I, like, so many other friends I’ve encountered on TU found this site looking for information about LADA. If you follow the stories of all of us who have questioned our T2 diagnosis, you’ll see that we’ve all ended up somehow, eventually to be LADA or Type 1.5.
Do you ever wonder how many more of us are out there? They’re saying that more people are getting Type 2 diabetes earlier in life. What if they have it wrong. Maybe we’re the diabetic epidemic?
Well, I am waiting in anticipation of my GAD test in another two months. I am not so sure I will be LADA despite having a lot of strong indicators. There are lots of different manifestations of diabetes, and our hearts go out to all those that don’t get proper diagnosis and treatment. Joslin has estimated that 15% of type 2s are actually autoimmune and of course we are very sensitive to stories like yours of LADA diagnosis. I recently finished reading Diabetes Rising and it highlights a number of disturbing facts about the rising incidence of diabetes. I am just not sure whether the stories that we hear here indicate a rise in the rates, an improved diagnosis or what. It is certainly true that if you change the criteria for diagnosis (which we have) and you increase the screening, then you will observe more diabetics. It is another question as to whether there are actually more cases. In my gut, I think we are seeing a rise that cannot be explained simply by stricter criteria or improved screening.
ps. I’ve really enjoyed your blogging about your story.
Well for me there was no question. I was dx’ed in ICU, DKA at age 52, type 1 or as I call it Club 1 LOL Here’s my numbers at dx. bs 672 and a1c of 13.2
I’ve been wondering & worrying about this also. Many, it seems, aren’t getting correctly diagnosed & aren’t getting appropriate treatment. Very scary.
Misdiagnosed T2s will be told to try to control BG with diet & exercise. When that fails to work, they’ll be given meds that won’t help. All the while their remaining beta cells are being stressed & burned out.
Yep, BG will continue to get high & often dangerously high. But, T2s can also have very high BG.
I’d say over 250 is dangerously high when BG consistently is this high. Normal BG is in the 80s. Over 140 causes damage. Without insulin, BG can get high quickly & stay there.
High BG can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life threatening condition. DKA is characterized by intense thirst, constant urinating, often a change in vision, vomiting, lethargy & results in severe dehydration no matter how much water is taken in. The body is starved because glucose isn’t getting to cells. DKA can lead to coma & death. It requires immediate emergency treatment.
People go into DKA at different BG levels.
I went to my GP end Jan . 1983( age 42 1/2 ) …had lost about 6 pounds in 5 days , peeing , thirsty , itchy , not sleeping . BG about 320( as I recall and ketones ) …Doc put me on meds ( type 2 ) …no finger poking in those days , instead peeing on a strip , followed by comparing strip colour to colour on tube , and weekly to the Lab , of which I got very tired . Numbers did NOT come down ; told GP to put me on insulin .
Mid March 1983 I was hospitalized and taught , how to give insulin …in those days : one shot a day was the in thing . It took less than 2 months to go from meds to insulin( type 1 ) and looking back I am glad I was pro-active, even if I did not really know, what I was talking about .
good for you, nel, for being so proactive.
My doc misdiagnosed me T2 despite my walking in as a 106 lb male. I spent two weeks suffering headaches from metformin until my lab work showed nearly zero insulin function and T1 was the inescapable diagnosis.
In April of 2009 at age 20 I was told that I had type 2 diabetes. Now which everything progressing I have been told in the past couple of months that I am actually type 1.5. So it sucks because I spent months one pills and sugars would still be high. Didn’t know why…thought I was doing something wrong. Pills maxed out…but it wasn’t my fault 
Thank goodness your doc did tests. Have heard from too many people how they had to fight to get proper testing. Ridiculous assumption that an adult must automatically be T2.
I also lost a ton of weight… Anyone who thinks you can’t be too thin, should have seen me.
Once glucose is able to again be properly utlilized by the body, weight is gained. Insulin is a fat storing hormone.
I’m still trying to regain the weight I lost while I was still being treated as a type 2 patient. I was none too happy to lose the weight, and after nearly 2 years since I started being treated properly, I am sincerely doubting I will regain much, if any, of that weight. Oh well, just as long as I don’t lose more and end up around 80 lbs.
Jazz – Glad to see you don’t still feel as if you were doing anything wrong when your bgs weren’t in control! I had a doctor and a CDE who went out of their way to let me know how it must be my fault that the Metformin was not working. I wasn’t eating right and wasn’t getting sufficient exercise. Even though I know now I am not producing sufficient insulin and need to inject it, there are still times when I hear their admonitions in my head when I find myself with a high bg. You are one strong, smart lady!
In my case, my greatest concern is that I seem to have emerging complications. I know enough that I’ll not let myself get DKA, but there are many, many diabetics who are diagnosed as type 2 who walk around for years with elevated blood sugars and suffer complications due to lack of proper treatment.
According to my pharmacist and my endo, Metformin has a peak effectiveness in two weeks of beginning treatment. But the genuine T2s I know told me their bgs dropped significantly within days. Metformin does three things – slows the absorption in your digestive system, prevents your liver from releasing too much sugar and makes your body more sensitive to insulin. If your bgs are really high and this pill doesn’t work, then you obviously have a problem with your pancreas.
According to the Mayo Clinic it is rare for a Type 2 to go into DKA. I would think that anyone who ends up DKA it would be automatic to do anti-body and C-peptide testing.
It looked like my bgs would increase then plateau then increase, then plateau until my honeymoon ended.
I am a LADA. I was diagnosed as T2. I was 79 pounds (after losing 19) and put on a diet and maxed out on oral meds. I could barely eat 1/2 a sandwich and my blood sugars would spike to 300. It went on like this for months. I was essentially starving and my doctor was making me diet. You always hear about the dangers of how being underweight damages your heart and many die…not to mention what elevated blood sugars are going to do.
Basically that doctor was speeding up my honeymoon period. She was really working my pancreas and liver.
I’ve saw your discussion thread a few days back. I got very worried for you. You may only have T2, but you should demand that they do the tests to know for sure. I was too trusting when I KNEW something was wrong. People like you were the reasons I posted my story.
In order to go into DKA, you generally have a have an insulin deficiency. Insulin suppresses the overproduction of glucose and ketones by the liver. Most classic type 2s have excess insulin and are not at risk. I have had c-peptide testing, I have low insulin levels. When I exercise, I will rise to the 200s. I have some risk of DKA.
I agree with you. I just found TuDiabetes and am stunned at how many people have had stories like mine. Seems like there is a lot of suffering all around. All the missed diagnoses, all of the relaxed approach of “do this, do that and see me in a few months.” Diabetics…ALL diabetics need packaged care that includes nutrition, medication (if needed), eye care and support.
Why weren’t we talked about on Oprah?