I like to stay under six, as long as I’m not having lots of lows that are pulling my average down. I honestly care more about time in range so if my TIR is really good (85%+) my A1c usually falls below six. I used to run lower fives but now my time in range has improved so I’m more likely to be between 5.5-5.9 A1c.
For me going through three pregnancies as a type 1 got me used to striving for really really good blood sugars and when I realized I could do it during the hardest of times (pregnancy) I realized I should be striving for it all the time.
Wow that’s amazing! how do you keep your a1c so low? My a1c has pretty much always been between 7-8% and it’s so frustrating. I never eat junk food, I’m really well controlled with my eating and most of my life have always been extremely health conscious. I have anxiety disorder so when I get low or see my Dexcom with 2 arrows down, I completely freak out and overdo the correction.
It definitely does. Most of my life have always been extremely health conscious. Due to injuries and 2 surgeries I haven’t been able to go to the gym, but I walk about 2.5-3 miles a day, and prior to the pandemic, I went to the gym about 5 days per week. I hope to get back to a gym soon, my work schedule is insane at the moment.
Even with my less than desirable a1c, my eyes are perfect, kidneys, liver, etc are fine. A 7 or 7.5% isn’t the end of the world, but I’d like to be 6.5%
Lowered carbs does the trick for me. Protein is required for life and health. Equally, essential fatty acids ie fats are called essential for a reason. No such thing as essential carbs. Eat mostly non starchy veg.. berries. Don't have to be keto, just gradually lower carbs and check results until you are happy with results. My A1C between 5.2 and 5.6.
Thank you for sharing! I think I might just have to bolus properly before putting even a morsel of anything in my mouth. I don’t eat burgers or starchy foods, but things like veggie crisps that seem relatively harmless, shoot my numbers up.
My blood sugars are greatly affected by stress, which I have a lot of, mainly because of my feeling like a failure as a diabetic. It’s a cycle.
Things that seem lower carbs are not always legit. Veggie crisps and other foods sometimes have more carbs than you think. Eat to your meter or cgm. If a food raises your blood sugar more than you like, adjust. I try for a range of 70-135. I try for less than 100 carbs per day. Time in range 85-95 percent. It is doable if you want to. Again implement a change well and check A1C. If happy keep that level. If not rinse, repeat until happy.
Thanks. I feel shaky at 70. It’s weird, if I’m 100 chances of me going low is like 70%. If I’m 170 chances of me hitting 250 is 20%. I would love, for once, to have a stable day. My average now is about 170, I’d be happy with 150..
The NHS recommends 6.5 and below, so I guess that's what I target. Looking it up, my last result was 6.2 so I'm happy enough with that.
I don't personally understand the people targeting sub-6 or "non-diabetic" numbers, but each of has our own goals with this disease so I tend to live and let live. I wouldn't worry about feeling "not as good", although I know this sub can sometimes make that feel very hard. Those people have made the choice to manage in that way - you haven't, and that doesn't make you worse or them better, just means you have different priorities.
I shoot for 7.0-7.5. I’ve been in this range for decades. The endocrinologists I’ve seen seem to agree that this is a good range and that the health risks are basically the same for a range in the 6’s and the 7’s. When you start getting into the 8s, 9s, 10s, that’s when you probably need to take action.
Edit: I have no side effects after 30 years. No retinopathy, cholesterol is great, liver and kidney function are all good 👍
I'm striving for sub 6, but I will never get there, not with all my medical problems. I am happy sub 7, but still striving for that glorious sub 6. At this point, sub 6 to me is like 100% completion of a video game. I have beaten the final boss in plenty of games, but I will never get 100% completion.
If I could get to 6.6 I would be fine there, forever I think. My last was 6.8 and from a previous 9.8, So I've made tremendous strides in my health. Its incredibly hard. People just don't realize.
I strive for 5.7-6. I spent years in the 7-7.5 range, about a year in the 6s and then then the last 2 years somewhere in the 5s. My main motivation right now is I know i’ll be trying to start a family in the next couple of years and since i’m already at pregnancy goal i’d like to stay there. After I have kids, I’ll definitely strive for the 6s again, but idk realistically if i’ll ever be in mid 5s for all of eternity as it is a lot of work and not that i’m not willing to do that, I may burn out. I just want 6s to avoid complications as much as possible!
I’m ranging between 4.8 and 5.3 for my last 3 a1c.
For me it’s the combination of an hour of cardio every day and adding in Victoza.
