It's not 10.0

I did it! My A1C is 8.7!

Sorry, that's diabetic lingo. A1C is short for "Hemoglobin A1C" and, essentially, it determines how well I've taken care of my diabetes in the last three months. Think of it as a grade on a report card. Every three months at my diabetes check up, the nurse takes my blood which is fed into a computer that determines my A1C in the form of a number (it can range between 4 and 14). A healthy non-diabetic would have an A1C around 5...so 5 is great. To be below 7 is considered good for a diabetic...but once that number begins to creep up...you're in real trouble.

I'd been in trouble for the last year or so because my A1C had steadily been getting worse and worse. At my last appointment in June, my A1C was 10.0 (think of it as an F+). Basically, that A1C reflects dangerously poor control of my blood sugars. I'd never reached a number that high before and it scared the shit out of me because if you allow your A1C to remain that high for a long period of time you're at an increased risk to suffer complications.

Nothing like the threat of losing a kidney or a foot to kick your ass into high gear. After that, I tried harder to keep my blood sugars under control although I definitely didn't always do a perfect job. I know 8.7 isn't an ideal A1C but it's a big improvement. It's a C- if you look at in terms of grades. And still I'm so happy that I'm doing better.

I also found these videos that are kind of cool...



This is a PSA to encourage diabetics to check their A1C...



Here is the same PSA reversed...It's so weird, the guy is saying everything backwards! It's hilarious at the end when he has to trip out of the shot.