Mom of 3 yrs old with recent dx of type 1 DM. A1C 12.1 in April but now 7.2.
My concern is my 14yrs A1C is 5.7.
Should I be concerned and ask the doctor to do further testing for diabetes for my 14yrs old.
Just overwhelmingly please and let keep praying for one another. Thanks
Hello @Pvtjg and welcome to TypeOneNation. Do you know your labs range of normal A1c? Some labs are skewed a bit such as 4.5 to 6.5 I am assuming your anxiety is about how close she is to 6%?
Anyway the doctor can do some testing for antibodies (for example GAD) but random blood sugar and A1c aren’t very good predictors for T1.
Good luck and I hope you like the forum.
Hello @Pvtjg and thank you for finding and writing in to this forum.
Do what puts your mind at rest. Having your child diagnosed with diabetes - if it were to happen - is not comforting; but having a diagnosis makes a world of difference, and you already are ahead since you manage it for yourself.
You already know the possible symptoms but I thought I would copy them for you - this is a list I found from the Mayo Clinic:
"Some of the signs and symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are:
- Increased thirst
- Frequent urination
- Extreme hunger
- Unexplained weight loss
- Presence of ketones in the urine (ketones are a byproduct of the breakdown of muscle and fat that happens when there’s not enough available insulin)
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Blurred vision
- Slow-healing sores
- Frequent infections, such as gums or skin infections and vaginal infections"
Of course some of these happen quite innocently now and then for anyone - there’s nothing medical going on - but it might be helpful to keep them in mind just in case.
My husband was complaining of some things a while back, and being familiar with the possible symptoms I took out by BG meter and did a finger stick. His number was more in my range (I don’t recall the number and the US uses a different scale anyway), which I thought was a little high for someone without diabetes - and he was found to have pre-diabetes. Perhaps your doctor could advise you on doing occasional fingersticks and the numbers to look for indicating he should come in for further testing.
@Pvtjg Hi Dee, and welcome to the JDRF TypeOneNation Forum! I hope that you find some helpful tipe here for helping you guide your 3 yers old, and plenty of “comfort” with your struggles learning “diabetes”.
Concerning your 14 year old having an HbA1c of 5.7% [was this a finger-stick or lab result? There is a difference] , I would not be overly concerned at this time; 5.7 is in the "normal range. An HbA1c is just one of several “observations” a doctor would use in a diagnosis - no one of the observation would be definitive.
As Dorie @wadawabbit suggests, be observant, and if you notice other symptoms, bring this information to the attention of the child’s doctor.
My suggestion is to have the antibody testing done. This really can tell you if your 14 yo is progressing into T1D. This was so helpful for my family. I have had T1D for 35 yrs, and have been aware of my son’s sugars over the years. We had an A1C done about a year ago, and it was slightly elevated (6.0 I believe). I started checking him more, and he had some big swings in sugars over the summer, from 60-275. Had the antibody test done, and all markers were positive, so we knew what was happening. Knowing this was key - because we could watch the changes and avoid any DKA. By the end of Oct, his body was ready for injections.
Best wishes to you! This site has been so helpful!
5.7 is a good A1C and doesn’t need further evaluation. You and your teenager is doing a good job. Your teenager should have certain labs drawn every 6 to 12 months, i.e. CMP, lipids, etc.