A1C level 5.5?

[Dianne-TX]

The range goes to 5.6, so isn't 5.5 high? Should I look into this further, treat myself like a pre-diabetic? This is all new to me.

[Tigger]

Depending on where you look, usually under 6 is normal. Some labs have the normal range as high as 6.2, others as low as 5.6. At 5.5 you're fine, you're not pre-diabetic and are not having blood sugar excursions to worry about. If you want to be sure, check again in three months, it'll likely be the same, a 1/10th higher or lower. It's a three month look at the glycated (sugared) hemoglobin in your blood, an indication if you have high's you're unaware of. Like I said, at 5.5, you're normal.

[Dianne-TX]

Depending on where you look, usually under 6 is normal. Some labs have the normal range as high as 6.2, others as low as 5.6. At 5.5 you're fine, you're not pre-diabetic and are not having blood sugar excursions to worry about. If you want to be sure, check again in three months, it'll likely be the same, a 1/10th higher or lower. It's a three month look at the glycated (sugared) hemoglobin in your blood, an indication if you have high's you're unaware of. Like I said, at 5.5, you're normal.

 

Thanks. I've also had persistent levels of swelling in one foot (sometimes real puffy, other times less, but never normal) and now the other is following suit. I've had lots of things checked and I'm normal for the obvious (negative lupus, RA factors normal, u/s showed circulation was good, thyroid panel normal, kidney function normal, cholesterol normal, blood pressure good). The a1c was mentioned and I saw that it was on the high end of normal, so I was thinking maybe I was headed towards diabetes. It is more and more of a wake up call to exercise daily and lose weight.

[Tigger]

Thanks. I've also had persistent levels of swelling in one foot (sometimes real puffy, other times less, but never normal) and now the other is following suit. I've had lots of things checked and I'm normal for the obvious (negative lupus, RA factors normal, u/s showed circulation was good, thyroid panel normal, kidney function normal, cholesterol normal, blood pressure good). The a1c was mentioned and I saw that it was on the high end of normal, so I was thinking maybe I was headed towards diabetes. It is more and more of a wake up call to exercise daily and lose weight.

 

Does the swelling have redness or reddish splotches on your ankles or around the area? capillaries that are breaking and leaking under the skin?

[Dianne-TX]

Does the swelling have redness or reddish splotches on your ankles or around the area? capillaries that are breaking and leaking under the skin?

 

I don't think so. There have been times when I thought I noticed red splotches or circles in various spots, but it doesn't stay that way. I see spider veins, I think.

[happyhomemaker25]

My very strict OB, who insisted I have complete control over my diabetes when I was pregnant was thrilled when my A1C came back at 6. I'm thinking yours is fine. Of course I am a full blown Type 2 Diabetic so I'm not sure if that changes things.

[Halftime Hope]

A post from a low-carbing forum that I like:

HbA1c values are in units of % hemoglobin in the blood that has glucose attached. Glucose in blood plasma, using the non-US units, is mmol, which stands for milliMolar and means millimole of glucose per liter of blood plasma; this is the free glucose molecule that is NOT attached to hemoglobin. These units are very different. Unfortunately, confusion arises because the magnitudes of these numerical values are similar, although they are definitely not the same.

 

To convert a mmol value of glucose in blood plasma to the US units of mg/dl (milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood plasma), multiply by 18.

 

To convert a HbA1c value to blood plasma glucose in mg/dl, the conversion formula is:

 

Plasma Blood Glucose = (HbA1c * 35.6) - 77.3

 

An easier way to do this is to use conversion tables such as the one at:

 

http://www.geocities.com/diabeteschart/bloodsugarchart.html

 

This site also includes other pages that discuss HbA1c and glucose in blood plasma measurements.

 

Here's a link to another webpage on this:

 

http://diabetes.about.com/library/blforms/blA1ccalc.htm

 

BTW, diabetes.about.com also links to numerous informative pages on blood sugar tests.

