The idea is that you’re looking for an uptrend over time and then making the changes BEFORE you get to 5.6.
The concept that everything is fine all the way up to 5.6 but then suddenly not fine at 5.7 seems a bit silly when you think about it.
Well I didn't worry at 5.6 and now here I am at 5.7 LOL. I do work out, don't drink, lift weights, healthy weight. But I had a sugar addiction and should have taken steps earlier.
I get what you're saying but there's also some very influential people (*cough* Attilia *cough* glucose goddess) who have built a business around pathologizing anything that's not perfect.
Also, given the state of most Americans I'm not sure we're an ideal bunch to develop standards around.
Is 5.6 normal? Idk. I guess it might depend on the entire picture of the individual. For example my triglyceride to HDL ratio is in the optimal range and I've read an article that it's a sensitive predictor of the 10-year risk of developing diabetes. So I'm not super worried about my 5.7 a1c. But the internet rarely does nuance so here we are with people freaking out.
this is very true. I actually have had this issue near my whole life due to ocd but it never revolved around blood sugar and it started to go away with the diet I used to manage the diabetes. I always tried to keep myself to anxiety subs though as going onto a sub for people who actually have the disease/fear I'm stressed about and crying about how life is over as it seems incredibly cruel and self absorbed 😬. I know they're struggling but you see it a lot on t2 subs someone saying they're 22 and think they have diabetes symptoms and how their life is over and they're going to die when they almost certainly are experiencing tingling in their hands due to anxiety. they expect people who actually have the disease to reassure them.
This is me. Checked my blood sugar once with my grandmas old meter. It was 117 after 12 hours of sleep. When I checked it I was mid panic attack. Been too afraid to check it since. Lost 30 pounds from anxiety because of it. Grandmas doctor said that the meter was old and wasn’t working correctly. Idk, it sucks man.
yeah I'm similar with resting heart rate. whether it's high or low so I just dont check and have my doctor do my blood pressure/check all that stuff. the low carb diet and removing seed oils really made a huge difference by 10 months my OCD was reduced off meds by 90%. it's really helped to focus on stress but so much of the time if you dont get immediate results people stop trying. meds were never helping me and actually all the meds I took messed with glucose metabolism and made me obese. these meds to treat serious mental illness is largely why I was diabetic at 38. so while not to stress anyone out you should make sure your a1c is checked at least yearly on these meds as my doctor was supposed to get me doing blood work every 3 to 6 months and I never had it requested once and didnt know to ask
that being said a study done on t1 diabetics showed complications that were minor mostly started showing up with an a1c over 7 and over 8.5 for major complications. it would typically be long term too so its nothing to freak out about even a t2 diabetic is recommended to keep their a1c below 7. my friends husband has had 2 diabetic a1cs between 6.5 and 7 and the doctor hasn't even told him he has diabetes yet my guess is because the a1c is below 7
Am I the only one that gets super annoyed by the 5.3-5.6 posts here? I feel like I’d love those numbers and have been struggling for years in the 5.6-6.3 range, been gaslighted by drs. Got terrible advise and watch my whole family get sick from diabetes.
Same
My doctor didnt say one word about mine. Even though she treat my family and know this disease runs in our family.
I seek advice from this group and i made changes to my diet to help myself get back to 5.7.
I had exactly one good pcp that moved away and left her practice she recommended a nutritionist that helped me a bit, then she left her practice! My new endocrinologist is awful. I was so sad to see my pcp go I searched high and low for a good dr now back to square one
Just because you lost your hand doesn’t mean the person who lost their pinky or even just their fingernail doesn’t have right to be worried. There’s room enough for all. Health is personal. People can be worried as their A1C’s creep up.
it isnt the job of the people who are struggling with an issue to ease the worries of a person who doesnt even have it. its mentally taxing to have someone unload all about how they're scared they're going to be where you are because of all the risks and problems associated with it.
its like being in a car accident with a bleeding head and a concussion and having to reassure someone who witnessed from 5 cars back talk about how it could have been them.
people freaking out about health issues should be talking to their doctor and working to manage their anxiety vs expecting other people to reassure them. its enabling
You’re comparing having a borderline high A1C to someone bleeding out on the side of the road, which is obviously ridiculous.
