OSA+Diabetes A1C Check this out!!!!!

[elg5cats]

Another self management tool for people who have Diabetes. A home A1C testing kit has been released this month. Appears it is only available through Walgreen's online at this time. You can check your A1C at home. For nondiabetics, the A1C gives an average of blood glucose over the past 3 months. Kit comes with 2 tests and is 29.99.

https://discover.a1cnow.com/default.aspx?

http://www.a1cnow.com

If the link doesn't work, google Bayer A1C Now or go to Walgreens website and find it in diabetes management link.

elg5cats!!!!

[Wulfman]

ReliOn (sold at WalMart) has had theirs available for quite some time now......for $9.

http://www.relion.com/

http://www.relion.com/diabetes/a1c_test.htm

I've never tried one, but I have reservations about the home testing kits. There has been some discussion about them on the ADA's T2 website in the past.


Den

[elg5cats]

ReliOn (sold at WalMart) has had theirs available for quite some time now......for $9.
http://www.relion.com/
http://www.relion.com/diabetes/a1c_test.htm
Den

Hey Den, the Relion gives results by mail. The Bayer A1C gives you the results in a few minutes after depositing the blood. I've used home cholestrol kits, UTI kit, and of course most MD's offices don't do pregnancy test as a routine but will recommend home pregnancy tests.......there's even home DNA test for paternity testing now that is as accurate as the lab based one.....so I would trust it.

elg5cats

[Goofproof]

I find it funny Relion, doesn't want the test to be taken at a fasting blood level, I would think that would be important. Maybe the real labs are jerking our chains. I know they are jerking the chain attached to my wallet. Jim

[elg5cats]

I find it funny Relion, doesn't want the test to be taken at a fasting blood level, I would think that would be important. Maybe the real labs are jerking our chains. I know they are jerking the chain attached to my wallet. Jim

Goof, you may have a good point here. Since the A1C is average Blood Glucose you would think a nonfasting blood test would be ok for this test....maybe optimum for fasting.....I suppose at labs, they are doing a BG level as well as A1C or other labs that may require fasting.

For forum insulin/oral medication treated diabetic , how long do you fast before an A1C?

elg5cats

[Goofproof]

Fasting is supposed to be 12 hours, but I cheat! Jim

[Wulfman]

I find it funny Relion, doesn't want the test to be taken at a fasting blood level, I would think that would be important. Maybe the real labs are jerking our chains. I know they are jerking the chain attached to my wallet. Jim

Would it make a difference? The A1C test determines the levels over the previous 90 days.

http://www.medicinenet.com/hemoglobin_a ... rticle.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/a1c-test/MY00142

http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/a1c-test.jsp

I suspect that these types of tests (at home/instantaneous) will be progressing and will become more prevalent in the near future. That is a GOOD thing.

Den

[Goofproof]

As long as the results are over 90% correct they should be very useful, as lab testing without INS is very costly. I test and inject three times daily, I can tell day by day if I am bad, but even I got a worse A1C last week, way worse. That means either I did worse, or the test a year before was flawed and showed better that it was.

Lab testing is hit and miss too! Jim

[Muse-Inc]

Fasting is not a factor for A1C; it reads the glucose that is bound within red blood cells. Red blood cells live about 90 days in people with impaired glucose tolerance (recents studies state they live longer in folks with 'normal' glucose control), so they are analyzing the red blood cells in the sample which is why the test is recommended every 90 days for diabetics and those with impaired glucose control. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if doctors start requesting that test for all with apnea as I think it's something like 40% who will have diabetes and apnea -- it has been suggested that apnea occurs first with diabetes following because of the horrible chemical stew that our blood becomes from untreated apnea.

[elg5cats]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/a1c-test/MY00142
Den

By Mayo Clinic staff

"In June 2009, an international committee composed of experts from the American Diabetes Association, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the International Diabetes Federation recommended that the A1C test be the primary test used to diagnose prediabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes."

