I just saw something on youtube where Halle Berry claims she has "cured" her type 1 diabetes to type 2 and that she has "weaned" herself off insulin. What the wha????? Is she on drugs (of the non-prescription kind)
Chris: Halle Berry made those statements a while ago, and was roundly put down for her comments by the diabetes community. But I have always wondered if Halle Berry has Type 1b diabetes. The Children with Diabetes website describes Type 1b as follows: “Some of these patients have permanent insulin deficiency and are prone to ketoacidosis but have no evidence of autoimmunity. Although only a minority of patients with Type 1 diabetes fall into this category, of those who do, most are of African, Hispanic, or Asian origin. Individuals with this form of diabetes suffer from episodic ketoacidosis and exhibit varying degrees of insulin deficiency between episodes. This form of diabetes is strongly inherited, lacks immunological evidence for beta cell autoimmunity, and is not HLA associated. An absolute requirement for insulin replacement therapy in affected patients may come and go.” Michael Barker here on TuDiabetes writes about Type 1b diabetes as ketosis-prone Type 2 diabetes or rapid-onset Type 2 diabetes with remission.
I see a lot of parallels in what you just described with my own story
Interesting, Melitta. As you say, it is an old story and I always thought it silly star-stuff. But I also know that silly can sometimes have a waay down deep root of truth.....
I would be intrigued to see Halle Berry's medical records.
Actually the term Type 1b seems to be falling out of use. Instead the ADA now calls this "ideopathic diabetes" and clearly calls out what is commonly called Ketosis-Prone T2 (or Flatbush) diabetes. The difficulty is that the diagnostic criteria are fuzzy. Right now the ADA says T2 is diagnosed when "autoimmune destruction of β-cells does not occur, and patients do not have any of the other causes of diabetes listed above or below." The "other" causes listed are things like genetic, various specific diseases, drug/chemical damage, infections and surgery. Because of my continued loss of beta cells my endocrinologist now refers to me as "ideopathic T1" but because the lines are fuzzy I am also T2.
Halle Berry fits a classic pattern for ketosis prone T2 (ideopathic T1) which is noted by the ADA as having an "absolute requirement for insulin replacement therapy in affected patients may come and go." I hardly blame Halle Berry for the confusion, I blame her doctors.
Thank you Melitta. I consider myself schooled on what is a new type of diabetes to me. I just wish that she would not say she has been cured of T1 and be more specific. I think there are probably some people (with type 1) out there that are holding on to any little shred of hope of curing themselves, that would be misguided into trying to "wean" themselves off insulin after hearing her.
Delving into the weeds even more, ideopathic Type 1 diabetes can have an absolute requirement for exogenous insulin, or it may come and go. I have read descriptions in particular of African American people where initially they go into DKA, require insulin initially, but then can go off of exogenous insulin permanently. In the "absolute requirement" for insulin category, it may be that all of the autoantibody markers have not yet been discovered (for example, zinc transporter (ZnT8) is relatively new on the scene). Another marker for autoimmunity is T reactive cell, but that is almost never tested outside of a few research studies.
You are speaking another language to me here. What is idiopathic type 1 diabetes. I would still think that a celebrity saying such things probably isn't a good idea. If she didn't understand her diagnosis it's one thing...sort of....but if she did and what she is experiencing is so rare, I think it could really throw people off. And I do realize that I am late in discovering the Halle Berry interview and discovering what type 1.5 is. Apparently I live under my type 1 rock and don't get out much. :)
Idiopathic Type 1 is "cause unknown." As in, it is Type 1 but not autoimmune. Halle Berry did get slammed for her comments. It could have been a teaching moment, but I don't think that any medical doctors spoke up to say that she could actually be Type 1b/idiopathic Type 1. The medical community was to blame for the idiocy and misinformation, not Halle Berry, IMO.
I agree Melitta. Michael Barker here on Tudiabetes knows much from personal experience about ketosis-prone Type 2 diabetes. I do not blame Halle. Many doctors do not have enough information to provide their patients with either a definitive diagnosis or a root cause of their diabetes. So much is unknown; and if known, such knowledge is not widely disseminated, even to medical practitioners. That is why advocates such as you, Melitta, are so needed and appreciated.
God bless,
Brunetta
What’s the problem with what she said? She required insulin when first diagnosed and was believed to be a t1 diabetic, after some time and getting things under control, she no longer required insulin and it appears that see actually has t2 diabetes… Which is really exactly what she said and I’m having a hard time understanding why it’s much of a cause for controversy. I have also almost “weened myself off insulin” after being diagnosed as a t1 diabetic— does that also make me a traitor to diabetics the world over?
Thank you. Honestly, I have seen the term type 1.5 on this site, but I have never heard of it otherwise. And why would I right? Like I said I live in type 1 bubble. But you have educated me and I appreciate it.
The problem is that it is misleading. As a type 1 I cannot just wean myself off insulin. I have been educated on these other types of diabetes as of late, but when I first saw the interview I thought she was completely lying. I can never quit taking insulin period. And apparently neither can you, as you just said that you have "almost" weaned yourself off insulin as a type 1. The key word is almost. Almost is not absolute. So no, it doesn't make you a traitor, and I don't think Halle is a traitor either. I just couldn't figure out why she would say that. Another thing is that I have never heard of the types switching from 1 to 2. I have only known of it to be type 1 (and now 1.5 or 1b) or type 2 or insulin dependent type 2. It doesn't stop being type 2 just because a person takes insulin, no?
Certainly we can’t switch back and forth between types of diabetes, but in the real world the lines between the different types and subtypes are blurry for some people and the diagnosis themselves are what is not absolute, as we don’t all fit nicely within the parameters of any textbook definition… physiology is far more complex than that and our level of understanding of these things is really just starting to scratch the surface. I do believe there is a real possibility that I might at some point no longer need insulin-- only time will tell… Officially my diagnosis is type 1 LADA— but even the experts I’ve seen have acknowledged that they aren’t 100% sure it’s correct…
The real problem is that T2 diabetes isn't a type of diabetes. It is just diabetes when a specific type is not known. And T1 isn't necessarily any different than any other kind of diabetes and T2 is thought by some to be just a category error which would mean that all T1s are also T2.