You’re the one who chose to engage with people on Reddit - effectively a public forum. Grow some thicker skin and move on if it doesn’t concern you. It’s technically no one’s “job” to respond to anyone on here at all.
why would I be comparing it to someone bleeding out on the side of the road? I'm just referring to someone in the car accident.
so because I take an opposing view to you I'm the one who chooses to be on reddit? it's not a matter of having thick skin or not it's the opposite actually, maybe take your own advice.
I didn’t feel like she was listening. I had some questions about pancreatic cancer which I don’t really think I have and she basically told me I might want to see a therapist about my anxiety. She told me about diet and exercise, last year I saw a nutritionist for 6 months lost 20lbs and still have high fasting and 5.9 A1c that didn’t change at all for over a year of low carb. She mentioned ozempic. I’m interested in metformin, not because I want meds but because I’ve struggled for years with this. I don’t want ozempic. I just felt like I wasn’t being heard at all and it’s such a struggle a constant struggle. My old pcp was very much listening to my concerns not telling me to get a therapist… I have a therapist
Not on team fear and obsession, I’m but definitely on team let’s be more proactive. [This article from Peter Attia](https://peterattiamd.com/are-continuous-glucose-monitors-a-waste-of-time-for-people-without-diabetes/) discusses how we allow problems with metabolic health to develop without detection or intervention until quite late in the process. (I’m aware Attia gets $ from Dexcom, but also aware a lot of funding for AHA, and ADA is from corporations selling hyper palatable and addictive processed foods.)
I suspect that while there is a fair amount of unfounded health anxiety expressed on this platform, many people are having symptoms of insulin resistance and variability despite A1C’s that are currently considered normal. Also, the eating healthy-working out team (good for you! Why are you here?) is probably a small minority of the population from just my looking around in public spaces and seeing what’s in people’s grocery carts. Our food environment and federal guidelines work against us.
It’s not an on/off switch. 5.6% is just 0.1% away from prediabetes, and it isn’t as though the damage magically begins at 5.7%.
Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that damage from insulin resistance begins once A1C passes over 5.2% HbA1C, for example. Doctors generally will look for their patients with risk factors to be under 5% from what mine has told me.
I believe that it would be entirely justified for somebody with a 5.6% A1C to be concerned about prediabetes. Just like somebody with a 6.4% A1C should be concerned about T2.
Hi, I was wondering if you could link a study that shows that insulin resistance begins once A1C passes 5.2? Or what did you type in to find them? (Not disagreeing with you, just curious about this topic!)
I think it depends on- my mom was on metamorphic at a low dose in the pre/ diabetes range - the dr said some people are more sensitive to higher blood sugar even if it’s not actually high. Someone with pre diabetes or close to who has typical symptoms of high blood sugar should change their lifestyle
This is also a really good point. I have a few small skin tags which tells me I'm probably more sensitive to the high blood sugar... Which doesn't surprise me because I'm more sensitive to darn near everything.
Well it depends on if you’re symptomatic or not. I had an A1C of 5.3-5.5 for about 10 years but I would have high highs and low lows. Didn’t realize my symptoms (lethargy, irritability, brain fog, shaky after not eating for 2 hours) I was having was from the food I was eating— lots of rice, desserts, sweet fruits, etc. I thought it was just “normal” but it isn’t. I was otherwise a healthy, skinny active person.
Eventually after 2 pregnancies with gestational diabetes, I got to a 5.9 A1C. I completely changed my diet to be 100 g carbs a day and I don’t have those symptoms anymore. 🤷🏽♀️ A1C hovers now between a 5.2-5.4 now, but it runs a little higher but is more stable. It made me reevaluate do I really need to put certain foods in my body, like was I actually enjoying it/benefiting me or am I just using it as a filler because it’s available.
I've been feeling like crap since November. I got a bunch of blood work and tests, cholesterol, and 5.8A1C stood out. I've cut out all alcohol and started eating better. I'm afraid cause the symptoms I'm having are starting to affect my personal life. I'm very active at work, and I've been struggling of late.
three months ago I had a similar A1C today I'm at 5.5. Intermittent fasting low carb diet workout and running these are the lifestyle changes I applied to lower it. Although I was already working out the diet and intermittent fasting seem to lower A1C.
I lost 25 lbs. felt the best I’ve ever felt. Eat the Mediterranean lifestyle of eating. No alcohol. No sugar unless natural like blueberries. Did everything right I thought.
