I'm afraid that I totally disagree. I find a glucose monitor very helpful. If I am worried that I have had too much carbohydrate, I can measure my blood and take steps to reduce my glucose levels.
When I say take steps, I do mean that literally. I go for a brisk walk and the glucose comes down quickly.
HbA1C measures the average glucose levels over a 3 month period. That doesn't take into account spikes which can be quite harmful.
Hb1Ac testing is exactly what the NHS offer by way of a blood test, and has been offered to the OP. I assume that he has already had this test to determine pre-diabetes. I have this test twice a year.
What the NHS may not offer is expensive home testing Hb1Ac kits which are not as simple of just putting a blood drop on a strip. Even the blurb for these kits indicate that they are not a substitute for NHS testing which suggests that maybe the results are very much dependant on the skill level of the person using them.
Cheap blood glucose tests for around £25 for the meter kit including 60 tests strips is an ideal way of determining a base line and how your existing lifestyle and eating and drinking habits change your blood glucose throughout the day. They also give a semi instant indication that any changes are working. They have to be used with a bit of common sense and a bit of research as to when testing is recommended. If diabetes has been confirmed they also give an instant indication that blood sugar is too high or too low. None of this can be achieved with Hb1Ac testing.
Indeed. My GP said that my HbA1C had risen, although not yet to worrying levels. Fasting blood glucose tests are giving me insight - it is clear that I am not processing sugars as well as I might.
I am well versed in this stuff - one son has been Type 1 for nearly 14 years.
For some humour on the subject, see this. I met him (and sons) at a night out for diabetic kids. I also worked at the same place.
pain in the bahooky
Not if you're a nerd who puts it into excel
Too late for that - I've already bought a meter & strips based on a recommendation earlier in this thread.
A total of £50 is cheap in my mind, and isn't a lot to waste even if it ends up being pointless. I can't see it doing any harm.
I had a fasting blood glucose test as part of a private health assessment, which I took because my GP had been unable to determine the reason for my weight loss for about a year.
Minor moan: all I seem to get from the GP is another blood test for various things (liver, full blood count, thyroid etc) but not glucose. For some reason my GP interprets a negative result from the tests as "no need to worry" rather than "we've not found the problem yet" which is why I opted for the private health screening.
I've been asked to request an Hb1Ac from my GP which I will do when the lockdown has eased (I'm guessing no urgency for this) and at the same time I'm getting a glucose meter to monitor my levels.
See how you get on, then - but try not to get too stressed by the variations.
just one bit of advice. Don't use the ball of your finger - use the side of the finger at the ball-point. Just as good flow for the test and you don't end up with crocodile skin just where you rely on touch the most. Plus you don't get blood on everything you then touch...;)
PA
When I first got interested in this, there were web sites allowing instant conversion of a one-off blood glucose test figure into an HbA1c value. If you come across any these days, ignore them. It's a totally meaningless and misleading calculation.
oh dear
Good tip, thanks.
Rumour (and I put it no stronger than that) has it the next generation of Apple Watch will include some sort of glucose measurement. What I read said it would be based on light.
I imagine, if true, it would measure quite frequently.
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