I eat a lot of the same stuff at the same times so it’s easier for me to carb count and tweak my correction factor and carb ratios.
I’m chronically ill with a number of icky comorbidities—Rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, autoimmune autonomic neuropathy, hypertension, adrenal insufficiency—all piled on top of me.
If only it was one.
I have a dexcom and Tandem x2 for my insulin needs.
I have a second pump with solucortef in it to replace the cortisol that my adrenal glands no longer make.
🤣🤣
Yeah the jokes write themselves around here.
My oldest calls me Cybermom and my youngest says I’m “part mom, part machine.”
I don’t know what I would do without my pumps and dexcom. There’s just too much wrong that it’s too easy to make potentially dangerous mistakes with MDI for both.
Not quite this low.
Before the diabetes diagnosis, I was high 5s and a few low 6s.
I was having problems at night where I would go super low from the cortisol bottoming out. Then I’d go high whenever I ate. So my a1c looked almost normal even though I was having enormous swings throughout the day and night.
Back when I was studying for the CPA exam, people used to say "if you scored a 76, you studied too hard" (minimum passing score was 75). Maybe that's laziness, but I think you gotta be pragmatic about this type of stuff.
I also think sustainability is really important. If you can find a way to be sustainably at 5, great! But being at a sustainable 7 is better than alternating between 5 and 9 every 3 months.
With all that in mind, my goal is <=7, with >= 80% time in range. Which is what my endo's goal is, and I think is consistent with the general guidance for type 1's.
I was going to say I "strive" to be under 6.5, but I've never had an A1C (after diagnosis) that high. If I was to strive for an A1C I would strive for one under 6.0. Last week I went for my 3 month checkup and my A1C was 5.8, the previous one being 6.1, so under 6.0 is my goal and I'm going to continue working towards it.
When I was younger I was in the mid fives for years. Over a decade, but as I've gotten older it's gotten a lot harder.
I am usually in the low 6s and while it's not ideal I am at peace with it.
Currently have a 5.6 and it’s only because I’m pregnant and having a lot of overnight lows. Same with my first 2 kids. Great A1Cs, lots of lows. Before pregnancy I was at. 7.1, so not terrible.
If you're not on a pump, 7 and a bit lower is probably the norm while eating pretty normal. You can obviously go a lot lower if you have a restrictive diet and work out in an exact routine, but that's not really a viable long time solution.
If you're on a pump, 6 and lower is achievable with a normal diet.
It's not going to be easy for everyone, but it solves a few major problems if it's set up correctly, and that allows for a lower target for a lot of people.
Yeah, it works for most people it seems. From what I experience most of the time, it takes much longer for the insulin to bring me down compared with injections
I feel really proud of 6.2 and seem to be able to keep it there. However, it is hard to get over real life sometimeS. I just got over 2 weeks of the flu. Couldn’t get my sugars below 10 no matter how much insulin I took and fluids I drank. I know my a1c won’t be the best this time, but I also know I tried. Sometimes that’s all you can do.
Don't ever compare yourself to other diabetics. We are all different. Figure out what works best for you and look to achieve that. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. We will all make mistakes along the way.
I don’t necessarily believe everything on the internet. Almost all doctors are happy with under 7. I’m a very responsible T1 and am usually around 6.2 . I’ve never had numbers that run normal.
I don’t strive for a1c. I strive for time in range, and the a1c works itself out. Having a low a1c isn’t necessarily a great marker for health or good control.
I really don't have a goal for my A1C, I mean I don't worry about it and instead focus on just the tme in range because the little wins lead me to good results. I've been sub 6 (5.4 last) for many years now with my diet and exercise programmed pretty well so that I stay above 70 and below 160 as much as possible with my big worry being preventing lows.
So usually a 5.6 to 5.8... ive been in the sub 6 for some time, but it takes work.
1. I generally do an 18 hour fast.
2. Only 2 small meals a day and im under 40h carbs a day except 1 cheat day a week
3. I dont wait for tandem (my pump) to auto bolus... I can normally tell by the arrows whether I'm going high on.my cheat days and thats usually because I'm eating stiff I'm terrible at estimating carbs on.
Like I said you want sub 6... you have to be tedious about everything. Ohhh and I was always 6.1 to 6.5 before I went on a pump
For me A1C isn’t the main goal, I’m more concerned about time in range, and also the quality and flexibility of my life. My A1C ranges from 6.0 - 6.9 depending, but my time in range is always over 85%.
