Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of
your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.
Question
I am a 37 year old African with
type 2 diabetes
and the sickle cell trait. Since my diagnosis about 17 months ago, I have completely changed my lifestyle, and lost 80 pounds.
My last HbA1c
was 5.5% (down from 10.6% at diagnosis). However, my doctor told me that the sickle trait may affect the binding of glucose to my red blood cells, and my HbA1c may not be very accurate. How does this affect the value of my HbA1c?
Answer
Sickle cell trait might cause falsely low A1c values depending on the method used to do the test. There are assays that are reliable. The lab that performed the measurement needs to be made aware that you have the sickle trait to assure the proper method is used.
That said, congratulations on an outstanding job of taking charge of your diabetes! Your weight loss is awesome as is the drop in your A1c (assuming it was measured by the same lab).
ss
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