An A1C, is the much shorter name for a glycated hemoglobin test. Its an important blood test to see how well your diabetes is being controlled. It provides and average of what your blood sugar levels have been over a 6-12 week period.
Hemoglobin is a substance within the blood that carries oxygen throughout your body. When diabetes is not controlled(meaning your blood sugar is too high) sugar builds up in the blood and combines with hemoglobin becoming glycated. Thats how the amount of sugar in the blood is determined by measuring an A1C level. If your blood sugar has been higher over several weeks, then your average will also be higher. An A1C typically measures blood sugar levels over a 120 day period.
So what is a 'normal' A1C? Typically, for people without diabetes, the normal range for an A1C is between 4%-6%. Studies show that out of control diabetes results in complications from the disease. The goal for people with diabetes, should be an A1C of 7% or below. The higher the hemoglobin A1C is, the greater the risk is of developing complications from diabetes.
Colton goes in every three months to see his Endo. He's done this EVERY THREE months since June of 2000. Thats A LOT of endo visits! But, its something that has to be done as part of managing his diabetes. This test he has done every three months, is one of the reasons that we stay on him like we do to take care of himself.
Now--before I go any further, I am going to REITERATE AGAIN--Not everyone who has diabetes, has poor control of it. Not everyone who has it, has complications from it. There are people who have diabetes, and they have had it most of their lives. Some are Colton's age; some are my age(37) and some are old enough to be my grandparents! And they have GREAT A1Cs. They maintain awesome control over their diabetes. And thats a wonderful thing! BUT, there are just as many who do not have good control, and they may not have a very good A1C.
Kids---Here's the thing about kids. They are NOT all alike!! Big shock for some to think about, I know. Kids are just that--kids. Some are active in sports, some are not. Some are big into video games, some are not. Some are all about eating good food, some are not. That being said, KIDS do NOT always have good control over their diabetes. And some adults for that matter!!
My son, happens to be one of those who doesn't always have a good A1C. In the ten years we've been dealing with this, his A1C when he was dx'd started out at 14%! Thats BAD!!
That means that his glucose levels were averaging at, @ least 372. And keep in mind that was over 3 months. That means that when I started taking him to the dr SO many times, back in April of 2000, if the pediatrician I used at the time had been doing her job--that we could have found out much sooner and might not have had to even hear the words, "You are fortunate that you took him back to the Dr when you did yesterday. By Monday, he would have been in the hospital or worse!!"
Here is a link to get an idea of what an A1C chart looks like:
http://www.alwaysincontrol.com/a1c_charts.html
Since that first A1C, Colton's averages have been up and down. The highest since dx's was in June of '08 when I'd just had my hysterectomy. I'd been home from the hospital for 3 days, and Kyle was off of work that day, so he took Colton to his check up. When they headed home, he called me BEFORE they even left the parking garage. He was livid, and I was livid by the time he told me what he did. Colton's A1C was all the way back up to about 13%. Why? Because he had been lying to us for WEEKS about checking his blood and inputting that information into his pump.
Since then, I have gone over his results on his meter and his pump regularly. Lately I have been sitting down and writing all of his results down. I had been doing this on my computer, but the software is not compatible with Windows 7, yet. And boy do I wish it was!
About a week and a half ago, maybe 2 by now, I decided to go over all of his results. I was watching t.v. and I asked him to let me see his pump. He got that 'uh oh' look on his face, kinda hung his head and said 'ok'. I have seen that look WAY too many times. He took his pump off and handed it to me. And it didnt take long for the smoke to start comin out of my ears. So, I stopped after reading about the last 5 readings--blood sugars, bolus history, carbs, etc. I then asked to see his meter. OMG..that just added fuel to the fire in my boiling blood!
I gave him his pump back and told him to get hooked back up, and to get ready for bed. But, I also told him before he went to bed, that I wanted his meter on the table immediately. I was furious. And let me tell ya right now--there's NO excuse for any of this. Why does he do this? Why does he tell us he's checked himself if he hasn't? Why does he tell us he's bolused if he hasn't? Why why why why why!!??? He's a kid--thats why!! BUT..I guarrentee that there are adults who do the EXACT same thing!
What I ended up doing was going back over a period of 24 days--between Feb. 5, 2010 and March 4, 2010. The longer I sat there and the more results that I looked through, the madder I got. And I just shook my head and I asked WHY?? Why can't he see that this is just harming his body for all these numbers to be out of control?
When I finally decided I'd seen enough numbers, I then sat there and broke them all down.
This is what I found:
# of glucose readings that just said "HI"=7 (by the way, that means his glucose was over 600)
# of readings 400-600= 22
# of readings 200-300=38
# of readings 100-199=20
# of readings less than 100=8
There were NO 'lows'( and a low # for him is anything under 70; for his meter to say just 'lo' would mean that his glucose was less than 25)
Out of those 24 days--On March 3, 2010, he only had ONE reading for the entire day.
Now, I've done this particular blog to put it into perspective a little bit more for everyone. His A1C is checked EVERY three months. If he is being lazy about checking himself, or isn't bolusing when he eats, this A1C is gonna tell us that. And he knows it.
He knows that the higher his average is, the more likely we are to know that he's not been doing stuff right. And the lower it is, means that he's been doing exactly what he needs to do.
CJ's always had a 'target' range for what the Dr wants his glucose range in. When he was first dx'd, it was 100-200. I know that seems high--but you have to remember he was first dx'd he was just 2! And at that age, kids are picky eaters, and they are runnin around all over the place--thus that word: active! Now his target range is 90-120.
If you go back to the beginning of this blog, you will read again why its important to have a good A1C. Because the higher the A1C, that means that glucose levels are running higher. And the lower the A1C, the lower/better glucose levels are.
For Colton to stay as healthy as possible, he has to do ALL the things that he KNOWS he has to do. He can't be lazy about checking himself. He can't be lazy about not bolusing. He can't 'forget' to eat, or bolus either one. And I say that, because thats the excuse he's given us quite frequently.
Just another reason why Kyle and I both stay on him. Its of the utmost importance. He can't forget. Its not going to just disappear if he tries to forget it. Its not going to make it go away if he just doesn't do stuff. Whats going to happen if he doesnt check his blood sugar before he eats? And whats going to happen if he 'forgets' or just doesnt bolus? His glucose levels are going to go out of control. The longer he goes without doing these things, the higher the risk of complications, or even death.
If you know someone who has diabetes, or you yourself has it, make sure that the things that NEED to be done, are done, and done right. Not just half way. It is literally a matter of life and death.
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