I am glad there is an A1c to test our blood sugar over a 3 month period. I know I have been having a hard time controling my blood sugar since January when I could no longer take Byetta (read my share post).
In September I was 5.0% and then I started rejectecting the Byetta for some reason and in December it went up to 5.4& which was still great but I had to come off of Byetta and today my lab report is 6.5% which is up not where I want it. I am on 1,000mg Metformin 2x a day and 5mg Glipide ER once a day. If I don't do regular Glipizide my Blood Sugar will shoot up was 400 this past week. I have never been there before. So the lows and the highs blend to give us a A1c and I believe our Blood Sugar testing mead a lot too! I am not able to eat many carbs at all!
Real-life experience:
FBG of 138, and 3 months later, 131.
A1c 4.8.
If my doctor had relied on A1c to diagnose and treat me, I might not have been diagnosed until complications set in -- for years, my A1cs were below 6.5, and my fasting BGs were in the high 100's.Fortunately, I WAS treated -- went onto insulin after the sulfs didn't work, and as a result, I'm now 19 years into diabetes with no complications.
My conclusion is that I'm a low glycator -- I went into a diabetic coma a couple of months ago and my doctor didn't twig to the idea that an A1c of 10.1 and a month later 10.7 were life-threateningly high for me. I know that other people have had A1cs higher than that with no serious immediate consequences.
You can draw all the conclusions you want from statistical studies, but sometimes the hoofbeats you hear ARE zebras!!!
Natalie ._c-
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The problem with the A1C test being used as a diagnostic tool is that if the person has just developed diabetes then the A1C will not reflect this. Also if the person has high and low blood sugars the A1C will not reveal the diagnosis either. Many doctors only use the A1C and do not take into account any other numbers such as blood glucose tests done by the patient. I have read of people having blood sugars above 200 and the doctor still will not diagnose them because the A1C is below 6. This needs to change. One must not rely solely on the a1c for diagnosis but must take other things into account.
My last 3 A1C tests measured in the 5.0 - 5.3 range. However, I definitely have Diabetes type 2.. the measurements I take with my meter indicate that I have blood glucose in the 200 range after eating and then it often drops to 40 - 60 - thereby giving an A1C in the 5. range...My endocrinologist at the University clinic where I live has given me acerbose and is exploring the possibility of nesidioblastosis - insulin over producing islets in my pancreas.