Day 12 - Fourteenth Camp Blog Entry
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Webinar Tonight! - see below to get more info on how to attend.
Like it or not, diabetes care involves numbers. Some might say too many numbers. But one number that anyone with diabetes should know is their own hemoglobin A1C number, plus what it means.
I continue to meet patients from other practices that don’t know their last A1C value. It might be because the doctor draws the test after the visit and doesn’t get back to the patient about results. It could be that the doctor doesn’t order the test at all. That still happens. Worse yet, the doctor may draw the test and have the value at hand, yet not know how or when to act on the results.
A hemoglobin A1C test looks back several months and is an indicator of the average level of blood sugar control. It is expressed as a percentage. Recently, there has been an emphasis on converting the value to a number the patient can better relate to: the average blood sugar level in mg/dl, which are the units displayed on glucose meters in the US.
The A1C can be measured with a simple finger poke, or may be drawn from the arm. Some devices can report the result in minutes; others are handled like any other laboratory study and take a day or two to result. The ADA recommends that A1C values be targeted for 7% or lower. Anything higher should be evaluated for possible changes in management or discussion of existing diabetes self care practices with the patient. Other organizations suggest A1C be under 6.5%. There is already a major report that suggests the A1C test be formally accepted as one way to diagnose diabetes. The results are working their way through the diabetes medical establishment for final adoption.
Therefore, today’s Diabetes Challenge Question of the Day is about the A1C: YOURS: how often each year do you get your hemoglobin A1C measured; and if so do you know the most recent result? What kind of advice do you get from your diabetes doctor about your A1C levels? Is it supportive, critical or dismissive? Is your most recent value 9% or higher? If so, do you have a plan for getting it lower? And when do you get your next A1c to see how you’re making progress?
Webinar Tonight
I will not be posting an informational blog today due to the scheduled Diabetes Webinar tonight. The Webinar is scheduled to start at 8 PM CST and end at 9PM (Central Time). Updated links are posted to the site http://lionscamp.com/webinar.htm. Attendees from last Wednesday night are invited to rejoin the webinar next week if you had to leave early. During the day, join me at my twitter site for more one liners and candid photos of your kids being kids at http://twitter.com/Dr_Steve_Ponder . If you have any questions or comments about camp, please let me know anytime at Stephen.Ponder@dchstx.org.
Photo Gallery - check back later in the day and I’ll have a few posted.


























