January 26th, 2010 by

I’ve had a lot of trouble controlling my late second trimester blood sugars, as I’ve written about all over the place in the last few weeks.  But it’s true!  While the first trimester was crammed with low blood sugars, this second bit has been plagued with 200’s … and some of them fasting.  (I hate the idea of waking up high.  Makes me feel like the day gets off to a miserable start.)

I have been working very, very hard to keep track of these numbers and doing what I can to keep any highs from hanging out more than an hour.  But still, there were highs.  And not as many lows.  

So how on Earth did my A1C go down again this month?  I’m confused!  

Last week, I called Joslin to get the results of my most recent bloodwork, and when the receptionist answered, I was braced for the worst.

"Hey, this is Kerri Sparling.  I was calling to see if my A1C result was back yet."

"Let me check," the receptionist B said.  

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut because I was just certain that it had gone up.  "I’m pretty sure it’s going to suck a little bit."

B laughed at me.  "What?  Well let’s just see then."  I heard her clicking on things and shuffling papers.  "Okay, Kerri.  Well it hasn’t gone up.  You’re at 6.0%."

"What?  I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but are you seriously looking at my chart?  I’ve had some really rotten blood sugars this past month.  But it’s lower now?  How the heck did that happen?"

"I don’t know.  Maybe you’re getting those highs down faster than you think."

"I’m shocked.  But I’ll take it.  Whatever’s best for the baby girl, right?"

We hung up the phone, but I didn’t feel particularly proud.  Believe me, I’m not complaining at all about an A1C of 6.0%.  Not even close to complaining.  But I know that I’ve been doubting the accuracy of the A1C for a while now (wrote about it a few months ago, when I was up in the 7’s and distressed about those results) and now, after getting the lowest result in my entire history with diabetes, I’m not sure how I got there.  A few weeks ago, I understood why my A1C was lower because my overall blood sugars were lower.  I wasn’t over 180 mg/dl for weeks on end.  Now?  I’ve seen a pile of highs, yet my A1C is at the tail end of six.  I’m happy with the number itself, but not sure it’s completely accurate.

It’s weird, what being pregnant has done to my mentality.  Before BSparl was thrashing away in there, I wanted an A1C of 6.0% so badly that I was willing to do anything for it.  Now?  I’m sitting pretty with an A1C of 6.0% and wishing that it was definitively the result of steadier numbers.  I want what’s best for this kid, and I’m hoping that this number is indicative of a safe little environment for my daughter to flourish.

Because God only knows how I’ll manage to screw her up once she’s on the outside. 

Source: Six Until Me.