
July 28, 2001
Daily Care
Question from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia:
I am a 40 year male who was diagnosed two weeks ago and is being treated with metformin. My blood sugar has been between 14-26 mmol/L [252- 468 mg/dl] during that time, and my Hb1Ac is 10.3%. With my Hb1Ac at that level, should I be doing anything other than diet and exercise?
Answer:
The hemoglobin A1c represents the average daily blood sugar over the previous three months. Two weeks of therapy will not change the value greatly in that short of time. However, the initial value of 10.3% is approximately 4% above normal.
I would suggest that metformin might be a reasonable first choice for therapy, and it is important to follow your progress. If you can bring glucose levels down into the normal range, that is great. If they plateau at a level above target, additional therapy can be added.
JTL