Any Type 1's in the Charleston, SC area?

I am looking for any type1’s that would enjoy a cup of coffee.

I’m nine hours away or I would love to.

I have a recent LADA diagnosis and I have no idea what to expect. I live in Charleston.

welcome to our community @LHromika - I hope you can meet up with others in Charleston, and I hope you enjoy what we do here. Our founder is also a LADA, and we have many here who understand it well. Look around and join any discussions that interest you or start one of your own. You might want to read this one that I think is really good

Hello, are you interested in a cup of coffee? Would love to talk and answer any questions I can.
Ray

My situation is different. Things were off kilter with my labs last January and my primary care physician sent my blood to a lab in VA for a full insulin workup. They came back with the suggestion that I have LADA. My anti-GAD numbers were very high, which I think signals autoimmune disease. The report said the MY body is attacking the beta cells in my pancreas. My a1c Is normal but on the high end. My doctor said he thinks diet will keep it at bay, so I have lost 57 pounds this year with 20 or so left to lose. My interim labs showed normal a1c, and all the other numbers (this lab doesn’t do anti-Gad). I take no meds for diabetes. I will have the full panel done again in January and am so anxious to see if I still show LADA. Everything I read says I will eventually become insulin dependent. This scares me to death. I have never even had Type II! Nobody seems to know much about LADA. Any insight?

LADA is Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults. Many people think that it is just Type 1. More and more people have been diagnosed as LADA/T1 over the last 10-15 years as the tests for antibodies have become more available. You have been diagnosed very early and should consider yourself kinda lucky as you have some opportunity to affect the progression.

LADA/T1 is typically a slow moving form of T1 where your condition degrades over time as you lose more and more insulin production. I have seen studies which suggest that you can go for years before needing insulin. One key thing which seems to help is keeping your blood sugar at normal levels. If your blood sugar gets high it can start to poison your pancreas accelerating the decline in insulin production.

LADA/T1 can be a confusing condition. Some argue that you should move quickly to using insulin and treating the condition as T1. But if you don’t need supplemental insulin as in your case adding insulin can be counterproductive. And T2 medications actually do help. One authority (Stanley Schwarz) likens LADA/T1 to be more of a fast moving T2 than a slow moving T1.

In either case, you need not fear insulin. Insulin is just another medication. I’ve been on insulin for more than six years and I have to tell you injecting insulin hurts less than checking your blood sugars. And it just becomes routine. Part of dealing with your fear can be to simply talk about it. What about insulin scares you? Is it the injecting part? The possibility of hypoglycemia? Is it the final conclusive demonstration that you do in fact have diabetes and will always have diabetes?

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Thank you so much, Brian. My PCP, who I credit with my quick diagnosis, has not suggested an endocrinologist, nor any meds. I don’t check my blood sugar and I fear having some type of crisis where my pancreas fails. I wonder if I’ll die then, although I know where I’m going, so I’m not afraid. I just don’t know what to expect. I think I should feel better after losing all this weight and being on a ketogenic diet. But I don’t. That bothers me. I just feel like the rug has been pulled from under me and I don’t know what happens next. Is there anything I can do to make my pancreas produce insulin or to repair those beta cells?

First of all, unless you sustain a serious mechanical blow to your pancreas (like a gunshot or stab wound) your pancreas will not suddenly, unexpectedly, or catastrophically fail. However, you do have LADA/Type 1, and the autoimmune attack will continue, whether slowly or quickly, regardless of what you do. Eating LCHF and/or taking Metformin or insulin or another medication may help slow down the autoimmune destruction of your beta cells, but this will continue until you are not producing enough endogenous insulin to be compatible with life. Then you will require exogenous insulin.

The good news is that it’s (almost) 2017, and while there is still no cure for diabetes, infinitely more is known about Type 1 (and what you have is a not-too-uncommon form of Type 1) and its ongoing treatment. And this incredible Forum is here for support and information whenever you need it.