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Sunday, March 21, 2010

A1C in a Box

A few days ago I was pa rousing the aisles of Target while I was getting what I needed (vitamins). I typically go to look at their health section to see if anything is new, such as new flavors of glucose tablets. As I was looking at the various diabetic products, I noticed their A1C in a Box sitting on the self with all of the other meters.




I have an endo. appointment in less than a month, and one thing I am always worried about is my A1C. I hold myself to incredibly high expectations and would be devastated to see a high A1C. I test my blood sugar a lot to try to achieve the best control possible and with my CGM system my life has gotten easier, but I still strive for perfection. Even though I want to be perfect, I know it is not possible for me. Some days will be better than others as far as my blood sugars go and I will not be able to explain why. As I've gotten older, I have been able to accept this fact better, yet it is still a struggle.


As I stood in the Target aisle contemplating if I should spend the money to buy the A1C meter system, I tried to figure out what my A1C would actually be. I've had a few really bad high blood sugar days since the first of the year, which do damage to my A1C average. However, most of the time I felt like I was in decent control. I decided to buy the system because my curiosity was getting the better of me.



I opened up the box, read the instructions, and decided to skip watching the DVD that they told me I should watch first. I know how to read and follow directions and felt that watching it would be, well, a waste of my time.



The machine takes 5 minutes to read after you put the blood sample on it. I got nervous even waiting for it to read. Finally, it read my A1C: I was pleased. But then I started to wonder: How accurate is this simple machine that you can buy at Target? I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.

3 comments:

  1. I used this all last year, once a month and i found it very accurate, up a little when i had a bad month and down when it was better. I like having the results a little more often than every 3 months especially because your last months blood sugars account for almost 50% of that number. so you dont get a fair representation of the other 2 months. especially when THOSE were your good months.
    Nice A1C by the way. i wish i could geet mine down there!!

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  2. WAY TO GO!!! The home A1c's are totally accurate (per my endo). If you need proof, next time you get your A1c draw, do the 2nd test at the same time - and then compare the results. Congrats!

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  3. wow, now i totally want one...

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