[Halftime Hope]

The range goes to 5.6, so isn't 5.5 high? Should I look into this further, treat myself like a pre-diabetic? This is all new to me.

 

I sure would. See my other post. An A1c of 5.5 equates to an avg BG of 118. That's high enough to do damage to your body.

 

I'd eat like I was a pre-diabetic, see if I could give my pancreas a break, and let it heal itself.

 

I have no idea whether that is connected to the swelling.

 

I was really angry when our family doc looked labs showing an A1c of 5.9 and called it normal. Not.

Edited September 20, 2011 by Valerie(TX)

[happyhomemaker25]

I sure would. See my other post. An A1c of 5.5 equates to an avg BG of 118. That's high enough to do damage to your body.

 

I'd eat like I was a pre-diabetic, see if I could give my pancreas a break, and let it heal itself.

 

I have no idea whether that is connected to the swelling.

 

I was really angry when our family doc looked labs showing an A1c of 5.9 and called it normal. Not.

 

Really? It was my understanding that anything under 130 was ok. I eat very low carb and am on insulin and my BG is always in the 1teens. My fastings are usually below 100.

[Halftime Hope]

Really? It was my understanding that anything under 130 was ok. I eat very low carb and am on insulin and my BG is always in the 1teens. My fastings are usually below 100.

 

 

https://www.aace.com/sites/default/files/dccwhitepaper.pdf Scan this for good information. Their target levels are higher than you would expect considering some of the studies they quote. (I had it all written out in a nice post and lsot it. Ugghh!)

 

Another great resource is Dr. Richard Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. Calvin Ezrin, M. D. is another author I found helpful, but I don't know if he has any more current books out than the ones I read 15 years ago.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I'm pretty sure that I've read that HBA1C isn't accurate for patients with any level of anemia. If you really want to be sure, I would buy a cheap glucose meter and the Delica One Touch lancet (it doesn't really hurt) and test your glucose 1 hour and 2 hours after several different meals.

 

My dad was diagnosed as diabetic last year, although looking back, he thinks he's been diabetic for at least ten years. My fasting glucose and HbA1C are normal, yet my glucose levels go up too high after eating non low-carb meals. In fact, by testing occasionally, I've found that even a post-prandial (after a meal) glucose level of 130 in me makes me feel tired.

 

My goal is to eat in such a way that it stays below 100 all the time. Most doctors would say this is too extreme, but that's what I need to do to not feel so tired all the time.

 

I second Dr. Berstein's book. He gives good explanations of why the "officially normal" glucose levels are still harmful to people.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Oh, I also heard on a podcast once that for women, the pattern is usually for post-prandial glucose levels to go up long before fasting blood sugar shows up as too high. If this is true, that means that many people are damaging their bodies long before the doctor catches it.

[Dianne-TX]

Thanks for the responses. Interesting info. I'll have to read it in more depth later. I went to my health food store yesterday, primarily for my swelling feet. I've been going to this particular store for a few years because the lady there is SO knowledgeable and has been right on with her recommendations. As I was talking to her, my history with PCOS came up and she said that it could be going into Syndrome X and to check my a1c levels. I had a large blood panel done last month and looked at it and the a1c level was on there. I hadn't noticed it before and the dr.'s never mentioned anything about it either. In all this time of swelling and other symptoms, I hadn't thought about my PCOS because I haven't been bothered with the obvious symptoms of it. So, anyway, I was reminded that I do have that and with things popping up I really need to get back to treating myself the way I should. Diet (low carb, low salt, no sugar, high protein, lots of greens/veggies), exercise and supplements. Diet started yesterday and exercise will start today. I'm thrilled, too, that my swelling is gone in my feet! I got a natural supplement that acts like a diruetic and it worked overnight! I haven't seen veins in my left foot in 3 months! I think the diet change in just one day might have helped, too. I was having carbs and sugar and salt too much and I knew it, but just was overwhelmed with everything I didn't care. I would "limit" them, but wasn't consistent about it. I have to stop being stubborn and start acting like I am managing health issues instead of acting like I'm not.