Hi ,
I was diagnosed a few months ago as type 1 at age 64 . I was diagnosed as a type 2 at first , just a year ago . No family history and very thin . I am dealing with insulin injections and getting a handle on this , but wondering if anyone out there has been diagnosed at such a late age ?..
thanks !
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As you may have learned, a type 1 diabetes diagnosis can occur at any age. The whole “juvenile diabetes” tag was a misnomer. I know of at least one member here, @Zoe, who was diagnosed in her late 50s or early 60s. You should get a few responses.
How are you doing learning how to dose insulin? Feel free to ask any questions you may have. While we can’t give you medical advice, we have lot of experience dosing and living with insulin.
Hey, welcome to Tudiabetes, Annie. I beat you! I, too, was first misdiagnosed as type 2 at age 70. It was 18 months before my doctor finally referred me to an endo, who diagnosed me as type 1. There are a lot of us around who were initially misdiagnosed.
Did you have to go through much of an ordeal before you were correctly diagnosed? I was 122 pounds at original diagnosis, but couldn’t keep my BG within reason on the oral meds my doctor prescribed, so in addition, had to almost starve myself to get my A1c down to 7.0 or better. I finally gave up at 106 pounds and started to eat more carbs. So of course my A1c went up. And that’s when my doctor finally consented to refer me to an endo. Guess I should have “given up” sooner.
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I was practically starving myself too . Nearly zero carbs ! When I was a skeleton , finally sent to endo!
I am glad I found this forum . Thanks to everyone
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Annie, I thought you might find this link useful. @Melitta has written a lot here about the misdiagnosis of type 1 diabetes as type 2 diabetes.
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@Annie25 and @Uff_Da, I’ve got a pretty similar story, although I was diagnosed a couple decades earlier.
Diagnosed Type 2 at 40 (13 months ago), went very low carb as a way to manage BG, and started losing weight terribly rapidly. Same story as you: the weight loss is what got my primary care doctor concerned enough to actually refer me to an endo, along with three “non detectable” fasting insulin tests and eventually a positive antibody test. I also have started eating more carbs to stabilize weight, but my BGs have been creeping back up the last couple of months. I see the endo next month.
Unfortunately, I don’t think our story is at all uncommon. I imagine there are a lot of “Type 2s” on insulin out there who are actually Type 1s and think they just aren’t managing their BG as well as they “should” with diet and exercise. We have an insanely inefficient and incompetent medical system, in many ways.
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I was diagnosed at 59. You are not alone!
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I was diagnosed at 50. T2 originally. Thin at diagnosis and starved myself down to about 135 pounds to get my A1c to 7. Finally saw an endo.
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Thank you all so much for the welcome and comforting words . I feel better already .
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Diagnosed at 46. Luckily, no misdiagnosis for me. They were required to put T2 in my chart until my antibody test results came back and confirmed I was T1/LADA. There are a lot of us in the mature diagnosis boat!
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Welcome!
I was diagnosed at 61 just a year ago in May. I had no bad fasting glucose numbers before. It was a big shock to me.
I have just received my Dexcom 5 and will have training next week. I am excited but nervous! I have read a lot on this site and it has helped me out a great deal. I am hoping to use to CGM for a while and then will get a pump, I hope it will make things go a bit smoother.
This is a great site for you to be on!
Bev
Diagnosed as T1 at 57 after going into DKA with bg of 1141. Very blessed to be alive. I had gone to the doctor the day before as well as six days before. Both times they said it was the bug going around. Some bug. Since both of my brothers are T1, I was on the outlook for T1, even got it checked with bloodwork a few months before the DKA. It was normal. I was fortunate to have a support system who really understood with my brothers.
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I was diagnosed at age 57. My doc had me as Type 2 for only about 2 weeks, tried Metformin. After that had no affect he referred me to a great endo who quickly got me started on insulin and my Type 1 education. There’s a lot to learn! This site has been a great resource.
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I met a woman diagnosed at 68, though I was NOT as old. I was at the tender age of 43 when diagnosed. I was at the doctor’s office and suggested to a few women I was talking to that if you ARE going to develop Type 1, you should wait until you’re 105 or 110!
I have a brother with it as well (diagnosed in 1971). It would really hack me off if my sister developed it as she’s sliding into her mid-fifties.
Thank you , this has some great tips. I appreciate it .
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My aunt was diagnosed in march, she had just turned 65. Type 1 runs in the family but she never showed any early signs… we found her DKA one morning. When we got to the er her glucose level was 1491. Amazingly after weeks in the hospital and rehab. She is home and beginning to recover well with minimal damage. She is extremely lucky.
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I was diagnosed at 40 and pretty much recognized by myself that I was a type 1 not a type 2, so I just went to an endocrinologist on my own (one of the benefits of living abroad; no referral needed). It’s been a little over a year now and I still feel like I have a lot to learn, but there are some many great people out there helping us along.
So welcome to the group. You’re among friends.
Thank you … I am very grateful I found this forum . I am mainly relieved that there are so many people that were diagnosed “later in years”. I was so worried until I saw others in the same boat , with positive attitudes !
I was diagnosed at age 57 10 years ago. I count myself lucky, although my primary misdiagnosed me as T2, I was correctly diagnosed and put on basal and bolus insulin within a week. It probably helped that my blood glucose was 425 for my first finger stick and I was throwing ketones.
The first year can be hard because there is so much to learn but it gets easier even if it’s never fun.
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