My A1C was 5.8 when tested in November, 5.6 when tested in December, and 4.9 when tested in January. I have not made any diet, exercise or lifestyle changes. Is it actually possible for A1C to fall so steeply for no apparent reason, and what would cause it?
Isn’t A1C a 60 to 90 day (or so) average? I hope your MD is monitoring this.
That’s blood sugar. A1C is different; a normal A1C is typically between 4.0 and 5.7, IIRC.
My doctor told me that the A1C test has a pretty high margin of error, and shouldn’t be taken as gospel, but more as an indicator, one of many.
I think what Morgenstern is saying is that the A1c is a good indication of average blood sugar over a 60 to 90 day period.
That said, I’ve read that it’s heavily weighted based on the previous couple of weeks before you get tested. I think I’ve experienced that as well - my last A1c was about .5 higher than it normally is, and I’d spent the two weeks before the blood draw travelling for business and thus eating worse and exercising less than normal. I’d actually mentioned that to my doc at the time. I’m still well-within guidelines, so no big deal, but I will be interested in my next results (I get it done every 6 months or so).
That said, I have no other ideas on why yours was so low, given that you said you’d made no real changes. I’d be tempted to get it done again; lab mistakes do happen, maybe something got messed up?
My suggestion as well. The test has limited accuracy, and you’re being tested infrequently over the time range if the first one was early November.