@A DiabetesTeam Member

Thanks for your answer. My full explanation may be even more confusing. So the basics "diabetes" and "prediabetes" are not the same, one Dr can diagnose prediabetes and another can say you do not have diabetes and both can be correct. However, the number "5" you gave brings up some questions. If it is correct and we are using the right scale for the test, 5 probably should not be diagnosed as prediabetes. BTW. I use the term a1c rater than the full HbA1c.

Now for the full verbose answer. Perhaps how would be a good time to grab a cup of tea:

a1c is a three month average. This is why I was wondering how you got "normal". The reading you got a month ago probably shouldn't be considered your "normal". It was the reading for that date representing an average level of glucose over the last 2-3 months. If you have a series of a1c readings going back several years, you could determine a "norm" or "trend".

You are using two terms, diabetic and prediabetic. They are not the same thing. The first person said you were predictable, that is not a diagnosis of diabetic. Since diagnoses of predictable is not a diagnoses of diabetic, the second person could also be correct.

Now for something that confuses the issue even further, in Britain they can express a1c on two different scales, by % or by mmol/mol (not to be confused with mmol/L). A "5" looks like they are talking % which would usually be expressed as 5.0, the mmol/mol is expressed something like 50.0. 5% would be about 31 mmol/mol

All that said, it is my understanding that a 5 is not high enough to diagnose ether diabetes or prediabetes. 50.0 mmol/mol would be diabetic, not prediabetic.

Here is a webpage that lists the a1c levels for diagnosis in Britain:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

Did I confuse you more? ;-)

Anyhow, I would suggest you verify the a1c number and express your concerns with your primary care.

And just in case this is not confusing enough, for the daily testing many of us do, the USA used a scale mg/dL while the rest of the world uses mmol/L (not to be confused with mmol/mol). mg/dL and mmol/L are not the same. On an international board like this, you will see people using the different scales without identifying which is which. It messed with my head for a while.

I am in the USA and use the USA numbers, but I tried to use the British systems as much as I can. You may want to verify what I said about the British systems.

Mentioned Users

A Diabete...

@A DiabetesTeam Member Could you point our a medical reference stating that metformin can cause kidney damage? I can't find any, bur I do find stuff like:

https://www.sharecare.com/health/ metformin/diabetic-kidney-problem-occur- metformin

Which indicate that metformin is not the cause of kidney problems, but that kidney problems could cause problems for metformin.

Or this,

http://www.empr.com/safety-alerts-and-recalls/f... metformin-containing-drugs/article/488675/

Which indicates that Metformin can be taken even with mild renal impairment.

I am not finding anything that said Metformin causes kidney issues

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A Diabete...

Be careful of the metformin it can cause kidney damage.

I can verify you're right, we moved over to the % system a couple of years ago and I had to ask my nurse to convert from % to mmol/mol cos I couldn't get my head round %'s.😊

Last year a doc - not a specialist - totally confused me by saying my annual Hb1Ac result was 6.5 (42%), which meant I wasn't diabetic anymore. Luckily I had to see my own specialist. She clarified that technically the other doc was right. 42% is classed as pre-diabetic here; all it means is I'm doing well and I've nothing to worry about.

I learned a good lesson from that incident. Now, if I hear anything over 50%, I know I've got some work to do.

But what was ur HBA1C mine is bout 7/2 to bout 9