Friday, August 24, 2007

Blood tests & diabetics

       Because diabetes has many symptoms, it can sometimes be confused with other diseases and conditions. In fact, some people have no symptoms until the disease has caused a lot of damage to their bodies. Fortunately simple blood tests reveal diabetes.
       The most common test is a blood glucose test. It shows your blood sugar at the time it is taken. In this test, blood is drawn and tested before or after a meal. (Usually this test is a fasting glucose test, where you fast for six hours or overnight before your blood is drawn.) Since your blood sugar can vary a lot over the course of the day, this is not a definitive test for diabetes. But it alerts the doctor that diabetes may exist, and further testing is needed.
       If your blood glucose showed an abnormally high or low blood sugar level, a second test is needed. This test is called a A1C. An A1C (also known as glycated hemoglobin or HbA1c) test gives a picture of your average blood glucose for the past two to three months. In some ways, the A1C test is like a baseball player’s season batting average. Both A1C and the batting average tell you about a person’s overall success. Neither a single day’s blood test results nor a single game’s batting record gives the same big picture.
       An A1C test works like this: Hemoglobin is found inside red blood cells. Its job is to carry oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of the body. Hemoglobin, like all proteins, links up with sugars such as glucose.
       When you have uncontrolled diabetes, you have too much sugar in your bloodstream. This extra glucose enters your red blood cells and links up (or glycates) with molecules of hemoglobin. The more excess glucose in your blood, the more hemoglobin gets glycated. It is possible to measure the percentage of A1C or glycated hemoglobin in your blood.
       Let’s suppose your blood sugar was high last week so more glucose linked (glycated) with your hemoglobin. This week, your blood sugar is back down. Still, your red blood cells carry the “memory” of last week’s high blood glucose in the form of more A1C.
       Your level of A1C changes as old red blood cells in your body die and new red blood cells (with fresh non-glycated hemoglobin) replace them. The amount of A1C in your blood reflects blood sugar amounts for the past 120 days, or the average lifespan of a red blood cell.
       In a person who does not have diabetes, about five percent of all hemoglobin is glycated. For someone with uncontrolled diabetes, the A1C level is higher than normal. How high the A1C level rises depends on what the average blood glucose level was during the past weeks and months.
       For someone who is not a diabetic, the level of A1C (glycated hemoglobin) is normally between four and six percent. When a person is a diabetic, the A1C may be eight percent or higher. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetics are considered to have their diabetes under control when their A1C is seven percent or below.
       My last A1C result was 7.2%, which is a drop from my first test when my A1C was a whopping and deadly 8.4%. This means I’m slowly getting my diabetes under control. We’ll talk about how I’m doing it and what treatments exist for diabetics in the next article.

Read previous articles on the Symptoms of Diabetes and What is Diabetes.

For individual health care questions, consult your doctor. For more information about diabetes, visit the website for the American Diabetes Association.
 
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7 comments:

Trixie said...

Tech, I've learned much more from you than I ever have from my doctor. He pronounced me "diabetic" based on two blood glucose tests. He never did an A1C test on me. I had never even heard of that test until other diabetic patients started talking about what their A1C levels were. You're the only one who has ever explained what that means. Thanks for helping me understand!

Michelle said...

I am glad yours is getting under control. What an awesome score Tech!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your drop! I know changing your lifestyle isn't easy, so I know it must be gratifying for you to see progress.

The A1C test is very useful but keep in mind, too, if you have sickle cell, iron deficiency, anemia or you're a "brittle" diabetic, it can result in false readings.

I found this cool website, too, where you can send them your test results on anything and they'll help you interpret them. For free.

http://www.ascls.org/labtesting/qform.asp

Crystal

Anonymous said...

Good for you getting your number down! :)

Are you seeing a dietician to help you with combining the diabetic diet with weight loss?

AK Huckeby said...

Way to go on the A1C! I attended a class at the hospital and learned about medication, foods, and how diabetes affects the body, but it's one thing having the knowledge, and quite another to put it into practice. I'm working on mine (and need to shed a few pounds too - like 80!). I'm scheduled for a test in a few weeks - we'll see what happens (I'm sure I'll blog about it). The doc has had me on Metformin and Glyburide for about two months and my average on the meeter is around 90! I'm hopeful for a good A1C this go around...I was well over 8% at my last test. Taking the medicine is great and it seems to be working, but a change in diet and meaningful exercise would go a long way for me. Can't wait to hear how you're doing yours...looking forward to the next post!

Anonymous said...

I can tell you Tech has been diligent in his testing and watching his carb count, which isn't easy with the IBS and its own diet needs and restrictions. Sometimes the DM and IBS contradict each other. He has done a ton of research and reading of materials. The hospital's diabetic classes were helpful to get him started in the right direction. Tech is very motivated to get this under control, but the change in lifestyle has been hard.
It is good he has support of all his friends here.

SBB said...

Thank you, Trixie. I'm glad it was helpful.

Thanks, Michelle.

Thanks for the info, Crystal.

Yes, I saw one at the hospital, FF. She gave me several meal plans and cooking suggestions.

It sounds like you're on your way to control, Adam. I bet your next A1C will show a great drop.