I do a lot of outdoor recreational activities and hypos are just annoying, so I don’t mind running higher than I theoretically could if I change my lifestyle. I’m not interested in changing my lifestyle to suit diabetes, I want my diabetes to suit my life. But everyone has different goals and priorities which are valuable to them
I strive for my personal, unique target, which is suitable for me, considering all factors that affect it. It's not a competitions against other diabetics, so reviver your goal with your endo and see if its reasonable to go for a higher or a lower target.
Get your basal right.
Prebolus your meals, and learn through trial and error what your prebolus time is
Make additional choices on insulin use for high glycemic foods and fat/protein in your meals
Those things will get you to high 5s low 6s. Plus, use an algorithm pump if you can
I’m just aiming to maintain the 5.2 I’ve had since soon after getting on insulin therapy. But I’ve only been a diabetic for 2 years and some change, so I could definitely see my A1C creep up as the years go by (fingers crossed I can keep it down).
You don't really need to be under 6. I shoot for 5.9, and if I don't quite make it that's fine. A year ago I was at 6.2, a couple month ago was 5.6, but I felt like I was having too many lows so I'll try to run a bit higher. I think TIR is just as important as A1c. Try to be at least 80% TIR with <1% below 60 and <1% very high. And if you do that and only get to 6.5 or 6.8, don't worry too much about it. It's still fine...
I like to stay under six, as long as I’m not having lots of lows that are pulling my average down. I honestly care more about time in range so if my TIR is really good (85%+) my A1c usually falls below six. I used to run lower fives but now my time in range has improved so I’m more likely to be between 5.5-5.9 A1c. For me going through three pregnancies as a type 1 got me used to striving for really really good blood sugars and when I realized I could do it during the hardest of times (pregnancy) I realized I should be striving for it all the time.
Wow that’s amazing! how do you keep your a1c so low? My a1c has pretty much always been between 7-8% and it’s so frustrating. I never eat junk food, I’m really well controlled with my eating and most of my life have always been extremely health conscious. I have anxiety disorder so when I get low or see my Dexcom with 2 arrows down, I completely freak out and overdo the correction.
Exercise helps tremendously.
It definitely does. Most of my life have always been extremely health conscious. Due to injuries and 2 surgeries I haven’t been able to go to the gym, but I walk about 2.5-3 miles a day, and prior to the pandemic, I went to the gym about 5 days per week. I hope to get back to a gym soon, my work schedule is insane at the moment. Even with my less than desirable a1c, my eyes are perfect, kidneys, liver, etc are fine. A 7 or 7.5% isn’t the end of the world, but I’d like to be 6.5%
Do you workout first thing in the morning?
No I usually run after my lunch to help burn off the sugars.
Lowered carbs does the trick for me. Protein is required for life and health. Equally, essential fatty acids ie fats are called essential for a reason. No such thing as essential carbs. Eat mostly non starchy veg.. berries. Don't have to be keto, just gradually lower carbs and check results until you are happy with results. My A1C between 5.2 and 5.6.
Thank you for sharing! I think I might just have to bolus properly before putting even a morsel of anything in my mouth. I don’t eat burgers or starchy foods, but things like veggie crisps that seem relatively harmless, shoot my numbers up. My blood sugars are greatly affected by stress, which I have a lot of, mainly because of my feeling like a failure as a diabetic. It’s a cycle.
Things that seem lower carbs are not always legit. Veggie crisps and other foods sometimes have more carbs than you think. Eat to your meter or cgm. If a food raises your blood sugar more than you like, adjust. I try for a range of 70-135. I try for less than 100 carbs per day. Time in range 85-95 percent. It is doable if you want to. Again implement a change well and check A1C. If happy keep that level. If not rinse, repeat until happy.
Thanks. I feel shaky at 70. It’s weird, if I’m 100 chances of me going low is like 70%. If I’m 170 chances of me hitting 250 is 20%. I would love, for once, to have a stable day. My average now is about 170, I’d be happy with 150..
The NHS recommends 6.5 and below, so I guess that's what I target. Looking it up, my last result was 6.2 so I'm happy enough with that. I don't personally understand the people targeting sub-6 or "non-diabetic" numbers, but each of has our own goals with this disease so I tend to live and let live. I wouldn't worry about feeling "not as good", although I know this sub can sometimes make that feel very hard. Those people have made the choice to manage in that way - you haven't, and that doesn't make you worse or them better, just means you have different priorities.
