I have found out that I am a type1 and type2 diabetic. This means I do not produce insulin and I am resitant to Insulin. So I take a lot of insulin through out the day. I wonder if we should be labeled a different type, maybe type3. Having diabetes is tough but having both makes it a little harder to swallow. What are your thoughts? Are you this type? Do you know? What do you use? I am an OmniPod user and a Seven+ user.
Gabriel.
Let me preface this by saying, I am not a doctor, CDE, PA, or nurse. But I am pretty sure that if you are not producing insulin then you are most likely a T1. I would say maybe you could be a T1.5 which is Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA). It’s a form of type 1 diabetes which is diagnosed in individuals who are older than the usual age of onset of type 1 diabetes. It is frequently confused with type 2 diabetes. T1.5 diabetics usually do not have insulin resistance which is why I wouldn’t say that you may have that kind. Did the doctors run a c-peptide test on you to see how your pancreas was doing? This can help with diagnosis I believe.
There are lots of T1 diabetics who are also insulin resistant. I know of some T1 who use U500 insulin because they are so resistant to insulin. Some are because they are on the wrong type of insulin for their bodies and some are resistant and the doctors just don’t know why. I can imagine it is very difficult to be insulin resistant on top of everything else you have to deal with to stay healthy. My hat is off to you as I know this must be so hard to deal with. I am interested to hear what others out here have to say as I am no expert and I would love to learn more about this too.
Many people in the diabetes community call type 3 diabetics the family and friends of us diabetics who want to learn more and be supportive of their loved one. I am not sure who first started calling these awesome people in our lives T3 but it seems to fit if they are actively involved in our health care.
How do you like the ominpod? Do you have to change pods before the 3 day mark because of how much insulin you take? I have a friend here on tudiabetes who didn’t get the pod because she would have had to put a new pod on everyday because of her insulin needs and her resistance. Have you found the DecCom useful for your control? I just started the system a month ago and I think it is helping me figure out how certain foods affect me which helps me pick better meals 
I think Suzanne is right on with her answer. I also think you are just whatever your dx type is and have the addition of insulin resistance. Is really not that uncommon, and I for one don’t think we need another type added to the list.
Poor Luis
You have the grand prize of diabetes: insulin resistance and a dead pancreas, this is the worst nightmare. Exercise all the times 2 hours at least per day and eat a very low carb diet. Fish, nuts, vegetables and some fruit. throw away the rice as far as you can. No bread, cakes, tortillas or anything with grain.
The first time I heard of the combination of Type 1 and Type 2 presentations, it was referred to as Type 3. Unfortunately, within the diabetes community, “Type 3” has been appropriated to mean “family and friends of”. A more recent term I’ve seen for this combination of syndromes is “double diabetes”.
I’ll go ahead and chime in
I am type 1
I use U-500 insulin in my pump. my carb ratio is 4:15
I do not believe you can be type 1 and type 2 at the same time. This is the misconception from the old diagnosis types that you can only be type 1 at a young age, or type 2 if you are an adult. This is not the case
Hi Luis,
Welcome to our community!
Great info from Suzanne. In addition to her comment about a C-peptide test that you might also check if your endo ordered a GAD antibody test. These are the tests that help determine type.
A lot of us having accompanying autoimmune problems that make controlling BG difficult & thus increases insulin needs. Having thyroid tests done would be worth exploring.
Some people can develop resistence to a particular brand or type of insulin after years of use. You might want to discuss this with your doctor to see if switching helps you.
If you’re overweight, you need more insulin & losing weight helps with resistence. As Anthony mentioned, exercise (increasing muscle mass) & lowering carbs can really make a difference.
This is why I am so glad I found this web site. Suzanne and Karen thank you so much for your information, Like I said before I didn’t know Type 3 where referred to as our family and friends that are in our lives helping us and learning with us about diabetes, that is awesome.
Anthony, I like fish, don’t like fruits or vegetables, I know I’m such a picky eater on top of that I was raised in Puerto Rico and Mexico so I LOVE rice and beans and Tortillas!!! LOL I am cursed I can eat like 1 or 2 tacos at the most and yep you are right about the rice i can’t even touch that.
Tmana, thanks for the info, I haven’t heard someone call it double diabetes, at least I’ll know what it means if someone says that, thank you.
Cynthia, i admire you for putting up with this Beeyatch (diabetes)…just kidding…lol. I do think you are awesome, I am sure you are well informed and doing your thing I thank you so much for chiming in. I hope your control is excellent and thank you for your input.
Geri, thank you so much for the info and advice, I do workout very often and definitely watch my carbs so my sugars are in control. Diet and Exercise have always been the best thing you can do, I don’t know what my body or diabetes would be like if I didn’t do the two.
Thank you all you Type 1, 2 and 3’s.
So hard to give up the foods of our heritage. That’s been the most difficult for me. Rice, beans & tortillas–love them, too.
I always read type 3 was gestational diabetes.
Luis,
Whatever type you call it, diabetes is a pain in the a**! I want to hop onto what Gerri said about weight and insulin resistance. When I weighed 70 pounds more than I do now, I took ALOT of insulin by shots. When I lost a little weight and got on the pump, my insulin needs dropped with every 5 pounds or so that I lost. At one point I was on less than half of the insulin I had been on before, 30 units a day total versus 70 units before. My weight loss stalled out when my thyroid got out of whack and now that I am on meds for that, I can lose weight again (if I just stop eating so much, hahahaha!). So if you have problems dropping weight, get your thyroid checked out. Thyroid issues go hand in hand with diabetes.
I miss the foods from my heritage too so I can relate. I can’t eat scones and cream crackers all the time like I use to. They are now a very rare treat 