so I registered at a docs there, I don't trust them over there, except to get my drugs for free, they won't give me any strips tho, cos i'm a type 2 and dont need them!!!

I'm coming off the medical card cos i'm earning now, and I'm just applying for a long term illness book, is that straightforward ?

robinph

Sounds like she had just read some details about 7.0 being the number to aim for, but never realised that instruction was for people starting from a higher number. You should certainly make use of the free prescription meds that you can get being diabetic in the UK though. There was something in the last copy of "Balance", the Diabetes UK mag, that I got sent about different regions trying to restrict which type 2 diabetics that they would give the strips to but I never read much about it.

You should be able to get the test strips in Ireland on the long term illness book though, and any other non-diabetes meds for free in the UK. Not the most honest way of doing things admitedly, but the NI/ PRSI systems are in theory linked together.

colrow

robinph wrote: »

You should be able to get the test strips in Ireland on the long term illness book though, and any other non-diabetes meds for free in the UK. Not the most honest way of doing things admitedly, but the NI/ PRSI systems are in theory linked together.

Yes, I get my test strips here with no problem, I've yet to meet any professionals here or in the uk, that advocate a low carb diet, I have managed to drastically alter my diet, and cut out all the lovely, deadly sweet sticky stuff, and I steer well clear of white flour, that stuff shoots my bg right up, I fall off the regime occaisonly and have a jam donut or apple pie, but not half a dozen at a time. The biggest bug bear is feeling tired all the time, and I have to have vitamin b12 injections every 2 months or I really grind to a halt.

For breakfast I have bacon and eggs or sugar free baked beans, a bananna at break time, some kind of meat beef, ham or prawns and strawberries ofr raspberries for lunch, a bannanna for afternoon break and a normalish dinner, of meat, veg n potatoes or rice for dinner. Thats been keeping my hba1c around 6.2 ish for a couple of years, earlier this year I stared having toast in the morning, with my breakfast, and sneeaking bowls of cornflakes, that put my hba1c upto 7.4 in the summer, since then i've been sticking more or less to the above diet, and i'm getting my bloods tested next week.

On another note I've been on a medical card but thats expired and as i'm working I won't be eligble for another one, I know I have to pay for the gp, but do I have to pay for the blood tests and has anyone got any idea of the cost of them ?

I subscribe to www.diabetes.co.uk its a good site if anyones interested, doesn't follow the stricter official lines of diabetes.org

robinph

You won't have to pay for the visits to the consultant at the hospital or the diabetes nurse at the hospital who will be taking the blood test.

Once you've got the long term illness book then you'll be able to get any diabetes related stuff for free from the chemists. I'm also on asthma drugs as well so have those written into the prescription in the book as well, to save pointless repeat visits to the GP, but don't get those drugs for free in Ireland. Although on occasion the chemists have got confused and forgot to charge me, so I quickly run out the door before they realise.

colrow

robinph wrote: »

, so I quickly run out the door before they realise.

Excellent, you're a man after my own heart. Its nice to get a freebie now and again.

What about when I go for my 3 monthly blood test at the docs, I usually see the nurse here for that, is that free or does it count as a docs visit ?

On a completely different topic, do you know any out of work electronic technicians or test engineers, where I'm working we need more people for 3 or 4 months, good pay and long hours. perhaps thats why I'm so tired I'm doing 12 hour days, lol

have a Good Xmas

robinph

colrow wrote: »

What about when I go for my 3 monthly blood test at the docs, I usually see the nurse here for that, is that free or does it count as a docs visit ?

At the GP's they will probably charge you. Why are you getting the tests done there though?

colrow wrote: »

On a completely different topic, do you know any out of work electronic technicians or test engineers, where I'm working we need more people for 3 or 4 months, good pay and long hours. perhaps thats why I'm so tired I'm doing 12 hour days, lol

I might be interested in any jobs shortly as I'm almost definitely getting redundancy in the middle of January. Currently planning to blow a chunk of the pay out on as much skiing as I can though before I injure myself too badly again.

colrow

robinph wrote: »

At the GP's they will probably charge you. Why are you getting the tests done there though?

I didn't know I could get them done anywhere else, I live about 40 miles from Tralee where the hospital is, and that wastes a whole day going there, I'm just used to getting them done at the docs.