![]() Likewise, people with sickle cell anemia or thalassemia may not get accurate results from the A1c test. If you are of African, Mediterranean, or Southeast Asian descent, you may have what is called a hemoglobin variant, which can make the A1c test unreliable for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes. You and your doctor will determine the best target range for you. Many people with diabetes aim to keep their blood sugar levels as close to the normal range as possible, which is around 80 milligrams per deciliter before a meal and less than 180 mg per deciliter two hours after a meal. Using a glucose meter is a way to see the effects of the foods you eat, the amount of exercise you do, and the medications you take to manage your blood sugar. ![]() ![]() Your glucose meter will show you how much glucose is in your blood at the moment you prick your finger and sample the drop of blood. What Does My Glucometer Tell Me About Blood Glucose? The normal average range for A1c varies with age and many other factors, but in general, for most otherwise healthy adults, the range is below 5.7 percent, and for people with diabetes it is between 5.7 percent and 7 percent. Your doctor is interested in your A1c, or the amount of glycated hemoglobin in your blood, because it reflects your average blood glucose levels over the past three months. What Does A1c Tell Me About Blood Glucose? Thus, glucose reading on your glucometer of 100 is 100 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of plasma. A gram is equal to the weight of 16 drops of water and a milligram is one-thousandths of a gram. The second way blood sugar levels are measured is in terms of weight per volume. Thus, your HbA1c is a measure of the percentage of these glycated hemoglobin cells in the blood. The more hemoglobin with glucose attached, also called glycated hemoglobin, circulating in your blood, the higher the percentage of these glucose-bound red blood cells. Glucose, which is also used by cells for energy, hitches a ride on the hemoglobin, and with the help of insulin gets into your cells, where it is used for energy or stored. Hemoglobin, abbreviated as Hb, is the part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen to your cells. This measurement is a percentage of hemoglobin that is bound with glucose in your blood. The first way is usually done in a lab and tells your doctor about your HbA1c, or often just referred to as A1c. Why the Two Measures of Blood Sugar?īlood sugar, or glucose, is generally measured in two ways. And if you are like most people, you will wonder how to make sense of all this new information. The doctor will tell you to aim for readings between 80 and 130 before a meal and under 180 after a meal. You will get a glucometer with your first prescription of test strips and fingersticks. If it’s over 6.5 on two or more tests, you likely have type 2 diabetes. If your A1c is over 5.7 but below 6.4, you like have prediabetes. ![]() When your doctor says you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, it’s usually because of your A1c test result. ![]()
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