Hey everyone here at Power Surge!
I recently went to Womens College Hospital in Toronto and had a whole range of bloodwork and tests done
and everything seems well and within a normal range.
There is this one test.....GLYCATED HAEMOGLOBIN....came back...slightly out of range..and said to
contact my Dr. for retesting/Orally.
My question is this.....has anyone had this test done.....I guess it tests your glucose levels for 3 months.
When I had the blood sugar test done that morning it was normal.
Im worried that Im becoming a diabetic.....Please give me some feedback if you can. Thanks...Debbie

Hi Debbie,
Please, post your fasting blood sugar and Hb1C (glycated hemoglobin) numbers. Different labs show slightly different ranges on Hb1C but ASAIK normal range is <6% for non-diabetics, however, some drs strongly recoomend to keep at <5.5%. The Hb1C is measurement of the amount of glucosylation of the red blood cells (hence the hemoglobin), and since they live on average 8-12 weeks, it's done every 3 months. By itself, this test is not a diagnostic tool for diabetes but rather used for blood sugar control. It depends of 2 factos: blood sugar spike after a meal and duration of spike, and if Hb1C is creeping up, it can only mean that your blood sugar spikes high after a meal and doesn't come down fast as it should. There are ppl who are not diabetics yet (pre-diabetics) and still have higher than normal Hb1C, or other folks who's fasting is in diabetic range but have normal Hb1C (myself including). So, again it's a tool to see how aa diabetic person controls it's blood sugar, especially those who don't use medications or insulin and don't test BGs few times a day.
Your doctor should order 3 hours glucose tolerance test (GTT) and I would recommend with insulin, this will give you an ultimate picture of what is going on. It's not a big deal, they draw blood and on fasting and then giv you standard glucose solution (75g or so) and then measure bblood sugar and insulin in 30-minute increments (could be less or more).
HTH,
Dina

Hi Dina! Thank you so much for providing me with the information on the HbAI test! I checked the range for me and it was 0.063%...my random glucose was 5.3....(that wasnt fasting) and either was this Hb test after fasting.
With my Mom and brother being type 2 diabetics...and Im overweight....I worried about this.
So..it doesnt necessarily mean Im a diabetic...but I could be a target for it ?
Ive recently started eating properly since New Years..and Im trying to walk each day...Ive led a sedentary lifestyle and its showing. Its time for some changes.
Dina...do you think the 0.063 HbAI test is fairly high? Thanks...Debbie

Hi Debbie,
Well you are aobviously not in US since your random BGs is in metric units(mol/dl), and equals 95mg/dL in US units. This is normal for random (non fasting glucose) and can range from 4-7 mol-dL or 70-120mg/dL. As for Hb1C, I doubt that this 0.063% is correct, it should be 6.3%, and is normal to have it 4-6% but better kept below or around 5% to be safe. Since HB1C indicates average blood sugar over 3 months, it can be done any time of the day and even after a meal. But to be Dx with diabetes, you need a 12-hours fasting glucose test or better GTT with insulin. With Hb1C of 6.3%, there is a good chance you may be pre-diabetic , I don't want to scare you BUT I have diabetes and my random BGs can be as low as 75 mg/dL and I never had Hb1C >5.8% even when Dx I was 5.7%, currently it is 5.2%. But my 12-hours fasting BGs runs around diabetic range of 126 (7mol) and if I am not careful with my carbs, I can spike up higher right after a meal. But normally I watch my carbs intake and I am not on any medications, so my overall control is very good. Still, I test my BGs 3-4 times a day: fasting and after each meal, now less since I eat the same food but before, I tested 6-8 times after every bite. This is how I determined which food affects my BGs the most.
My mom developed diabetes later in her life but was probably all her life Insulin resistant and obese, and I had to wach every bite going into my mouth since I was teenager or I will gain weight. I am still struggling and gaining and losing dispite my great life long eating habits and exrcise, being perimenopausal makes it simply very hard. My fasting is still higher than I like but it's the hardest thing to control, so I just do my best and make sure my 2 hh postprandial is always <120, and better less than 100 (5.5). So, to make the long story short, I was ignorant enough to think I am immune since I never had a sweet tooth and stopped eating sugar in my early 20s, but still never was a slim one either. I also ignored reoccuring yeast infectins, increased appetite, weight gain, ect. I felt great and had nothing to worry about. So I went for a physical in 2000 and was told my FBgs are good (it was 108, devide by 18 if you want to see metric units) and I did not bother to ask for the copy of my test. The cut off for pre-diabetic was 110. So 2 years later I got another physical and my FBG was 157!!!! So I was officially Dx with diabetes and started to watch every gram of carb, lost weight etc. and now keep a very good control since then. But I could have avoid it all together if I had GTT or at least looked at my test results without trusting my dr. I have no complications so far, by BP is good, no kidney or eye problems, but who knows how long it will last. It is very nasty desease, so better safe than sorry. My diet is completely free from grain, sweets and sugars, starches, I eat mostly veggies, protein, eggs, good fats and some fruit, and even so it's hard to keep the weight off.
Having one close relative with diabetes makes you 50% more prone to this desease, being overweight doubles the risk. Do yourself a favor and get a follow up and complete testing, and hopefully you are not diabetic and post your numbers when you have the results, I don't trust drs anymore, if there is a problem, at least you will be aware of it.
HTH,
Best regards
Dina