In Which I Realize That Yesterday's Post Was Inconsistent

I received a little blowback about yesterday's post, in which I first stated that we shouldn't judge ourselves or others by an A1C and then proceeded to share generalities about how great my daughter's A1C is. Maybe it's because I wanted to finish the post quickly due to afternoon obligations and didn't spend much time rereading my post before publishing it, or maybe it's just because I'm a human being who makes mistakes, but it somehow did not occur to me that these two things were somewhat contradictory.

I still think the post, especially the first five paragraphs, has value, so I've left it up. However, I wanted to elaborate today on what I was really trying to say.

The A1C is a data point that gives a snapshot of your/your child's blood sugar control over the past 2-4 months. It can give you and your medical team an idea of what to do next. However, it has no bearing on your value as a person or as a parent.

Yes, there are actions you can take that increase the likelihood of a lower A1C. The dynamic management style subscribed in Sugar Surfing is one. Following a lower carb diet is another. However, no matter what methods you are using or are not using, managing diabetes is hard and there will always be a ton of factors affecting a person's blood sugar control, many of which are outside of your direct control.

If your child is starting puberty or going through a growth spurt, blood sugar can be particularly hard to control. There's no reason to beat yourself over the head if your child's A1C goes up in such a situation. It's simply a data point that shows you're still learning how to navigate within the new parameters.

Yes, it's true that many, many years of high blood sugar, indicated by high A1Cs, can lead to diabetes complications. Here's the thing, though. One high blood sugar, one high A1C, or even years of high A1Cs will not inevitably turn on the "diabetes complications" switch. There are a ton of factors, not all of which are well understood.

Both my father and my father in law have type 2 diabetes, and they've had it for similar lengths of time. My father in law is more careful about what he eats and has often had lower A1Cs. However, my father currently does not suffer from any complications and my father in law does. Diabetes doesn't play fair.

The good news is, there are treatments now available or being developed that can mitigate some of the complications of diabetes. Plus, there is data showing that good blood sugar control can halt and sometimes even reverse complications that have already started. All hope is not lost, even if years of high A1Cs and judgment for them have made you feel like a bad diabetic or a bad D-parent.

One of the reasons I left a Facebook group I used to belong to that advocated (with well-meaning intent) for tight blood sugar control, was the disregard so many members of the group had for the fact that diabetes is different for everyone and that the tight control they had on their child's blood sugar might be more difficult for someone else. I also got tired of reading statements like, "I keep such tight control because I want my daughter to keep her pretty little toes." The implication being that, if you don't consistently have tight control of your child's blood sugar, they will inevitably lose a limb in adulthood.

Here are some final thoughts on A1C and on sharing that data. In the beginning of our diabetes journey I shared a couple A1Cs on my Facebook feed. I decided later on that that was inappropriate in large part because it's not my data to share. While Kittygirl is fine at this point with me sharing about her diabetes, there's no good reason for me to create a digital cache of her private medical data.

This is different for adults with diabetes. If it's helpful to you to publicly share info about your A1C, either because you've been working hard and you want to brag, or because you've been struggling and you want to ask for help or just to get validation that you're not alone, share away. It's your own data, and it's your choice whether you want to share it.

Personally, I have chosen to only share actual data about Kittygirl's diabetes in personal conversation with a very limited number of people. If Kittygirl at some point in the future no longer gives me permission to do even that, I will stop.

I've read through this post a couple times now, and I'm pretty sure there are no contradictions, but I'd love to know what others think about this issue.

For your viewing pleasure, here's a pic of Kittygirl enjoying the snow we got yesterday - without a jacket and with her diabetes supply bag in view. She doesn't even know what her latest A1C was, and she doesn't care.