Is an A1C of 5.9 good or bad?

[Not Heidi]

My A1C was 6.4 about a year ago. My foot surgeon said he'd like to see it a little better - not higher, not lower, but "better" - before surgery on April 23rd.

I had ECT* treatments between April and August last year. Rather than giving me some relief from depression it wiped out much of my memory - including information about my health problems. I looked it up, but I'm so confused right now that I couldn't understand what I read online.

If you don't mind, diabetes sufferers, could you help me out with this, please? I figure it's an easy answer for those of you in the know. Thank you.

* Electroconvulsive Therapy

[hlthe2b]

1. Normal is below 5.7

5.7 to 6.1 is considered compatible findings for "Pre-Diabetic" and 6.5 is considered "Diabetic."

Within that 5.7-6.1 range, the higher it is the higher your risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes.

That said, the fact that yours has come down from 6.4 is meaningful (good). Talk to your physician for any more on this as your concomitant conditions, medications, and risk history are relevant.

[Not Heidi]

6. What a relief!

Perhaps my doctor will tell me I no longer need to test four times a day? Hmm...

Thank you so much, hlthe2b.

[OLDMDDEM]

2. It is very good.

[Not Heidi]

7. Thank you, OLDMDEM.

I appreciate your reply.

[OLDMDDEM]

8. Youre welcome. Mine is 6.0.

[IbogaProject]

3. It's good

There have been aggressive targets for awhile, but I believe that is loosening up now. Melatonin at night can help your insulin work better throughout the day. A small amount of THC once a day can protect against nerve damage.

[Not Heidi]

9. Good info - thank you!

We have melatonin in the house, so YAY! I don't have to go to the drug store.

I have Wyld edibles, but I don't know how much THC is in them (I recycled the boxes the plastic containers were in). You wouldn't happen to know, would you?

[IbogaProject]

11. The amount needed for nerve protection is small

So any amount should work. It also helps keep you sharper if ever low. That's just a backup more than doing much day to day. With Type 1 it is more important with the blood sugar swings.

[Iwasthere]

4. Buy a bottle of quality Berberine

The number will go down

[Not Heidi]

10. Thank you, Iwasthere. n/t

[in2herbs]

5. Is an A1C of 5.9 good or bad?

This article was posted on DU in December of 2021. I don't have the name of poster:

(Newser) – "He really tried hard to be at" an A1c below 7%, said Lucy Carlson. "That is what actually killed him." If that doesn't make sense to you, there's a good chance you don't have diabetes. Carlson's husband Ron did—type 2, since 2001—and his wife said he fixated on getting his A1c score down. A1c is a measure of your average blood sugar level over a 3-month period, and as Robin Respaut, Chad Terhune, and Deborah Nelson write in a lengthy piece for Reuters, that under-7% target is one the drug industry has been promoting for two decades, leaving many people "chasing a treatment goal that could kill them." The authors dig deep into the history of that push, which they say has been led by Aventis SA of France and adopted by rivals like Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co.
The promotion of that target emerged "just as they were launching new formulations of insulin and other diabetes drugs" they painted as being able to get patients to that number, which they said would reduce the risk of long-term complications from the disease. They also funneled donations to the American Diabetes Association and other groups, getting them on board. But they weren't as vocal about the risks of the drugs that can drive high blood glucose down, which "carry the risk of going too far, tipping a patient into hypoglycemic crisis." It's what happened to Ron Carlson: Plunging blood glucose had caused him to faint, crash a car, and be hospitalized. Then, in July 2019, it happened again, this time as he was parking his motorcycle. He ended up squeezing the throttle and careening nearly 100 feet into a parked car; he didn't survive. (Read the full story for much more, including the take of a scientist involved in the original A1c research: "Marketing that everyone in the world needs to have an A1c less than 7% is crazy.&quot

[Warpy]

12. It means you're not diabetic

but your doc is going to want to keep an eye on it.

5.9 is above the 5.7 textbook average for that vvlue. It's consiered early pre diabetes. The treatment is just keeping an eye on it, your doc will tell you how often you need to get it tested.