My Type 2 Diabetic Life: A1C – So many things I never knew.

REPOST from former blog My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

January 23, 2020

I’ve heard the term, but when diagnosed, had no earthly idea what A1C meant, nor how it affected your body, and no medical personnel had ever bothered to even give me a pamphlet explaining it.  I wish I had known, because maybe then it would have made the possibility of diabetes more realistic to me.  A simple blood test was all it took to change everything in my life.  

Along with my diagnosis came the knowledge that my A1C was 8.1.  This had no meaning 

whatsoever to me, so I had to start educating myself.  I starting reading, and found that as your blood circulates through your body, glucose sticks to the blood cells.  The higher the number, the more sugar that is stuck to your blood cells.  “Eating well” for one day or one week, or even one month, before going to have bloodwork is not going to change your A1C, because the glucose (aka sugar) doesn’t drop off of the blood cells for THREE MONTHS!  Holy cow!  So there’s no way of faking my way out of that one. My new endocrinologist doesn’t even want me to fast before my bloodwork. 😲 That way she gets the TRUE picture.  

Here’s a simple animation that I found when trying to find information.  It helped me to understand a little more about what exactly is A1C.

Video Credit:  Vanderbilt University Medical School student, Halleck C

Every cupcake, cookie, hamburger (bun), chicken sandwich, M&M, candy bar, soda, enchilada, tamale, baked potato, you name it – it was sticking with me. It was more than just a “stick to your ribs” kind of thing.  It was “stick to your blood cells I’m gonna tattle on you” thing.  

As I read, I began to understand that not just refined sugar, but anything that was high in carbohydrates was turning into sugar and sticking to my blood cells.  The more I thought about it, the more it actually became disgusting.  

I think I read every single page and link on the American Diabetes Association web page.  I got a much better understanding of A1C from reading their explanation.  The ADA defines A1C “as the estimated average glucose” level in your bloodstream over a three month period – which is called eAG.  It’s kind of scary to read that when we are testing our blood sugar in the morning, and right before meals, that those readings are actually likely lower than what my level really is – so my meter is really like a momentary snapshot, but the A1C is the bigger picture.  

You can learn more by clicking here:  American Diabetes Association 

If you know your A1C, here’s a calculator that will convert your A1C to eAG: American Diabetes Association A1C to eAG calculator

I’m still learning, and have found some confusing information on the ADA website – but it’s what most doctors go by right now.  One page of the ADA website says that the recommendation for A1C is 7% or below.  But another page says if your A1C is 6.5% or higher, you are diabetic.  I’m not sure which one it is, but my goal is to get to 5%, if I can get my body to cooperate.  

I did find some additional information on the National Institute of Health that said if diabetics can keep their A1C at 7% or below, there would be less complications.  You can read about that here:  National Institute of Health – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

I realize this post seems like a science class lecture, but this is exactly what I needed to learn, in order to understand why I need to cut out refined sugars, and scale way back on carbohydrates, which turn into sugar in the bloodstream. 

I hope some of this is helpful to someone.

Thanks for reading my story. If you’ve got a question or want to comment with additional helpful information, please use the comments section.

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