A1C Change after diagnosis?

How big of a change did you see from your first A1C after diagnosis?

We had an initial done about two weeks after diagnosis and got the first "real" one today (three months later). The initial included a glucose reading of over 1000 so I expected a real drop, but it was only about half a point.

Was I expecting too much?

I know this can be a very sensitive topic, so please just post the information you are comfortable sharing!

Thanks!

 

My A1C at diagnosis was "over 14". It wasn't tested again until 6 months later, when it was 7.2. The reason they didn't test it again until 6 months later was because they know I'm a perfectionist and would be upset when it took a while to come down.

 

Ev was dx'd in June/2010 and his first A1C at the hospital was 14. Just 5 weeks later at a recheck appintment it had come down to 9. He goes back here in a couple weeks and Im praying for a norm!!

 

We were 9 at diagnosis, then 3 months later 5.5. Since then we've creeped up, dipped down, creeped up. Our endo just wants us to be under 8.

 

OUr first after DX was actually higher 10 something, then whent down gradually. We were stcu in the 7.5-8.5 for a few years, and now with Apidra and CGM have been able to break into the 6's.

I think it takes awhile fo the body to recover and get out of the fight or flight mode of operation.

Don't take little improvment as a sign of anything bad, it might take another 3 months for the body to recover.

 

12 at diagnosis, 5.9 approx. 4 months later. Dreading the next one, it won't be as good!

 

DD came down from 12 to 5.9, but she had a strong honeymoon going. The amount of the A1C drop is very dependent on whether there's honeymooning happening or not.

 

He's got a TDD of about 5 units and he's just under 35 pounds. Since we're still adjusting I'm not sure, but probably honeymooning . . . Is the drop more or less drastic when honeymooning? Could you explain, pretty please! :cwds:

 

Ashleigh was 15.2 at diagnosis and 6.4 or 6.3 3 months later. She has another appointment in October.

 

DS was over 14 at dx, and 8.5 three months later. No honeymoon.

 

35 pounds = 16 kg.

Honeymooning is commonly defined as the period when insulin needs are less than 0.5 insulin units per kg body weight per day. If he's getting 5 units TDD, then he's getting 5/16=0.31 insulin units per kg body weight per day. He's honeymooning.

What was his A1C at diagnosis, and what is it most recently?

 

His initial was 9.5 . . . now it's 9.1.

 

Ok, I take it back. He may not be honeymooning. Could be he's not getting quite enough insulin.

Does the 9.1 reflect what you would expect to find based on his meter averages? Meter average for 9.1 should be about 240-245.

 

I just did the average for the past month (that's the only paperwork I have handy) and it would be 8.4 . . . Part of the issue is that he wasn't getting tested enough, so the meter isn't a reliable gauge.

They just reduced his basal dose, so I hope the problem isn't too little insulin. We were seeing a lot of what looked like rebound highs, but since the only night testing was being done every other weekend we aren't sure . . .

 

Somebody diagnosed with a bg of 1000 is more likely to be somebody who got sick more suddenly and had better numbers just the week before.

My three bg readings before going on insulin were 425, 375, and 453 (all on the day I was diagnosed). My A1c was over 16%. I had been feeling sick for a long long time. My first post dx A1c was four months later (I insisted on waiting to give it time to come down) and it was 6.5%. Since then it has ranged from 6.3% to 7.2%. I think the best thing about being diagnosed with such a high A1c is that it's easy to come down from. If my A1c had only come down a half point, it would have indicated a bigger problem than yours does.

Honeymooning usually would result in easier to control BGs and therefore lower A1cs.

 

Logan's A1c was 7.6 at dx's. He was in DKA. We have not had an a1c below 8 since, but since he is a toddler he runs a little higher.

 

The A1c test is a good composite indicator of bg over 3 months but it does definitely reflect more closely the experience of the more recent blood glucose levels.

Our A1c at dx was around 11. Three months out it was 7.1 and at six months, 7.0. Our first three months were very challenging but our second three months also included vacation craziness and some number of extremely high bg's caused by undisclosed (therefore uncovered) high carb snacking. I was shocked that the two tests were so similar and anywhere near a desirable number.

I hope you're not feeling badly about the results of this test. Its not a grade --- its merely a useful indicator of whether your approach to management needs some adjustment or not. The real proof of how things are going is the health and growth of your CWD. No 3 month period is going to do you in. Keep working at it and soon you'll be where you need to be.

By the way, has your son been tested for other auto-immune diseases, especially the ones that often go hand-in-hand with T1D? Some of them complicate management of diabetes because of their impact on absorption, other endocrine functions. If it hasn't already been done, this seems to be a reasonable time to determine whether there is another challenge to be dealt with. My daughter's diabetes management definitely improved once we had the Celiac dx and went gluten free.

 

According to his endo team, his level of management does need adjusted. This is complicated by a blended family situation where the seperate houses have very different approaches to his care. I don't want to post too many details since we currently have lawyers involved. I am trying to get more information on here about how to interpret his results without assuming he is being neglected, which due to past issues is my knee jerk reaction.

As far as we know he has not been tested for any other auto-immune disorders. We only have him every other weekend, so the majority of his care is out of our hands. His mother and her family are very uncommunicative and somewhat hostile, so the only indication of his well being that we have are the doctor's results.

This is a very frustrating position to be in when someone you love has diabetes . . .

 

My daughter's A1C went up from her initial diagnosis. When we were in the hospital the A1C was 7 something. At her first endo apt three months later she was 8.5. I wouldn't worry so much about the specific A1C number, you'll drive yourself crazy if it's not what you expected.

 

Could you please explain what I should be looking at to get a good overall picture of how he's doing?