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Suggest A Reliable A1C Test
Posted on
Mon, 5 May 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Mon, 5 May 2014
Answered on
Mon, 26 May 2014
Last reviewed on
Question : I'm a 67 yr old male, lifelong Chrones patint (with ALL the possible incumbant negatives that can occur & survived ALL of them thank God), lost 87 lbs in 5 yrs thanks to hard work & MetaformaIn, my Type 2 Diabetes has been controlled by meds for last 8yrs! IS THEIR RELIABLE, LOW COST A1C TEST AVAILABE TO CONTINUE THE A1C TESTING BESIDES THE OBLIGATORY IN CLINIC QUARTERLY TEST?
Brief Answer:
Hello
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Good day.
HbA1c (A1C) is currently a good method to monitor long term glucose status.However, it has its own limitations. The method used to test Hba1c should be of high standards for accurate results. Currently there is a standardization procedure ging on by IFCC to standardize the methods of doing HbA1c.
A fast test ( clinic based portable machine) is acceptable to do A1C test, however it can not replace the gold standard " HPLC" ( high performance liquid chromatography)
method.
Of late, doctors are realizing the down sides of Hba1c, especially its limitations in predicting glycemic variability. Doing a home monitoring several times a day is an acceptable method.
To answer your question, yes, there are cheaper methods of testing HbA1c, but at the cost of compromising on accuracy and reliabilty.
Regards
Binu
Hello
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Good day.
HbA1c (A1C) is currently a good method to monitor long term glucose status.However, it has its own limitations. The method used to test Hba1c should be of high standards for accurate results. Currently there is a standardization procedure ging on by IFCC to standardize the methods of doing HbA1c.
A fast test ( clinic based portable machine) is acceptable to do A1C test, however it can not replace the gold standard " HPLC" ( high performance liquid chromatography)
method.
Of late, doctors are realizing the down sides of Hba1c, especially its limitations in predicting glycemic variability. Doing a home monitoring several times a day is an acceptable method.
To answer your question, yes, there are cheaper methods of testing HbA1c, but at the cost of compromising on accuracy and reliabilty.
Regards
Binu
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
My doc has me now only checking at waking...what number should it read?
Brief Answer:
Hello
Detailed Answer:
Hello
On waking up before food, your blood glucose should read between 80 to 130 mg range.
Your doctor is right and unless you are on multiple doses of insulin, we do not generally recommend checking blood glucose multiple times a day. However, if you happen to do a 2 hour post prandial reading, it should read ideally between 80 to 140 range, but it is acceptable up to 180 mg.
Regards
B
Hello
Detailed Answer:
Hello
On waking up before food, your blood glucose should read between 80 to 130 mg range.
Your doctor is right and unless you are on multiple doses of insulin, we do not generally recommend checking blood glucose multiple times a day. However, if you happen to do a 2 hour post prandial reading, it should read ideally between 80 to 140 range, but it is acceptable up to 180 mg.
Regards
B
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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