Get Your A1c in 5 Minutes – at Home

Keeping track of your A1c can be a good way of knowing if your blood sugar management is on track or if you need to make tweaks to your care.

But going to the doctor to get the test can be both expensive and time-consuming, so let me show you how to quickly measure your A1c at home and at a surprisingly affordable price.

At-Home A1CNow Kit ► CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE ON AMAZON
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0:00 Intro
1:14 Where to get an at-home A1c test kit
2:53 How to do the at-home A1c test correctly
5:47 Understanding your A1c result
7:22 How accurate are at-home A1c tests?

FOLLOW DIABETES STRONG ON:

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a medical professional, never stop your current treatment without consulting with your doctor

[warrenlucier]

After reading the other comments and gleaning knowledge, I thought I'd share on what I've learned since becoming an IR Type2 diabetic. This is just how it works for me and it could be different for others. I keep a wall calendar for testing blood glucose, with time & results. Since I've got a better handle on my personal situation, my testing is not as frequent as it once was, and I test in the morning first thing and again @ 2 PM; unless I'm trying something new and need to know how it effects my blood glucose. Using the calendar, I add up all of my samples and divide by the # of samples to get my average blood glucose and then use an online calculator to convert to A1c. If your a Type2 the A1c you get may look fine, along with the rest of the metabolic panel, but the only way to get the whole story is also getting a fasting insulin test to see if the pancreas is being overworked or not. Insulin in a fasting test needs to be below 18.4 ul/mL and the best is between 2 to 5 ul/mL. Most doctors usually don't ask for this important test and you will have an overworked pancreas (inflamed)and you'll not be aware of this situation. I'm 6' 2" in stature and I weighed 260 Lbs. and now I float between 205 and 210 Lbs. with 2 meals a day being low in carbohydrates consumed within a 6 hour timeframe. When I 1st discovered I was diabetic my fasting blood glucose was 186 and the A1c was 8.2; three years later 117 and A1c 5.5. I'd like to see A1c of 5.0 or lower and weight down to 185. I hope this information is helpful in some way.

[JxT]

66, i was diagnosed prediabetic 6.1 a1c in march and now 4 months later my a1c is down to 5.6 by cutting down a lot on sugar and white bread and i also lost 20 pounds as a result. i weigh only 130 pounds now. not only did my a1c go down my cholesterol and triglycerides also went way down and also my blood pressure. i completely stopped statins and lowered my blood pressure medication to a minimal.

[donwinston]

Quest Diagnostics and Lab Corp charge about $30 for an A1C test. You don't need a doctor to schedule an appointment. You get the results in less than a week.

[crabbypaddy]

I went from 6 to 3.9 in a few weeks. Best medication is simply to cut out all products with sugars, fruit sugars, sugar replacements and stop eating the pesky carbs or stick to a very small amount of carbs. Eat meat, animal fats and butter.

[metalsteel]

My a1c was 18, and seemingly had been for years. the doctors looked at me and told me that I was a dead man walking. they suddenly treated me with extreme care and sympathy, and one of the nurses even started crying like I was about to die. it was crazy. But I felt fine. I NEVER felt dizzy, tired, or thirsty. I only did a check up because I thought my prostate was growing extremely large and could only hold a half cup of piss. they checked my a1c a few times again and it was still 18 and they made me take insulin right away, but I refused because it was expensive. Maybe a1c doesn't really matter all that much?

I decided to just go on a keto diet and my a1c went down to 7 a year later.

[AkitaSue]

I want to thank you for such an explanatory video. I am totally blind and a type 2 diabetic. (My blindness is not from diabetes.) many people present their information by showing pictures or graphs and play music. I appreciate the fact that you talked through everything you were doing. It was very informative. I have The Prodigy talking glucometer and that’s what I used to check my blood sugar every morning. I’m going to ask my doctor about the insulin test. Thanks again.

