A1C At Home Test

I just wanted to share, for those interested in testing your A1C's at home . . . This past Monday, I went to the lab to give blood for my quarterly A1C. On the same day, I used the Bayer A1C Now At Home Test. I actually used 2 of the test kits just to double-check.

The results:
Home Test 1 - 5.1 A1C
Home Test 2 - 5.0 A1C
Lab Test - 5.4 A1C

This supports what I've read elsewhere from others---i.e. that the home tests tend to run a little lower than the actual real lab tests.

Oh, and by the way, I was diagnosed in July of this year with Type 2 diabetes, and an A1C of greater than 10. So, yes, I'm very happy.

BUT, all is not well. Now . . . my LDL cholesterol has climbed to slightly high levels. Now . . . I have to keep my A1Cs down . . . and work to lower my LDL. No one ever said life wasn't an adventure. :)

-sam

Congrats on normalizing your A1c so quickly, Sam-- way to go! A lot of diabetics have to take Lipitor or one of those cholesterol meds to get their lipids in line. I took the very lowest dose, 10mg, for a few years and got great results, but I finally went off the med because I got sick of my muscles hurting. My cholesterol hovers around 160, even without meds, so for now I'm not taking anything for that, but I'd go back to it if I had to.
Judy D.

Do not worry too much about the lipids. The risk is greatly exaggerated since that helps sell the statins and other drugs. There is some good material about this on the web, although some of the anti-statin types are a little bit nutty (not me, of course). The real problem is the exaggeration of the risks of wonky lipids, and the benefits of the treating drugs. In statistics, some call it the percentage of a percentage gambit. But if you look at the underlying absolute numbers, they are not impressive at all.