At one time, diabetes was a life-threatening disease. But current medical technology has now allowed diabetics to live normal and productive lives if they properly manage their blood glucose levels. There are several ways to monitor your blood sugar, and hemoglobin A1c is one of the more important ways.
Daily Measurement of Glucose
As a diabetic, it's important to constantly monitor your blood glucose levels--especially if you're newly diagnosed or change your medications, diet or exercise. Each one, or all of them together, can have dramatic results on your blood glucose levels and cause them to either spike or drop below normal. The goal is to maintain your glucose levels between 70mg/dl to 110 mg/dl through a combination of the above.
The easiest way to monitor your blood daily is to use a home blood glucose monitoring kit. But there are problems with home monitoring. First, there could be a reasonably large margin of error in the results. Second, the results only represent your glucose levels at that point. They could have been higher or lower earlier or later in the day. There are other ways to evaluate your diabetes, but first you need to understand a little about your blood.
The Types of Hemoglobin
Blood contains red blood cells that use hemoglobin to transport oxygen and glucose to the tissues. Although there are a number of different types of hemoglobin, hemoglobin A is the most pertinent to monitoring blood glucose levels in diabetics. Of the hemoglobin A, approximately 8 percent of it makes up a number of smaller hemoglobin components--hemoglobin A1c, hemoglobin A1b, hemoglobin A1a1 and hemoglobin A1a2. Monitoring hemoglobin A1c is the most important for managing diabetes.
Evaluating Hemoglobin A1c
Measuring HbA1c can be a much more accurate way to evaluate long-term management of your diabetes. Instead of tests being influenced by transient changes in diet, exercise or medications, it represents the average glucose level in your red blood cells--about 120 days. And because red blood cells are constantly being created and dying off, HbA1c represents the average glucose levels of red blood cells of all ages.
Normal HbA1c Levels
On average, the HbA1c shouldn't contain more than 4 percent to 6 percent glucose saturation and should be tested at least twice a year. Diabetics with unmanaged glucose levels can have HbA1c levels well over 12 percent, which translates to approximately 345 mg/dl. Because HbA1c represents the average glucose level of the red blood cells--about 120 days--it's a good way to measure how well you've been managing your disease over time. If your HbA1c levels are 8 percent or higher, you may need to change your diet, exercise and/or medications.
The Validity of All the Tests
All diabetics should have their HbA1c tested twice a year--more if you're struggling with symptoms or changes in your disease. Although HbA1c is a great way to monitor long-term management of your diabetes, it's not necessarily the best way to test your blood glucose levels. Whenever your doctor makes changes to your diet, medications or exercise programs, he'll be interested in how rapidly they take effect and the appropriateness of the dosage. HbA1c tests doesn't provide that information. Instead, the doctor will want to perform a standard fasting blood glucose test that represents immediate results to changes of your treatment plan. However, both tests together are a great way for you, your doctor and your dietitian to judge how well your efforts are paying off in managing your disease.
