Thank you James, I think I understand what you mean a lot better now! I also just checked on the internet about what you mean with the 'crystalized content' and now I understand that part also, so thank you very much for clearing it up for me. :)
Hey Keely,
Honestly, that's really hard to answer, and completely up to you and your body!
If you're under 6.5 on your A1c I'd suggest that you're doing things right and have things under really good control! Keep it up!
What I was referring to about testing before and after was that you can't rely on the 77 and the 140 to tell you that your A1c is going to be some specific result. A 200 doesn't even tell you that you're doing 'not good' if you've just pounded back a Big Gulp and the insulin hasn't kicked in yet.
Our son rolls fairly well with the punches, he goes up slowly and comes down a little more quickly than we'd like, but he can still feel it. If you're doing well with your A1Cs, you're not going hypo and you're not feeling the pains of spiking...keep up the good work!
;o)
[quote user="Keely"]
So, if I have an A1c of 6.4, and when I test before lunch my BS is, say 77, and then I test 2 hours after and it's 140, that's not good?
[/quote]
Hi Keely
Personally I think it's good actually, 140 mg/L ( 7.7 mmol/L) 2 hours after eating is actually not bad, it's good actually and to have 77 mg/L before eating is great. So I think it's good actually, and congrats on your 6.4 A1C!
Thanks guys- I appreciate your info!
I guess I don't understand Joe's comment about a small standard deviation being under 20 mg/dl daily- would that apply to BS tests before and after meals?
Keeley, those are non-diabetic numbers. Yes before and after meals. It's not likely to get such a low average error if you are a Type 1. For us, the 2 hour post-meal "perfection" is under 140, if you started in a "normal" range. If you do happen to calculate and try to control your standard deviation, daily, you will start to tend toward less swings. I can do it but my carb's per meal would be in the single digits, plus you have to watch carbs that are both fatser than analog insulin, and mixed meals that are slower (spike right after a meal / spike 2 hours after a meal).
The point is that a preoccupation to get a low a1c, with the tools available today, often results in multiple daily "trips" below 50. Leading to possible hypo unawareness. It's a paradox, we strive for normal a1c's to lower the severity of complications, but not at the expense of you life.