Hemoglobin A1C?

JoanB · 03-16-2010, 11:05 PM

Exactly--I hear so many contradictory staments from different doctors that it's hard to know who to listen to. But it seems to me that if I lowered that 6.00 to maybe 5.7 or 5.5, would it really hurt anything?

The problem is how do you know if it's doing any good? If the point is to head off further damage, how would you know if you were partially sucessful? Since I don't have a Test Joan and a Control Joan to compare, there's no way to know if any of it helped. Sometimes if feels like that when gulping down all of these supplements too.

But what else can you do? When you get to the point where it's clear the docs are not going to help you, you have to either choose giving up or trying to help yourself.

pabb · 03-17-2010, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoibie@comcast.net

My doctor says 6.0 is fine.

if you are a diabetic and have gotten it DOWN to that, yes it is fine..

mrsD · 03-17-2010, 09:12 AM

If you are at 5.5 that is just fine. No need to worry about it.
Diabetics who are hard to control, can get high like 13!
I knew a 40 yr old nurse recently diagnosed who was very happy with 8.5! and that is still too high!

You might see in 5-10 yrs however it goes up even tho you are doing the correct diet things. That is what is happening to me.
As we get old, things change. I think metabolic syndrome is inherited to some extent. Some error in the metabolism of citrate.

You might want to watch this video (it is long) but it explains how sugar and fructose ruin our metabolism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

JoanB · 03-17-2010, 09:38 AM

Seems like we have a difference of opinion here about whether or not 6.0 is cause for concern. One thing I've mentioned before before but not in this thread is that I've lost 25 lbs. in the past 8 months for no apparent reason. In fact, I've been eating whatever I want, which before now would have caused me to balloon. As we all know, that's another diabetes symptom, but on the other hand, unexplained weight loss can be caused by a host of other things too.

So again, I dunno

. But I'm trying to look at the simplest answers first.

mrsD · 03-17-2010, 09:52 AM

My doctor is satisfied with 6.2 for me.

If you get down to 5.5 and don't have low blood sugar attacks, that is good too. If you feel sick at 5.5, or weak, then that is your answer.

The targets for diabetics are a bit more liberal...than for those with insulin resistance. Getting a diabetic who has an average glucose of 300 during the day down to 130 (HbA1c=6) is a big improvement. Getting an insulin resistant person down from 6 to 5.5 is much different. If you are 6 now, I wouldn't sweat it. Just stay away from fructose and sugar.

Losing weight without trying can be a concern that there is a slow growing cancer somewhere. (usually the lung). Having a blood iron going down is also a warning sign. But it can also mean that you are eating sensibly, and avoiding the "terrible" things like alcohol and sugar.

JoanB · 03-17-2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Losing weight without trying can be a concern that there is a slow growing cancer somewhere. (usually the lung). Having a blood iron going down is also a warning sign.

My oncologist was worried too (I'm at my two-year mark for good checkups after having uterine cancer) and he ordered CT scans of chest, mid, and lower abdomen. He also ordered a CA-125. Nothing. Doesn't mean I'm in the clear, but what else can he do? I guess we could run some blood work for iron like you said.

Quote:

But it can also mean that you are eating sensibly, and avoiding the "terrible" things like alcohol and sugar.

I don't think so. I've never lost an ounce in my life without very strict calorie control, no matter what I eat. Until now. Believe me, I love getting on the scale and seeing that I dropped another 2 lbs., but it's a little scary too.

mrsD · 03-17-2010, 11:13 AM

As an illustration:

A friend of mine's mother suddenly had intestinal problems.
She is 84... suddenly her hemoglobin went down to 5 (anything below 11 is considered low). She was bleeding from a tumor in her colon, which was believed to be a spread from 15 yrs ago endometrial cancer. Very slow growing.

They had to give her blood tranfusions before they could operate on her. She did survive (this was over Xmas), and is doing pretty well, but needs alot of physical rehab work because of weakness.

So I do hope you do NOT have the dreaded cancer!

Have you had the thyroid checked? It can get overactive and weight loss is one sign of that.

JoanB · 03-18-2010, 10:47 AM

They've been doing pelvic exams and taking cells as in a PAP in the area where my cervix used to be every three months. As for it spreading to my colon...I'm due for another colonoscopy in another year...they always ask me when my last one and my last mammogram was, so I've just assumed that I'm doing everything I can on schedule to keep an eye on things. Maybe I've been whisting in the dark about the cancer...but I don't know what more I can do than I'm already doing. As you've said, mrsD, endometrial cancer is one of the less aggresive cancers and grows very slowly.

I did have my thyroid checked and that was normal.

I still think that the simplest (and most likely) answer is that I'm teetering on the edge of diabetes. I don't know if you've ever had cancer mrsD, but in the C-Club there's a term known as "cancer-head" where you can let the worries run away with your life. Anyway, PN has been doing a pretty good job doing that lately.

Having said that, you are a very kind person to have such concern about my well-being and thank you for that.

MelodyL · 03-20-2010, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsD

I also think the LOW blood sugars that occur in diabetics and those with insulin resistance are problematic too.

It has been noted recently that one episode of very low blood sugar in diabetics (which can be very common) is enough to accelerate Alzheimer's risk.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...ing-brain.html
This study above illustrates the glucose problem. Good blood flow with low sugar in it, would be a factor too.

Here is another about hypoglycemia:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146021.php

I imagine all nerves suffer when glucose gets too low.

When blood sugar is high, that means the cells are not getting any either, since the mechanism of transport seems to be not working (or insulin is missing).
Also the damage to peripheral nerves can be due to sorbitol being formed in the periphery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetic_neuropathy

I think we see in the ACCORD program, where the aggressive arm was closed early because of DEATHS, that keeping glucose TOO LOW or trying to keep the HbA1C around 6 (and under 7) led to death in that study. The total results have not been published yet, and when they are, it should be very revealing. The ACCORD study was about diabetics and glucose control. The other patients were allowed HbA1C of 7 after the more aggressive arm (group) was closed.

Keeping elderly patients at levels that are considered "normal" for non-elderly patients, may be a huge mistake, and lead to all sorts of pathology and loss of quality of life, and perhaps even death to some!

Hi All.

I just got the ACCORD results letter from Cornell. The results were presented On March 14, at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Atlanta,Georgia.

Here's the website that has the whole thing.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMoa1001286.pdf

Now in my letter from Cornell, it states the following:

ACCORD tested whether or not tight control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids would lower the number of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths in people with diabetes. The intensive glucose treatment portion of the trial ended in February 2008. The findings at that time showed that intensive glucose control did not significantly reduce the number of heart attacks or strokes when compared to standard glucose control, while people in the intensive group had a higher death rate.

Clinic visits for ACCORD were completed last summer and the information from those visits have now been analyzed. The blood pressure portion of ACCORD found that intensive blood pressure, treatment did not reduce the overall risk of cardiovascular disease (a combination of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke) when compared to standard treatment. However, intensive blood pressure treatment did appear to reduce the risk of stroke. The lipid portion of ACCORD found that combining fenobibrate with a statin for lipid control did not reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes or cardiovascular death when compared to statin treatment alone"

I just received the results in the mail the other day.

Melody

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