Interesting the ADA, etc decided the A1C is the Gold Standard for diagnosis of diabetes the same time Bayer released the inhome A1C test. I thought the A1C had been previously recommended, but maybe there was an increase in agreement internationally resulting in the 2009 Gold Standard Declaration.

elg5cats

[Wulfman]

Interesting the ADA, etc decided the A1C is the Gold Standard for diagnosis of diabetes the same time Bayer released the inhome A1C test. I thought the A1C had been previously recommended, but maybe there was an increase in agreement internationally resulting in the 2009 Gold Standard Declaration.

elg5cats

There was a recent discussion about it on the T2 site......with some posted links.

http://community.diabetes.org/n/pfx/for ... &tid=30596

Den

[elg5cats]

Interesting the ADA, etc decided the A1C is the Gold Standard for diagnosis of diabetes the same time Bayer released the inhome A1C test. I thought the A1C had been previously recommended, but maybe there was an increase in agreement internationally resulting in the 2009 Gold Standard Declaration.

elg5cats

There was a recent discussion about it on the T2 site......with some posted links.

http://community.diabetes.org/n/pfx/for ... &tid=30596

Den

Thanks for sharing, that's an interesting discussion.......and I see they changed the DX reference to 6.5. Wasn't it 7, changed to 6 and now 6.5?

elg5cats

[Wulfman]

Thanks for sharing, that's an interesting discussion.......and I see they changed the DX reference to 6.5. Wasn't it 7, changed to 6 and now 6.5?

elg5cats

Yeah, I don't know.......they seem to keep moving the threshold. About 5 years ago, "somebody" lowered the FBG (Fasting Blood Glucose) level from 109 to 99 mg/dl. Seemed to be a suspicious move to me......because they could obviously diagnose more people as having "Diabetes" with a lower number.

Edit:
Here's another link that you may find helpful. I've posted it a few times here.

http://www.bloodsugar101.com/


Den

[john_dozer]

Interesting the ADA, etc decided the A1C is the Gold Standard for diagnosis of diabetes the same time Bayer released the inhome A1C test. I thought the A1C had been previously recommended, but maybe there was an increase in agreement internationally resulting in the 2009 Gold Standard Declaration.

elg5cats

There was a recent discussion about it on the T2 site......with some posted links.

http://community.diabetes.org/n/pfx/for ... &tid=30596

Den

Thanks for sharing, that's an interesting discussion.......and I see they changed the DX reference to 6.5. Wasn't it 7, changed to 6 and now 6.5?

elg5cats

I find this extremely disturbing.

My mother was questioning issues with her health for a long time. She kept bringing up diabetes with her doctor from her family history. Her doctor performed a fasting blood glucose test as well as a occasionally a A1C. And nothing showed anything negative.

Anyway, one time she was not feeling right, so I bought a blood glucose monitor for her at her request. She was over 400, over 500 by the time we got to urgent care. I guess drawing blood was an interesting challenge since the stuff kind of coagulated when they drew it.

Even so, when she had her A1C Checked it was only slightly over normal.

I'm in that pre-diabetic stage myself and found the annoying part was the time I spent towards the hypoglycemic end of the blood sugar level. And I recall when my mother first started medicine, she was on the weakest dose of the weakest drug and she had serious hypoglycemic attacks. I've come to the conclusion that the time spent hypoglycemic subtracts from the time spent with high blood sugar in the A1C level. Therefore you can have high blood sugar and relatively normal or slightly above normal A1C levels.

It seems to me that this initial period where you experience high and low blood sugar early on the path to Type II diabetes, you could go undiagnosed at a critical early stage. Maybe even early enough to address it with diet and lifestyle changes.

[john_dozer]

I would recommend people monitor their blood sugar instead of just their A1C. If fact if I had a choice, I'd do the blood glucose testing. The tricky part is that blood sugar is more volatile and what is an appropriate number changes depending on what and when you just ate.

Target has meters for a cheap as $9 with 50 strips about $22.