I started out 2020 with an A1c that surprised me. It was a good surprise: Anything under 7 is a win in my book.
I won’t specifically say what the number was, because I don’t really believe in doing that and I fear that it will invite unwelcome judgment and/or comparisons. But I will celebrate that achieving this A1c was far from easy. It’s required a lot of work from me in the last few months, which have generally been a very turbulent period of time for me.
It seemed like the “diabetes gods” were really testing me in the latter half of 2019. From a month of unexplained highs to random incidents of technology failing me, I felt like I was being put through the wringer. I felt like a failure on just about all diabetes fronts, and it seemed like my efforts to maintain my desired blood sugar levels were fruitless.
So that’s why I could hardly believe my current A1c reading. Maybe it seems even more impossible to me because I didn’t even get to discuss it with an endocrinologist. In fact, I never got to talk to my new endo (the one I may or may not continue to see) about any of my A1c goals. Doesn’t that seem kind of effed up? Shouldn’t my doctor want to know what I hope to accomplish, in terms of my diabetes, in the next 3-6 months?
In that regard, this A1c has surprised me in more than one way…it’s not just that I’ve managed to get here (really, I’ve managed to stay here, my A1c in the last 2-3 years has been right around this number), it’s also about how it’s more than just a measurement of my average blood sugars in a 90-day period…it’s a marker of how I feel, emotions-wise, about my diabetes. I never thought about it much before, but as I’ve grown older, it’s really become a sign for me as to whether or not I have my shit together with my diabetes. It can signify how I’ve felt about my diabetes in a given period of time, from the lowest of the low burnouts to the highest of the high determined and motivated.
Kind of crazy and yes, surprising, how a single reading can mean this much.
Hugging the Cactus 
I read a couple years ago an article that an A1C of less than 7 is not a good goal for everyone. Some people are not good candidates for being held to that level. I am one of them. The reason? Because of low awareness of lows and the speed of hypos hitting me. I’ve had my blood sugar drop 131 points in 1 hour (CGM recorded). So if I was at 110 to start with, well, we both know where I would be. I’ve been below 7 once. Got to 6.9 without a pump or CGM a long time ago with a former endo. Like you I hate being told you aren’t doing things right because you aren’t below 7. No, I’m being cautious about not losing my drivers license because I will be having many more lows that I will need help getting out of. I will keep repeating myself because so many people seem to not get this fact. Yes it is a fact not an opinion. Everyone is an individual and had different needs. Some are more sedentary and therefore need more insulin. So of us are more active need less. I’m talking doses not actual amounts. My doses range from a 1 to 2 ratio in the morning to a 1 to 8 for supper at work. At one point I was started on 24 units of Toujeo because that is what the manufacturers dosing said I should get. I ended up down at 4 unit a day in the end because I kept dropping low into the 50s and 40s.Glad you are getting to where you want to be. As for the other issue you brought up, I’d give her one more try, just to see if it was a fluke or if that is how she runs her patients. If it improves stick around to see if she can help you. If not, well I’d be shopping already. lol I dumped the last one because she didn’t seem to care so much about where I wanted or needed to be but where the books said I was supposed to be. We parted way over that issue.
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I am always thrilled to get my A1C these days. I have held a nice less than six now for 7 years. This after a nice sweet 11.8 at one point. I like my wonderful CDE and doctor. I like seeing each every six months.
So yes finding a cool space to live in is the best. Here’s to a great start of the new year !!!
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