The Scope Blog - How Long Does It Take to Lower A1C Levels? (2024)

FAQs

How quickly can A1C be lowered? ›

It will take months to lower. Instead of looking for a quick fix, eat healthily and exercise regularly. In a few months, your healthy lifestyle will reward you with a lower A1C level.

For some patients, a return to normal blood sugar levels may come over a few months, while for others, it may take years. "We repeat the A1C test with our prediabetes patients every three or six months, so we can monitor their progress in getting those A1C levels down," Harper says.

If you have good control over diabetes then the good news is that HBA1C can drop by 10%. But if your levels are higher than 7.5 then the drop is slower.

Expected timeline to see a change in A1c

By nature of the type of blood test that A1c is, you will likely do a repeat test in about 3 months. Remember, A1c is measuring your average blood glucose level over the last three months.

Summary. Drinking water won't lower your blood sugar levels, but staying hydrated can help you manage them if you have diabetes. Regularly drinking enough water is healthy, and research has linked it to a reduced risk of high blood sugar and diabetes.

It's true that carbohydrates affect your blood sugar more than other nutrients you eat. Chances are that if you overdo starchy carbs on a regular basis, your A1c number will start to creep up. But remember, all carbs aren't a problem.

Because reversal can imply a permanent cure, a more apt term for this topic might be “diabetes remission.” This generally means reducing A1C to the level of someone without diabetes (less than 6.5%) and either eliminating diabetes medications altogether or limiting medication to metformin.

What A1C requires metformin? ›

Rather, individuals at the highest risk for developing diabetes-i.e., those with FPG concentrations of 110-125 mg/dL (6.1-6.9 mmol/L) or A1C levels of 6.0-6.4% (42-46 mmol/mol) or women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus-should be followed closely and metformin immediately introduced only when they are ...

FARXIGA can help with your first priority—lowering your A1C

FARXIGA is a once-daily pill proven to help lower A1C, along with diet and exercise. *Average reduction with 5mg + metformin XR when starting at 9.2% A1C. Metformin XR alone lowered A1C by 1.4% when starting at 9.1% A1C.

A healthy diet is one of the best ways to lower your A1C levels. If you're trying to cut sugar out of your bloodstream, it is a good first step to work on cutting it out of your diet.

It's important to understand that lowering your A1C levels is a gradual and slow process. And, your A1C, unlike a blood glucose test, measures your average blood sugar over the past 2 to 3 months. This means it can take up to 3 months to notice significant changes in your A1C.

Apple cider vinegar and fenugreek seeds are the most effective at reducing fasting blood glucose and A1c levels compared with four other popular herbal remedies for type 2 diabetes, a recent systematic review found.

The lifespan of an A1C is approximately 90 to 120 days, and the full effects of a patient's change in behavior, diet, or newly adjusted medications will not be fully appreciated until all previous A1C in circulation are replaced (~90 days).

The ADAG (A1C-Derived Average Glucose) study found a strong correlation between the A1C and estimated average glucose concentrations. A change (either positive or negative) in A1C percentage of 0.5% is considered clinically significant.

A Mediterranean diet, which is low in saturated fat and high in vegetables and fruit, reliably lowers A1c numbers. Maybe downsize your weight loss goal. Not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight. But if you are, you may not need to drop as much as you think to make a difference in your A1c level.

Will the A1C test show short-term changes in blood glucose levels? Large changes in your blood glucose levels over the past month will show up in your A1C test result, but the A1C test doesn't show sudden, temporary increases or decreases in blood glucose levels.