Hemoglobin question?

VitaBella · 12-05-2002, 10:05 PM

I have two questions, both of which involve hemoglobin. I read on the Joslin website that blood glucose levels go up after eating, which makes sense (obviously). It said that non-diabetics should not go above 180 at any time after meals, though (from what I understand).

That seemed awfully low to me - I mean, immediately after meals I spike into the 300s often. I thought that anyone could spike into the 300s after eating, but that the difference between diabetics and non-diabetics is how fast it comes back down. Do you know how high you spike?

I suppose any problem with this would show up on a hemoglobin, but I've actually not had one taken yet. It's a long story involving a shortage of doctors in Columbus, but I found out that home testing for hemoglobin is available and I'll likely take one shortly to make sure things are okay. It's sad that we have to resort to things like that, isn't it?

One more question:

I also saw on the website that 6.5 is the cutoff for normal levels, and 7.0 begins the bottom of elevated levels. Is that consistent with what you have learned?

If so, I remember Diana and Rebekah saying that they went on insulin after hemoglobins of 6.6 - is insulin a common treatment with such hemoglobin levels? And do you happen to know what your average BG level is?

Sorry for the long post, but thanks for any info!

DianaG · 12-09-2002, 05:39 PM

I am not sure how high people spike after meals, but I don't think the 180 is too low. I tested my DH's blood sugar after we both ate something really bready to see the difference and mine shot way up over 200 and in the same amount of time his was only 117! Maybe someone else knows for sure what the average person's normal spike range is.

Now, I can't answer for Rebekah, but I was put on insulin before my 6.6% HA1C test. I was pregnant when my diabetes was diagnosed so insulin was the only medication safe for me at the time. After my m/c it took about 8-9wks before I was able to get into an endocrinologist so I was on insulin all that time before my first HA1C was done and my first one was 7.3%. It must have been higher, but being on insulin brought it down before the test was run on me. I remained on insulin during my wait because none of my doctors, GP or OB knew what to do with me and the diabetes.

When I saw the endo we discussed my trying to conceive again and by then I had read about the other medications and we decided that I would remain on insulin to reduce my risks of another miscarriage, unfortunately I still miscarried again, but we remain hopeful that next time since my HA1C is now down in the 4.5-4.7% range that things will go smoothly.

There is a formula for figuring out your average blood sugar from your HA1c score, which if worked backwards should give you a rough estimate of what your Hemoglobin would be if they tested it.

If you know your HA1c test results(sometimes the test is called Hemoglobin A1c, glcosylated Hemoglobin, or glycohemoglobin, or just A1c) the formula to find your average daily blood sugar would be : (Hemoglobin A1C X 30)-60=average blood glucose
For example: My last test was 4.6% so if I multiply 4.6X30 I get 138 which I then subtract 60 from to get 78. This means my average daily blood glucose for the past 12 weeks is somewhere in the neighborhood of 78.

To work this backwards for you. Look at your glucometer, most of them have a function that tells you what your average testing for the last so many tests equals out to. For example, I use a one touch ultra and it gives me a 14day average and a 30day average.

Take whatever your monthly average is and for example if your monthly average is 100 (to make the math easy!) then the formula would be.

(100+60) divided by 30 so your HA1C would be 5.3%.

However, this will not be entirely accurate because it is only using the numbers from your monitor which are just a few times a day instead of a constant flow. For example, the average on my monitor before I went for the bloodwork was 95 which is way higher than the 78 that my hemoglobin % turns out to; this is because I generally test after meals when I know the reading will be higher.

I hope this formula helps answer your question about your average blood glucose.

Also, I have seen the little Hemoglobin machines! My doctor's office just got one and it takes about 7 minutes instead of going to a lab and waiting days! Also they seem accurate. My OB sent me to a lab just one month after the office one at my endo's was done and the two results were only 1/10 of a pt off from one another. One was 4.5% and the other was 4.6%, so once they are affordable I definitely want to get one!

Have a great day and sorry my post got so long!

HISIRISHGEM · 12-10-2002, 01:53 AM

My hemoglobin A1C was at 7.0 in March...then when retested in June, it was 6.6....I'm not sure what its going to be from this past month because I took myself off gluc because I was sick from it.

The dr. put me on Insulin because I couldn't take Gluc XR......I am going to ttc in a few months...was going to be this month...but my insulin levels aren't as stable as I thought they were. So, I will wait a few months then work with it.

VitaBella · 12-10-2002, 10:45 AM

Thanks for your replies, Diana and Rebekah! (Diana, you must spend hours answering questions on here...you've been so good about typing long and detailed responses for both me and Rebekah lately!

)

Wow Diana, you are keeping excellent control of your blood sugars now. That's a really low average BG level! I know how to get the averages off my meter, but like you, I think it would be an unfair level - my sugar is low at least sometimes during the day, but after meals tends to be somewhat higher.

I'm doing well now, though. Reading all this stuff lately has made me much more dedicated to a lower carb way of life. DH wanted to try Atkins (yuck!) and made it for a day and a half before he caved...I "helped" him realize that moderation is much better and moch more realistic.

I'll let you know how my hemoglobin turns out - I'm glad you have experience and know they're accurate, since I was worried about that! Continued luck to the three of us as you two work toward TTC and I just work toward being healthy.

CharRN · 10-15-2003, 09:22 AM

Hi ladies.

I wanted to jump in on this one also. I had an A1C done in March that was 5.3. The endo that I see simply told me that was fine because I was not diabetic.

My last A1c in late September was 6.0. I saw the doctor on Oct 1st, and she diagnosed me with type II based on the A1C, and added Actos to my Glucophage.

I've never had a blood sugar over 200, but my fasting levels are consistently high. Over the last 2 months, my fasting wasn't lower than 120, but not higher than 145.

I am scared to death at the thought of insulin, so I have been working really hard to get my blood sugars down. I've had some good results with fasting sugars in the 80's and 90's.

Char

Jazzmyn821 · 11-27-2003, 02:43 AM

I'm diabetic and my A1C # is 6.2. Anything over or close to 7 is supposedly bad because it could have long term effects on your kidney or pancreas. I use insulin twice a day since I am ttc and when i wake up my blood sugar level is around 90. After I eat i am around 125 or so, but I come back down within the hour.