HealthEcon_DC said:

HbA1c reflects roughly three months of average glycaemia weighted toward the most recent weeks, which is why repeating it at six weeks tells you very…

Fasting insulin is the lab my functional medicine doctor cares about most for glycaemic control: it's a much earlier marker of metabolic dysfunction than glucose or A1C.

My fasting insulin: 31 → 13 → 5 uIU/mL over 9 months. Target is <7. By the time your fasting glucose is elevated, your insulin has been elevated for YEARS trying to compensate.

Ask your doctor to include fasting insulin in your bloodwork panel. It's cheap (~$20) and incredibly informative.

HealthEcon_DC said:

HbA1c reflects roughly three months of average glycaemia weighted toward the most recent weeks, which is why repeating it at six weeks tells you very…

Complete metabolic panel trending on glycaemic control — sharing because comprehensive data helps everyone:

The insulin resistance improvement (HOMA-IR) is what my endo focuses on most. Going from 5.5 to near 1.0 is a metabolic transformation.

VendorMark said:

Complete metabolic panel trending on glycaemic control — sharing because comprehensive data helps everyone: Test Baseline Month 3 Month 6 Month 12…

Glycemic variability as the key metric for glycaemic control success: my coefficient of variation (CV) on CGM dropped from 35% to 20%. Target is <36%, with <30% being ideal.

Why this matters more than average glucose: large glucose swings cause oxidative stress, endothelial damage, and promote advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). A flat glucose line at 95 mg/dL is metabolically healthier than oscillating between 60 and 160, even if the average is the same.

Dr.PeteFamMed said:

Fasting insulin is the lab my functional medicine doctor cares about most for glycaemic control: it's a much earlier marker of metabolic dysfunction…

Can confirm. Same sequence, different timescale.