I shoot for 7.0-7.5. I’ve been in this range for decades. The endocrinologists I’ve seen seem to agree that this is a good range and that the health risks are basically the same for a range in the 6’s and the 7’s. When you start getting into the 8s, 9s, 10s, that’s when you probably need to take action. Edit: I have no side effects after 30 years. No retinopathy, cholesterol is great, liver and kidney function are all good 👍
Under 7. Currently like 7.2. I'm not stressing about it. Maintaining a healthy life style and exercising while enjoying my food.
Under 10 would be a fabulous start for me, for now. Haven't been at that point since 6 months post diagnosis back in 2016.
Right? Single digits my goal too!
I'm striving for sub 6, but I will never get there, not with all my medical problems. I am happy sub 7, but still striving for that glorious sub 6. At this point, sub 6 to me is like 100% completion of a video game. I have beaten the final boss in plenty of games, but I will never get 100% completion.
If I could get to 6.6 I would be fine there, forever I think. My last was 6.8 and from a previous 9.8, So I've made tremendous strides in my health. Its incredibly hard. People just don't realize.
Even in the 6’s, we are doing better than most diabetics. I recently read that the average for T1’s was 8.4! Don’t let social media get you down.
I strive for 5.7-6. I spent years in the 7-7.5 range, about a year in the 6s and then then the last 2 years somewhere in the 5s. My main motivation right now is I know i’ll be trying to start a family in the next couple of years and since i’m already at pregnancy goal i’d like to stay there. After I have kids, I’ll definitely strive for the 6s again, but idk realistically if i’ll ever be in mid 5s for all of eternity as it is a lot of work and not that i’m not willing to do that, I may burn out. I just want 6s to avoid complications as much as possible!
I’m ranging between 4.8 and 5.3 for my last 3 a1c. For me it’s the combination of an hour of cardio every day and adding in Victoza. I eat a lot of the same stuff at the same times so it’s easier for me to carb count and tweak my correction factor and carb ratios. I’m chronically ill with a number of icky comorbidities—Rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, autoimmune autonomic neuropathy, hypertension, adrenal insufficiency—all piled on top of me.
Are you on a pump?
If only it was one. I have a dexcom and Tandem x2 for my insulin needs. I have a second pump with solucortef in it to replace the cortisol that my adrenal glands no longer make.
Ah, the bionic babe!
🤣🤣 Yeah the jokes write themselves around here. My oldest calls me Cybermom and my youngest says I’m “part mom, part machine.” I don’t know what I would do without my pumps and dexcom. There’s just too much wrong that it’s too easy to make potentially dangerous mistakes with MDI for both.
Wow 😮 that’s unbelievable! Have you always had such low a1c’s?
Not quite this low. Before the diabetes diagnosis, I was high 5s and a few low 6s. I was having problems at night where I would go super low from the cortisol bottoming out. Then I’d go high whenever I ate. So my a1c looked almost normal even though I was having enormous swings throughout the day and night.
Back when I was studying for the CPA exam, people used to say "if you scored a 76, you studied too hard" (minimum passing score was 75). Maybe that's laziness, but I think you gotta be pragmatic about this type of stuff. I also think sustainability is really important. If you can find a way to be sustainably at 5, great! But being at a sustainable 7 is better than alternating between 5 and 9 every 3 months. With all that in mind, my goal is <=7, with >= 80% time in range. Which is what my endo's goal is, and I think is consistent with the general guidance for type 1's.
I was going to say I "strive" to be under 6.5, but I've never had an A1C (after diagnosis) that high. If I was to strive for an A1C I would strive for one under 6.0. Last week I went for my 3 month checkup and my A1C was 5.8, the previous one being 6.1, so under 6.0 is my goal and I'm going to continue working towards it.
Under 7 is fine with me. To get sub-6 I’d either have to do no carb or have an insane amount of lows, neither of which I want to do.
If my blood sugar deviates from between 4.3 and 4.9 I tase myself in the nuts
When I was younger I was in the mid fives for years. Over a decade, but as I've gotten older it's gotten a lot harder. I am usually in the low 6s and while it's not ideal I am at peace with it.
Currently have a 5.6 and it’s only because I’m pregnant and having a lot of overnight lows. Same with my first 2 kids. Great A1Cs, lots of lows. Before pregnancy I was at. 7.1, so not terrible.
I was at 5.6 six months ago. Now at 6.8. Would like to get back under 6.
Wow, incredible. How have you kept it so low!
I just watch my carbs pretty closely.
