A1C's -- Anyone Keep A List Of All Those Taken Over Time?

General
1

My daughter is a teen and her last one was  7.7 and I would like to see it lower. If you have a history of those really good A1C 's ....Any tips on how you keep them so good  ? thanks :)

2

The key is to test regularly. If you're low, eat something. If you're high, give insulin. There is no "secret;" just test as often as possible.

3

[quote user="rdgove"]

The key is to test regularly. If you're low, eat something. If you're high, give insulin. There is no "secret;" just test as often as possible.

[/quote]

but not over test. that can lead to problems, such as a lower A1C due to too many lows from testing so often you over-correct when you don't need to be correcting. I've been advised not to go over 6-8/day, unless sick/doing lots of exercise/feeling low or high/just changed insulin doses in the past when my A1C was at or around 7.6.

4

Batts is right.  Over-correcting was a big problem for me when I first started wearing the CGM... sometimes you just have to trust that the insulin will do it's thing on it's own time, not on yours.  :)   

5

I have to say i have also been advised, even yelled at, for testing too much....when I was really on top of things, testing atleast 25 times a day, where sometimes I over corrected, but never had a problem with lows, my A1c ranged between 5.5 and 6.  That was the only thing for me that worked.  I see with the cgm, it is easier to over correct because of the lag time, but when I was just testing that kept my A1c's and my numbers pretty good.  I am not recommending anyone do that without doc.'s approval, but it worked for me.

6

Bolusing at least 15 minutes before eating has really helped me with control, although admittedly I only do this before dinner, and my numbers are the best afterward.  I test anywhere from 6-10 times a day.  My A1Cs have been in the mid-upper 6s since starting the pump, but I've had a lot of lows.  I've also had more highs recently, so it's probably more like 7.0 now.  My highs are usually because of food that I've eaten, forgetting to bolus, or not bolusing enough.  Testing enough and bolusing before eating and enough insulin seem to be the most important things to achieving tight control. 

7

Writing down (or putting online) my numbers is essential for me. That way I can track if I have a problem at the same time over 2-3 days and change my insulin doses.