What is HA1C?

I had a blood test to say that my HA1C is high and that it put me into type II Diabetes.  What is this?

[JDRF-Team-gg]

Hi Bunny!  

I am a volunteer with Medhelp and a Mom of a 16 year old who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 21 months.  I am not a medical professional, so any information that I give to you should be verified with your healthcare team.  

The blood test that you had was a hemaglobin A1C test and it measures the average blood glucose (bg) level for the previous three month time period.  When this level is high as you stated, it means that your bg was within a diabetic range.  The good news about this is that with proper eating habits and exercise, you may be able to bring this level down within a non-diabetic range.  That is the biggest difference between type II and type I diabetes.  Type I diabetics have to have insulin injections to survive as their pancreas has stopped producing insulin altogether.  In your case, your pancreas is still producing insulin, but not efficiently for your body.  As this website deals with type I diabetes, I am recommending that you check out the American Diabetes Association website at  www.diabetes.org for further information regarding type II diabetes. Good luck to you.