Hi Nomie
You first need to know which system of measurement you're using. The SI or the American measurement (you often read on American-based web sites). Sounds like you might be using the SI system to me.
Lab test usually check for 1) HBA1C, 2) your fasting glucose level, and 3) your insulin level.
1) HBA1C (A1C for short) - measures your blood glucose level as an average over the past 90 days. Lab reports often show the number as a decimal (i.e. 0.064) but it is usually read as a percent (i.e. 6.4%)
2) Glucose Level - measures your blood glucose reading at the time you had blood drawn (this blood draw would be veinous blood and more accurate than the blood from your fingertip, as in using a blood glucose meter. That being said, your meter should still read pretty close to the lab's).
3) Insulin Level - sometimes done to see how much insulin is floating around your blood at the time of the lab draw. A high number could indicate Insulin Resistance; a very low number could indicate no insulin production as in the case of a Type 1. In the States and some parts of Europe they use a GAD165 test to determine, by certain DNA/genetic markers, whether or not you are Type 1 or 2.
Some info about
the two systems of measurement...
The SI System: mmol/L
The SI system (Système International)
- in Canada, Australia, Europe, and other countries
- uses moles per unit volume (millimoles per liter of blood)
- the term "mmol/L" is the abbreviation for millimoles (mmol) per liter/litre (L) and describes how much glucose is present in a specific amount of blood
• mmol/L is millimoles/liter, and is the world standard unit for measuring glucose in blood
The American System: mg/dL
- the American system generally uses mass per unit volume (milligrams per deciliter of blood).
- the term "mg/dL" then is the abbreviation for milligrams (mg) per deciliter (dL) and describes how much glucose is present in a specific amount of blood
• mg/dL is milligrams/deciliter, and is the traditional unit for measuring bG (blood glucose)
Conversion: To converse in American sugar lingo, the conversion is 18 or 0.055. For example, a blood sugar reading of 7.5 mmol/L
• multiplied by 18 yields 135 mg/dL
• divided by 0.055 yields 136.36 mg/dL.
Blood Sugar Levels:
- Your 8-hour fasting (preprandial) blood sugar is normal if it's 70 to 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 3.88 to 5.55 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)
- You are considered pre-diabetic, if your fasting blood sugar level is between 100 and 125 mg/dL, or 5.55 and 6.87 mmol/L)
- Current medical standards state that diabetes is formally diagnosed at fasting blood sugar level of 126 mg/dL, or 6.93 mmol/L.
If you have a copy of the lab report, it will usually indicate the parameters under which you should fall for each of the tests performed (Labs are all different). Anything falling outside "Normal" parameters gets highlighted in some way.
The 6.4, be it either your A1C or Fasting Glucose Level, is on the high side of "Normal" or the low side of pre-diabetes, depending on how you want to look at it
Either way, it is an indication that some attention and focus on diet and lifestyle is in order. Progression into Diabetes can be SIGNIFICANTLY postponed if some minor changes are made now. We can help with that