I would love for you to share your experiences. I was diagnosed with Hashi’s 3 years ago, and with Type 2 Diabetes last summer and while it is not autoimmune (like Hashi’s) i have heard (not from a dr) that there is a correlation between the two. My current endo doesn’t tell me much, once when i asked about doing a GAD 65 antibodies test he laughed at me and said it wasn’t necessary. I also have a very high Rheumatoid factor, of which my PCP says indicates that i have RA. Now i am contemplating another endo, and i’m thinking of just asking my PCP if he’d send me for the GAD test.
It would be great to hear from others in the same boat as me. Any advice?
If your endo laughed at you when you asked a very reasonable question about an appropriate test it might be a good idea to change doctors. My PCP was the one who ordered the antibody tests, after my first endo said there was nothing wrong with me. Remember to ask for the whole antibody panel as there are several different antibodies. I was negative for GAD and positive for islet cells. I also have hypothyroid.
Thank you Libby for that quick reply! Would you mind listing the names of those tests? My PCP has never given me a problem with ordering tests.
BTW speaking of hypothyroid, do youjust have that or do you have Hashi’s ? Just curious.
I have Hashi’s. Had the tests done for thyroid antibodies and mine were high. The LADA test is called Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 Autoantibody Evaluation and includes antibodies to GAD, two kinds of Islet Cells and Insulin. I asked my PCP if the antibodies to my thyroid will eventually destroy my thyroid function so that I have to take more medication and she said no, that it usually stabilizes. I have been taking 112 mcg of Synthroid for a few years now, haven’t needed to up the dose. It made me wonder about the process of LADA progression. I am thinking that the antibodies start by destroying beta cells and that causes high BG but it is the high BG that finishes off the pancreas, not the antibodies. If that’s the case, theoretically if you catch LADA early enough you can keep your residual insulin function and your remaining beta cells by keeping your BG normal. That’s my motivation for keeping such tight control. So far so good.