:grouphug: Sorry for your struggles. Dh just got his level under 7. I missed if she was given any meds for this or not, but that can help. I found the below article helpful when dh kept talking about this test. 20 seems really high, I think a talk with the doctor is order would schedule asap! :grouphug:
Sorry the chart didn't copy over...will have to follow link to see it!
http://www.medicinenet.com/hemoglobin_a1c_test/article.htm
What is a hemoglobin A1c (A1c)?
To explain what an A1c is, think in simple terms. Sugar sticks, and when it's around for a long time, it's harder to get it off. In the body, sugar sticks too, particularly to proteins. The red blood cells that circulate in the body live for about three months before they die. When sugar sticks to these cells, it gives us an idea of how much sugar has been around for the preceding three months. In most labs, the normal range is 4-5.9 %. In poorly controlled diabetes, its 8.0% or above, and in well controlled patients it's less than 7.0%. The benefits of measuring A1c is that is gives a more reasonable view of what's happening over the course of time (3 months), and the value does not bounce as much as finger stick blood sugar measurements.
There is a correlation between A1c levels and average blood sugar levels as follows: CHART SHOULD BE HERE!
While there are no guidelines to use A1c as a screening tool, it gives a physician a good idea that someone is diabetic if the value is elevated. Right now, it is used as a standard tool to determine blood sugar control in patients known to have diabetes.
A1c(%)Mean blood sugar (mg/dl)6135717082059240102751131012345
The American Diabetes Association currently recommends an A1c goal of less than 7.0%, while other groups such as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommend a goal of less than 6.5%. Of interest, studies have shown that there is a 10% decrease in relative risk for every 1% eduction in A1c. So, if a patients starts off with an A1c of 10.7 and drops to 8.2, though there are not yet at goal, they have managed to decrease their risk of microvascular complications by about 20%. The closer to normal the A1c, the lower the absolute risk for microvascular complications.