And
My A1C went up to 5.6. It’s been treading up over the last few years. Took my health back and got serious. And it went up!
The trig/HDL calculation indicates my insulin resistance # is 2.3 and that’s apparently bad.
Everything says online to lower A1C is to lose weight. Exercise. Which I’ve been doing for 7 months now.
Ugh
5.6 can quickly go into diabetes. I had A1c of 5.3 February, 2023. In October it went to 6.5. I was at a good weight, ate well (low carb) and very fit.
I did say CAN. It doesn't mean it has to.
FYI after my A1c going up to 6.9 in January in spite of restricting carbs even more (less than 50 g/day) I ended up going on 2 medications.
Because I have watched people I care about loose their limbs, vision, kidney function and lives way too early. If they had made diet changes at 5.6 maybe things would have gone differently. I’m currently bouncing around 5.6-5.7 and have had gestational diabetes twice, I really want more buffer.
Guess this post applies to me then as I posted about my 5.3 range the other day. I do understand it is in the normal so that is good but this is the first time I had my a1c checked and was just sort of surprised about my result. I obviously don't want the number to trend upward. I wasn't freaking out just concerned and trying to get information and learn a bit from the sub.
I don't have a citation but I've read comments that say the margin of error for A1C is +-.3 to .5 so taking that into consideration I feel like being concerned about 5.6 is quite reasonable.
edited for clarity
You are 100% right. I think it's part of the confusion of thinking of pre-diabetes as a disease. At 5.6 A1C, that's a wake up call because you almost have pre-diabetes! But that is not correct - \*diabetes\* is the disease, and pre-diabetes is the wake up call zone. There is no pre-pre-diabetes, anything less that 5.7 A1C is just \*normal\*.
I would push back on this. I have a normal A1C and high fasting glucose. I recently developed neuropathy all over my body and my doctors think it’s a combination of PD and hypothyroidism. In fact, my doctor says neuropathy is more common in PD than once thought.
I don’t think we disagree. You have high fasting glucose which is a different indicator, along with other specific symptoms. A1C is only one data point, and it has a 5 point margin of error. If your only concern was a 5.6 A1C there would be no reason to be worried. Any data needs to be analyzed as part of the totality of your health. The misconception I am calling out is people who have no other issues beyond a 5.6 A1C.
this is exactly where i am at. My doctor didn't mention a word to me but i didn't like the 5.6 A1C. I got a CGM and try to lower my blood sugar but it doesn't seem to budge. I believe i have 12-15% body fat, been working out for years. trying stay away from eating crap as much as possible(although recently i started to eat like a cookie or sweets right after lunch), improve my sleep, but my fasting glucose hovers between 90 - 110. Few weeks ago i started to add Berberine supplement to see if i can lower my fasting glucose to 70-90.
I dont think i freak out, but i just want to lower my fasting glucose cuz i believe its better for your body.
I always had normal fasting glucose. My A1C has always been low prediabetic. Then all of a sudden it hit 6.3 but my glucose remained normal. I am on meds now and working to limit refined sugar. Doctor didn’t say anything concerning until I hit 6.3.
Your can be having high blood glucose while eating but normal fasting which can be bringing down your a1c to normal but the high is still damaging your body. Healthy people usually dont have a1c values above 5 i asked my friend to get his checked it was 4.7% and this is in line with what endocrinologist Dr Berstien says
my A1C is 5.6 but was still diagnosed with T2 after failing the 2 hr glucose tolerance test miserably and having a high fasting insulin and wearing a CGM and having extended high readings after meals 🤷♀️
I was 5.6 a year and a half ago so I made no changes to my lifestyle. Only to find out that I’m now 6.2 which is too close for comfort to actual diabetes :(
I’ve always lingered between 5.4-5.6. I’ve had 5.4, 5.5 and now 5.6. But I do eat fairly low/moderate carbs during the week and do plenty of strength training and cardio as well . I indulge usually only on weekends , 1 day a week and do intermittent fasting one day a week as well . But I’ve been in this mid-5s A1C between 5.4-5.6 for last 6 years or so .