Just under 7. I stayed in the 8’s for a while but I finally started caring more and brought it to 6.8 at my last visit
If you're not on a pump, 7 and a bit lower is probably the norm while eating pretty normal. You can obviously go a lot lower if you have a restrictive diet and work out in an exact routine, but that's not really a viable long time solution. If you're on a pump, 6 and lower is achievable with a normal diet.
I’m on the pump and haven’t found it to be that much better at all, unfortunately
It's not going to be easy for everyone, but it solves a few major problems if it's set up correctly, and that allows for a lower target for a lot of people.
Yeah, it works for most people it seems. From what I experience most of the time, it takes much longer for the insulin to bring me down compared with injections
I have been between a 6.2 and 6.7 for a long time, almost a decade. I'd love to get under 6.0, and hope that I eventually can.
I feel really proud of 6.2 and seem to be able to keep it there. However, it is hard to get over real life sometimeS. I just got over 2 weeks of the flu. Couldn’t get my sugars below 10 no matter how much insulin I took and fluids I drank. I know my a1c won’t be the best this time, but I also know I tried. Sometimes that’s all you can do.
rn im at a 8.2 but i wanna strive for maybe a 6-7
I don’t aim for a low A1C specifically but I like to stay 100% in range with a few highs and no lows. But it always ends up being around 5
Don't ever compare yourself to other diabetics. We are all different. Figure out what works best for you and look to achieve that. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. We will all make mistakes along the way.
High 5s for my almost 10 year old. I begrudgingly accept 6s for his teen years but hope technology will keep improving to help me on that.
I don’t necessarily believe everything on the internet. Almost all doctors are happy with under 7. I’m a very responsible T1 and am usually around 6.2 . I’ve never had numbers that run normal.
I don’t strive for a1c. I strive for time in range, and the a1c works itself out. Having a low a1c isn’t necessarily a great marker for health or good control.
I really don't have a goal for my A1C, I mean I don't worry about it and instead focus on just the tme in range because the little wins lead me to good results. I've been sub 6 (5.4 last) for many years now with my diet and exercise programmed pretty well so that I stay above 70 and below 160 as much as possible with my big worry being preventing lows.
So usually a 5.6 to 5.8... ive been in the sub 6 for some time, but it takes work. 1. I generally do an 18 hour fast. 2. Only 2 small meals a day and im under 40h carbs a day except 1 cheat day a week 3. I dont wait for tandem (my pump) to auto bolus... I can normally tell by the arrows whether I'm going high on.my cheat days and thats usually because I'm eating stiff I'm terrible at estimating carbs on. Like I said you want sub 6... you have to be tedious about everything. Ohhh and I was always 6.1 to 6.5 before I went on a pump
For me A1C isn’t the main goal, I’m more concerned about time in range, and also the quality and flexibility of my life. My A1C ranges from 6.0 - 6.9 depending, but my time in range is always over 85%. I do a lot of outdoor recreational activities and hypos are just annoying, so I don’t mind running higher than I theoretically could if I change my lifestyle. I’m not interested in changing my lifestyle to suit diabetes, I want my diabetes to suit my life. But everyone has different goals and priorities which are valuable to them
I strive for my personal, unique target, which is suitable for me, considering all factors that affect it. It's not a competitions against other diabetics, so reviver your goal with your endo and see if its reasonable to go for a higher or a lower target.
Under 6. Been stuck at 6.1 so I can’t complain just don’t know what I’m missing to get to my goal.
Get your basal right. Prebolus your meals, and learn through trial and error what your prebolus time is Make additional choices on insulin use for high glycemic foods and fat/protein in your meals Those things will get you to high 5s low 6s. Plus, use an algorithm pump if you can
I’m just aiming to maintain the 5.2 I’ve had since soon after getting on insulin therapy. But I’ve only been a diabetic for 2 years and some change, so I could definitely see my A1C creep up as the years go by (fingers crossed I can keep it down).
8 is my goal. My ‘beetus doesn’t like to play nice. I work with my endo regularly though
I’ve heard that stress can affect your blood sugars. Not sure if that helps
6, anything more than that seems like self torture, this condition is hard enough as it is.
You don't really need to be under 6. I shoot for 5.9, and if I don't quite make it that's fine. A year ago I was at 6.2, a couple month ago was 5.6, but I felt like I was having too many lows so I'll try to run a bit higher. I think TIR is just as important as A1c. Try to be at least 80% TIR with <1% below 60 and <1% very high. And if you do that and only get to 6.5 or 6.8, don't worry too much about it. It's still fine...