[dougberrett]

Thanks for the video. I think all of us who struggle with sugar levels share a common bond. It was a high A1c number that got me started down the path of paying attention and doing things to manage my blood sugar.
A comment by my ophthalmologist, a visit to a quack, and advice from a clinical pharmacist led me away from A1c.
The ophthalmologist mentioned that A1c was not the best indicator because it is an average, the problem being the fluctuations between high and low. My previous PCP obtained an A1c test which was 10.5. She prescribed a CGM, which I use, but she also prescribed a VERY expensive medicine, before even trying the most common one for type 2. Plus she gave the pharmacy no codes to use, so I got no insurance coverage. My local pharmacist found a coupon for the CGM, and I elected not to go with the expensive medicine. I know a clinical pharmacist who manages diabetics at his hospital. He was surprised that I was not put on first line meds. He suggested that I use insulin. A prescription is NOT required. I used a formula he provided to work out the dose. Diet change and the insulin dropped my glucose from the mid 300 mg/dL to about 150. I switched to a new PCP. She put me on Metformin. Now the struggle is to keep the readings from going too low. I am phasing out the insulin. The variation on the reading is in a much tighter range. A surprising benefit of struggling to keep the numbers up, is the chance to actually eat or drink non diet stuff.
I know this was rather long, but I thought it might help others fighting a similar fight. Best wishes on your struggle!

[gotmama]

For me 6.0 is too high. >150 mg/dL is high enough that there is still a lot of damage to your organs. As a T1 diabetic you might feel safer keeping it that high, but as a T2, I want to get it down below 5.7, i.e. where my diabetes is in remission.

I started out at an a1c of 13% three years ago, when I was in the ER for ketoacidosis. I'm at 6.1% now. I've also lost 45lbs over the past 18 months.

[markiangooley]

I use them. I’ve been a type 1 diabetic since 1970. When I have a lab A1C I often take a home test within a few days out of curiosity. The home test usually is a few tenths of a percent higher. With my low-carb diet that means 5.2% for the home test to 5.0 or a bit lower for the lab, for example.

They strike me as a tad expensive but convenient.

[Fishflorida]

I have had diabetes for 15 years or more and I found if you test before meals and two hours after meals and write down the result for three months. Then use a percentage calculator ( available online) it will give you an average that you can use to look at a A1C chart online and get a very close A1C when compared to actual labs from doctor. It takes a bit of work but if you compare this to buying a test kit or doctor/ lab copay it’s a much cheaper way to go 🙂

[MountainFisher]

I was diagnosed as Type2 in 2010 and I stopped eating carbs and I haven't had an A1C above 6 except a couple of times after the holidays as I'm fond of dressing and real turkey gravy.

[tclodfelter]

In 2019 I went on a strict diet (carbs< 100mg/day) and my A1C dropped from 7.4 to 5.7. I stopped pasta, potatoes and rice, I changed from white bread to wheat. I changed from white sugar to honey and reduced the amount I used. I increased my water and leafy vegetables. My morning glucose was never over 100. During covid my wife's business was shutdown for 8 months... here came the rice, potatoes & bread... my readings are now 160 - 200+!!

[Trevtron]

I've been a type 1 diabetic since 1977 and am 64 years old now being in the UK I get mine checked at the clinic twice a year so I don't think I'd waste my money on this I do use however a Libre 2 sensor that has been a God send in helping me keep my blood sugars under control

[CrockSD]

The A1CNow test has a limited shelf life of 120 days when not refrigerated. When I first purchased a 10 pack on Amazon over a year ago, it came in an insulated box with sealed ice blocks. I recently reordered 10 tests from the same vendor and they shipped at room temperature. The problem I have is I don't know if the kits were warehoused at room temperature as well. 120 days really isn't very long when you consider warehousing and shipping time. I believe shipping was via ground transportation due to the lithium battery in the meter. This may be part of the reason users questioned the accuracy of the tests in Amazon reviews. Because of this, I'd only buy 1 or 2 tests at a time.

[bish]

In Germany diabetics usually are in a diabetes management program which means their doctor has to do that test once every quarter. And it’s paid for by the insurance.

[songbirds]

I am on Medicare, and they sent me a free at home test. It was super easy to do. I poke my finger to get my blood, which is a little difficult since I just don’t bleed🤣🤣 and you need more than just a simple finger prick. But I did it and sent it in Wednesday. I should get the results next week and my PCP will get them also. Easy-Peasy!!

[barbsdee]

Thank goodness I live in the uk and can have an hba1c test every 3 months as a type 2 diabetic by our wonderful nhs 🇬🇧🙏🏻

[joesmith]

Even doctors today dont have that conversion chart!!
I got it at USF in Tampa, Florida 20 years ago!

[LunaWolfe]

Thank for the info about getting the at home a1c kit. I was thinking about getting it done monthly, so I can better track my results, rather than every 3 months. This will be a lot cheaper.

[merzougsofiane]

I'm a field service engineer in HbA1c apparatus. Sorry but the best technique to analyse the HbA1c with a good accuracy is HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) or electrphoresis. Biorad D-10 / Variant II / D-100
Tosoh G8 / G10
Arkray