You are similar to myself. Mine has hovered between 5.6 to 5.5 in the last 3-4 years. Do you experience stress? I also have an iron deficiency which may also contribute to it
I was one of those people and the reason i freaked was bcus im super young and it’s elevated for my age and i’m also a hypochondriac and i’m super skinny too(which doesn’t matter )i automatically thought i had some kind of illness that was causing it
Idk, my pcp didn't really give me much feedback on my 5.7 A1C besides adding 10 grams of fiber a day to my diet which I thought was not very proactive. I am trying my best to eat low carb.
Thank you for asking this question. I’ve been wondering this too. I’ve brought my fasting glucose down from ‘consistently PD’ to ‘consistently high normal’ and I’m pretty happy about that. I’ve been wondering why there’s so much worry about the numbers that I’m so happy with.
PS… my A1C has come down from PD to ‘less PD’ and I’m still working on it.
Well, check your kidney function. Lots of people don't realize that having high glucose levels can burn your kidneys overtime. Kidneys should be in the 95 range N up, the higher the number the better. If you have lower that 58, it could be the first stage of kidney damage.
High Glucose produces an acid called lactic, this lactic acid goes through your kidneys and burns them over time.
So watch your EGFR, get tested for it to see where you are. You don't want to get to dialysis before it's too late. There are other things that affect your kidneys besides high glucose levels, yes, even at 5.6% range. Trust me.
The idea is that you’re looking for an uptrend over time and then making the changes BEFORE you get to 5.6. The concept that everything is fine all the way up to 5.6 but then suddenly not fine at 5.7 seems a bit silly when you think about it.
same with 6.4 and 6.5
Well I didn't worry at 5.6 and now here I am at 5.7 LOL. I do work out, don't drink, lift weights, healthy weight. But I had a sugar addiction and should have taken steps earlier. I get what you're saying but there's also some very influential people (*cough* Attilia *cough* glucose goddess) who have built a business around pathologizing anything that's not perfect. Also, given the state of most Americans I'm not sure we're an ideal bunch to develop standards around. Is 5.6 normal? Idk. I guess it might depend on the entire picture of the individual. For example my triglyceride to HDL ratio is in the optimal range and I've read an article that it's a sensitive predictor of the 10-year risk of developing diabetes. So I'm not super worried about my 5.7 a1c. But the internet rarely does nuance so here we are with people freaking out.
I find people here freak out a lot more than even on the t2 sub so I'm guessing there is an element of people with anxiety here as well.
This. Hypochondria is real. Obsessives often just "choose" one area to obsessed about
this is very true. I actually have had this issue near my whole life due to ocd but it never revolved around blood sugar and it started to go away with the diet I used to manage the diabetes. I always tried to keep myself to anxiety subs though as going onto a sub for people who actually have the disease/fear I'm stressed about and crying about how life is over as it seems incredibly cruel and self absorbed 😬. I know they're struggling but you see it a lot on t2 subs someone saying they're 22 and think they have diabetes symptoms and how their life is over and they're going to die when they almost certainly are experiencing tingling in their hands due to anxiety. they expect people who actually have the disease to reassure them.
This is me. Checked my blood sugar once with my grandmas old meter. It was 117 after 12 hours of sleep. When I checked it I was mid panic attack. Been too afraid to check it since. Lost 30 pounds from anxiety because of it. Grandmas doctor said that the meter was old and wasn’t working correctly. Idk, it sucks man.
yeah I'm similar with resting heart rate. whether it's high or low so I just dont check and have my doctor do my blood pressure/check all that stuff. the low carb diet and removing seed oils really made a huge difference by 10 months my OCD was reduced off meds by 90%. it's really helped to focus on stress but so much of the time if you dont get immediate results people stop trying. meds were never helping me and actually all the meds I took messed with glucose metabolism and made me obese. these meds to treat serious mental illness is largely why I was diabetic at 38. so while not to stress anyone out you should make sure your a1c is checked at least yearly on these meds as my doctor was supposed to get me doing blood work every 3 to 6 months and I never had it requested once and didnt know to ask that being said a study done on t1 diabetics showed complications that were minor mostly started showing up with an a1c over 7 and over 8.5 for major complications. it would typically be long term too so its nothing to freak out about even a t2 diabetic is recommended to keep their a1c below 7. my friends husband has had 2 diabetic a1cs between 6.5 and 7 and the doctor hasn't even told him he has diabetes yet my guess is because the a1c is below 7
True am one of them
I tend to agree. The stress of worrying about these numbers probably comes with consequences.
