Dr.GastroMayo said:

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

Patient selection optimization for glycaemic control: emerging predictive biomarkers for GLP-1 agonist response include:

The 4-week early responder criterion is the most clinically actionable: if you haven't lost ≥3% by week 4 at a therapeutic dose, discuss optimization strategies with your provider.

alex_tucson said:

Fasting glucose improved within weeks and my HbA1c barely moved for three months, which I now understand and did not at the time.

My labs after 6 months on glycaemic control: A1C 5.6%, fasting glucose 76 mg/dL, fasting insulin 7 uIU/mL. My endo says these are "textbook perfect."

For context, my baseline A1C was 6.7% and fasting glucose was 131 mg/dL. The improvement has been dramatic and consistent.

TrialTracker_MD said:

Patient selection optimization for glycaemic control: emerging predictive biomarkers for GLP-1 agonist response include: Biomarker Association…

Insulin sensitivity test (HOMA-IR) on glycaemic control — arguably the most important metabolic marker most people aren't tracking:

HOMA-IR = (fasting insulin × fasting glucose) ÷ 405

My numbers: Baseline HOMA-IR = 4.3 (insulin resistant) → Current = 1.3 (insulin sensitive)

Anything above 2.0 indicates insulin resistance. The goal is below 1.5. GLP-1 agonists address the root metabolic dysfunction, not just the symptoms. This is why they work so much better than calorie restriction alone.

Following on from paul_denver — and this may be the naive question:

What would you measure differently if you were starting again?

anna.melb_AU said:

Insulin sensitivity test (HOMA-IR) on glycaemic control — arguably the most important metabolic marker most people aren't tracking: HOMA-IR = (fasting…

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: 27 → 15 → 7 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.