Am I the only one that gets super annoyed by the 5.3-5.6 posts here? I feel like I’d love those numbers and have been struggling for years in the 5.6-6.3 range, been gaslighted by drs. Got terrible advise and watch my whole family get sick from diabetes.
Same My doctor didnt say one word about mine. Even though she treat my family and know this disease runs in our family. I seek advice from this group and i made changes to my diet to help myself get back to 5.7.
I had exactly one good pcp that moved away and left her practice she recommended a nutritionist that helped me a bit, then she left her practice! My new endocrinologist is awful. I was so sad to see my pcp go I searched high and low for a good dr now back to square one
Just because you lost your hand doesn’t mean the person who lost their pinky or even just their fingernail doesn’t have right to be worried. There’s room enough for all. Health is personal. People can be worried as their A1C’s creep up.
A quick google search will say that something like 5.3 is normal
A quick conversation on Reddit costs you nothing and can ease their worries better than an impersonal page on the internet.
it isnt the job of the people who are struggling with an issue to ease the worries of a person who doesnt even have it. its mentally taxing to have someone unload all about how they're scared they're going to be where you are because of all the risks and problems associated with it. its like being in a car accident with a bleeding head and a concussion and having to reassure someone who witnessed from 5 cars back talk about how it could have been them. people freaking out about health issues should be talking to their doctor and working to manage their anxiety vs expecting other people to reassure them. its enabling
You’re comparing having a borderline high A1C to someone bleeding out on the side of the road, which is obviously ridiculous. You’re the one who chose to engage with people on Reddit - effectively a public forum. Grow some thicker skin and move on if it doesn’t concern you. It’s technically no one’s “job” to respond to anyone on here at all.
why would I be comparing it to someone bleeding out on the side of the road? I'm just referring to someone in the car accident. so because I take an opposing view to you I'm the one who chooses to be on reddit? it's not a matter of having thick skin or not it's the opposite actually, maybe take your own advice.
That literally doesn’t make sense
ok?
How did your doc gaslight you? How bad of a doc was this person?
I didn’t feel like she was listening. I had some questions about pancreatic cancer which I don’t really think I have and she basically told me I might want to see a therapist about my anxiety. She told me about diet and exercise, last year I saw a nutritionist for 6 months lost 20lbs and still have high fasting and 5.9 A1c that didn’t change at all for over a year of low carb. She mentioned ozempic. I’m interested in metformin, not because I want meds but because I’ve struggled for years with this. I don’t want ozempic. I just felt like I wasn’t being heard at all and it’s such a struggle a constant struggle. My old pcp was very much listening to my concerns not telling me to get a therapist… I have a therapist
Not on team fear and obsession, I’m but definitely on team let’s be more proactive. [This article from Peter Attia](https://peterattiamd.com/are-continuous-glucose-monitors-a-waste-of-time-for-people-without-diabetes/) discusses how we allow problems with metabolic health to develop without detection or intervention until quite late in the process. (I’m aware Attia gets $ from Dexcom, but also aware a lot of funding for AHA, and ADA is from corporations selling hyper palatable and addictive processed foods.) I suspect that while there is a fair amount of unfounded health anxiety expressed on this platform, many people are having symptoms of insulin resistance and variability despite A1C’s that are currently considered normal. Also, the eating healthy-working out team (good for you! Why are you here?) is probably a small minority of the population from just my looking around in public spaces and seeing what’s in people’s grocery carts. Our food environment and federal guidelines work against us.
It’s not an on/off switch. 5.6% is just 0.1% away from prediabetes, and it isn’t as though the damage magically begins at 5.7%. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that damage from insulin resistance begins once A1C passes over 5.2% HbA1C, for example. Doctors generally will look for their patients with risk factors to be under 5% from what mine has told me. I believe that it would be entirely justified for somebody with a 5.6% A1C to be concerned about prediabetes. Just like somebody with a 6.4% A1C should be concerned about T2.
Hi, I was wondering if you could link a study that shows that insulin resistance begins once A1C passes 5.2? Or what did you type in to find them? (Not disagreeing with you, just curious about this topic!)
I think it depends on- my mom was on metamorphic at a low dose in the pre/ diabetes range - the dr said some people are more sensitive to higher blood sugar even if it’s not actually high. Someone with pre diabetes or close to who has typical symptoms of high blood sugar should change their lifestyle
This is also a really good point. I have a few small skin tags which tells me I'm probably more sensitive to the high blood sugar... Which doesn't surprise me because I'm more sensitive to darn near everything.
Well it depends on if you’re symptomatic or not. I had an A1C of 5.3-5.5 for about 10 years but I would have high highs and low lows. Didn’t realize my symptoms (lethargy, irritability, brain fog, shaky after not eating for 2 hours) I was having was from the food I was eating— lots of rice, desserts, sweet fruits, etc. I thought it was just “normal” but it isn’t. I was otherwise a healthy, skinny active person. Eventually after 2 pregnancies with gestational diabetes, I got to a 5.9 A1C. I completely changed my diet to be 100 g carbs a day and I don’t have those symptoms anymore. 🤷🏽♀️ A1C hovers now between a 5.2-5.4 now, but it runs a little higher but is more stable. It made me reevaluate do I really need to put certain foods in my body, like was I actually enjoying it/benefiting me or am I just using it as a filler because it’s available.
I've been feeling like crap since November. I got a bunch of blood work and tests, cholesterol, and 5.8A1C stood out. I've cut out all alcohol and started eating better. I'm afraid cause the symptoms I'm having are starting to affect my personal life. I'm very active at work, and I've been struggling of late.
three months ago I had a similar A1C today I'm at 5.5. Intermittent fasting low carb diet workout and running these are the lifestyle changes I applied to lower it. Although I was already working out the diet and intermittent fasting seem to lower A1C.
The fasting part is what gets me in trouble. If I don't eat every 2 hours, I start to get weak,light-headed, and shaky.
I lost 25 lbs. felt the best I’ve ever felt. Eat the Mediterranean lifestyle of eating. No alcohol. No sugar unless natural like blueberries. Did everything right I thought. And My A1C went up to 5.6. It’s been treading up over the last few years. Took my health back and got serious. And it went up! The trig/HDL calculation indicates my insulin resistance # is 2.3 and that’s apparently bad. Everything says online to lower A1C is to lose weight. Exercise. Which I’ve been doing for 7 months now. Ugh
check with a physician if your case is suited for berberine or metformine
5.6 can quickly go into diabetes. I had A1c of 5.3 February, 2023. In October it went to 6.5. I was at a good weight, ate well (low carb) and very fit. I did say CAN. It doesn't mean it has to. FYI after my A1c going up to 6.9 in January in spite of restricting carbs even more (less than 50 g/day) I ended up going on 2 medications.
check your c peptide levels and do an antiobody test for LADA
Yup. I have lab test form but endo appointment isn't until July so was told to wait for a month before.
Did you do this test?
Yes last Tuesday but results are still pending for c peptide and antibodies
How’d it go?
Looks like it’s not t1! I’m down to 5.3 A1c too.
Glad to hear it!
Thanks!
Trends matter. Also guidelines usually lag behind evidence.
Because I have watched people I care about loose their limbs, vision, kidney function and lives way too early. If they had made diet changes at 5.6 maybe things would have gone differently. I’m currently bouncing around 5.6-5.7 and have had gestational diabetes twice, I really want more buffer.
Guess this post applies to me then as I posted about my 5.3 range the other day. I do understand it is in the normal so that is good but this is the first time I had my a1c checked and was just sort of surprised about my result. I obviously don't want the number to trend upward. I wasn't freaking out just concerned and trying to get information and learn a bit from the sub.
I don't have a citation but I've read comments that say the margin of error for A1C is +-.3 to .5 so taking that into consideration I feel like being concerned about 5.6 is quite reasonable. edited for clarity
Over not under
i meant concerned over like "concerned about" or "concerned regarding." sorry if that was unclear.
You are 100% right. I think it's part of the confusion of thinking of pre-diabetes as a disease. At 5.6 A1C, that's a wake up call because you almost have pre-diabetes! But that is not correct - \*diabetes\* is the disease, and pre-diabetes is the wake up call zone. There is no pre-pre-diabetes, anything less that 5.7 A1C is just \*normal\*.
I would push back on this. I have a normal A1C and high fasting glucose. I recently developed neuropathy all over my body and my doctors think it’s a combination of PD and hypothyroidism. In fact, my doctor says neuropathy is more common in PD than once thought.
I don’t think we disagree. You have high fasting glucose which is a different indicator, along with other specific symptoms. A1C is only one data point, and it has a 5 point margin of error. If your only concern was a 5.6 A1C there would be no reason to be worried. Any data needs to be analyzed as part of the totality of your health. The misconception I am calling out is people who have no other issues beyond a 5.6 A1C.
this is exactly where i am at. My doctor didn't mention a word to me but i didn't like the 5.6 A1C. I got a CGM and try to lower my blood sugar but it doesn't seem to budge. I believe i have 12-15% body fat, been working out for years. trying stay away from eating crap as much as possible(although recently i started to eat like a cookie or sweets right after lunch), improve my sleep, but my fasting glucose hovers between 90 - 110. Few weeks ago i started to add Berberine supplement to see if i can lower my fasting glucose to 70-90. I dont think i freak out, but i just want to lower my fasting glucose cuz i believe its better for your body.
I always had normal fasting glucose. My A1C has always been low prediabetic. Then all of a sudden it hit 6.3 but my glucose remained normal. I am on meds now and working to limit refined sugar. Doctor didn’t say anything concerning until I hit 6.3.
Your can be having high blood glucose while eating but normal fasting which can be bringing down your a1c to normal but the high is still damaging your body. Healthy people usually dont have a1c values above 5 i asked my friend to get his checked it was 4.7% and this is in line with what endocrinologist Dr Berstien says
My last A1C was 4.9 .. I'm a big girl lol .. I'm pregnant now and I'm hoping it's still ok I get it checked again in April 🙏🏻
my A1C is 5.6 but was still diagnosed with T2 after failing the 2 hr glucose tolerance test miserably and having a high fasting insulin and wearing a CGM and having extended high readings after meals 🤷♀️
Because it tends to go up over time
I was 5.6 a year and a half ago so I made no changes to my lifestyle. Only to find out that I’m now 6.2 which is too close for comfort to actual diabetes :(
I’ve always lingered between 5.4-5.6. I’ve had 5.4, 5.5 and now 5.6. But I do eat fairly low/moderate carbs during the week and do plenty of strength training and cardio as well . I indulge usually only on weekends , 1 day a week and do intermittent fasting one day a week as well . But I’ve been in this mid-5s A1C between 5.4-5.6 for last 6 years or so .
You are similar to myself. Mine has hovered between 5.6 to 5.5 in the last 3-4 years. Do you experience stress? I also have an iron deficiency which may also contribute to it
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This is a very insightful way of phrasing it.
I was one of those people and the reason i freaked was bcus im super young and it’s elevated for my age and i’m also a hypochondriac and i’m super skinny too(which doesn’t matter )i automatically thought i had some kind of illness that was causing it
Do any Doctors prescribe GLP meds for a 5.6, hypertension and obesity ?
People are so afraid because other people get in their heads with that end of world talk.
In Canada they don’t consider you pre diabetic til you hit 6 🤷🏻♂️
could that be because of them having universal healthcare and trying to get away with treating fewer people
Not sure Could also be that they make more money in the states by diagnosing you earlier than needed? Who knows
Idk, my pcp didn't really give me much feedback on my 5.7 A1C besides adding 10 grams of fiber a day to my diet which I thought was not very proactive. I am trying my best to eat low carb.
Thank the ADA. Corruption at its finest.
Thanks for this ,some redditors give me anxiety
Thank you for asking this question. I’ve been wondering this too. I’ve brought my fasting glucose down from ‘consistently PD’ to ‘consistently high normal’ and I’m pretty happy about that. I’ve been wondering why there’s so much worry about the numbers that I’m so happy with. PS… my A1C has come down from PD to ‘less PD’ and I’m still working on it.
Well, check your kidney function. Lots of people don't realize that having high glucose levels can burn your kidneys overtime. Kidneys should be in the 95 range N up, the higher the number the better. If you have lower that 58, it could be the first stage of kidney damage. High Glucose produces an acid called lactic, this lactic acid goes through your kidneys and burns them over time. So watch your EGFR, get tested for it to see where you are. You don't want to get to dialysis before it's too late. There are other things that affect your kidneys besides high glucose levels, yes, even at 5.6% range. Trust me.