I feel like im passed back and forth between doctors… and they all say different things…
The doctor told me that I look more like a type 2 than a type 1, even though I have GAD antibodies ( my last test showed <250 dont know if that is a lot) but according to her it was a lot. why does she then tell me that i am a type 2? can type 2 patients have antibodies??! she also told me i should loose weight…
Then she said that its better that i start taking metformin again, even though i did not feel well taking them…
she said that i could probably take metformin for several years before i would have to start taking insulin… how many years did you guys do well on metformin? according to things i have read its only a couple of years, if that!
i felt really stupid meeting her, felt more like a fattie that needed to loose weight than a diabetic. And im not even overweight.
I feel really alone and left to find things out all by myself. She was a diabetes specialist as well. And my gp had fixed the appointment with her so that i could be in touch with someone that knew more about diabetes than him. She said that since i live so far away from her hospital, I should be in contact with my gp instead…
sorry for writing so messy, im really annoyed… this sucks…
I am making sure that I never need to graduate to insulin. Bernstein says that T2 need not be progressive if you keep tight control. I prefer to do that with only Metformin and low carb. I take 3 x Met 500 per day, 1 with each meal and try to avoid all obvious carbs, so NO sugar, bread,baked goods, cookies, pasta, potatoes or rice or breakfast cereals. I’m careful with other root vegetables and fruits. I eat meat, fish, eggs, cheese and green veggied as well as berries, some apples. I hate oranges.No bananas. There’s plenty you can eat on low carb and you renew your acquainanceship with butter and cream. I eat whole milk yoghurt and have eggs for breakfast. I get on fine with the Met, but don’t want to use insulin boosters as I’m losing weight and don’t want to stop.
I know how you feel Dolores,it is the new classification of diabetes that confuse all of us.There are new eruption of patterns that you do not know which type even in children,with one positive antibody and strong family history of type2 and some children with overweight and even acanthosis nigricans. Hyperglycemis is bad,whatever the type of diabetes and it has to be corrected by any means.I start some of these puzzling children on insulin& metformin and time will tell which pattern or type they are,
Years back in Japan there were cases of DKA in teenagers,who within a year they stopped insulin and no more.
These last few years I have seen patterns I never have seen before.
I have patients with insulin resistance and one single antibody positive!!! We see strange cases and we discuss it all the time. General population can have antibodes also.HLA typing that predispose to type1 but they do not develop diabetes.The concentration in such cases is to normalise blood glucose with insulin or oral med.
Are you IR? Met is an insulin-sensitizing drug. If you are not IR, I don’t see why it would help you. Insulin is not a “last resort”, it is really natural and sometimes the best thing to use, according to Gretchen Becker. I don’t know much about Type 1 / LADA, but I think I remember Dr. Bernstein saying that if you have the antibodies you should be treated like type 1.
The problem with going onto insulin is that it tends to make you gain weight. One of my neighbours had mobility problems, and ended up in hospital for something else. They messed up her T2 control and now she’s on insulin and has gained so much weight that she can no longer walk at all. My instinct is that she would hae been better on Byetta, but they hardly ever prescribe it because of the cost. Insulin is cheap. I asked our local pharmacy and they only supply about 2 of the dozens of local diabetics with Byetta. I pesonally do well on Metformin and low carb
Hi Dolores - Like hana said Dr. Bernstein’s diet is a good way to really control blood sugar levels. Are you familiar with it? I suggest you research it on google. The about site and diabetesincontrol.com explain quite a bit about Dr. Bernstein and his diet. It is a bit controversal as it is so high protien but his research and results seem solid to me.
I do not have the discipline to go that low on carbs but it works wonders for some.
It’s surprising how quickly low carb becomes part of your life. I’m not 100percent all the time, but I know what to do if I stray and do sometimes do so, just because I can. I have managed not to have any “Normal” bread for 15 months. There’s a loaf of Weigth watchers bread in the cupboard at the moment. My husband bought it for me, but I have resisted it. I know what would happen if I started on hot buttered toast. I haven’t had much in the way of carbs today. i don’t count. It’s too much bother, but I had a couple of left over meatballs for breakfast( in a hurry to go meet a friend) Lunch was 3 mini chicken fillets, (fried in olive oil) followed by wholemilk yogurt with home-made fruit sauce ( low sugar) I had a cup of hot yeast extract “soup” for morning snack and I’ve had a few cups of tea or coffee on the way ( no sugar) It’s goin to be stir fried savoy cabbage and bacon for dinner. Just a routine low carb day. As T2 on Metformin, it works for me. I’ve walked an average of over 3 miles a day since last week. I walk almost every day.
One of the best things to do is to keep very busy. I walk and do water exercises and volunteer to help take people with learning difficulties for walks in the park. Rushing is good. No time for excess snacking. Meals get planned once or twice weekly and I cook from scratch.t
You should have further testing done! I am LADA was on meds for 3.5 yrs and had to be placed on insulin. I am sorry your dr made you feel fat you don’t look fat to me…
I still have some insulin production left. I have done the C peptide test which shows that I still have some insulin production left. But I have a really high number of antibodies as well.
what does IR mean?
I’ve stopped with rice, pasta, bread, couscous etc. alltogether. Now i only eat rootvegetables, and cabbage which still contain carbs but a lot less. SOMETIMES some pumpernickel (dark rye bread) So now it’s A LOT easier to keep my bloodsugar normal.
I take my lantus every evening, but have not needed any Novorapid with my meals… is this okay? I mean, do I miss something by not having carbs in the shape of rice, pasta, etc…?
Hi Dolores: It really sounds as if you need a doctor with some experience in slow-onset Type 1 diabetes, somes called LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults). According to the Report of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus, “Although the specific etiologies of Type2 diabetes are not known, autoimmune destruction of beta-cells does not occur.” Simply put, if you are antibody positive, you have Type 1 diabetes and you should be treated for Type 1 diabetes. No amount of weight loss, carb reduction, etc. will halt the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells, although you can better preserve the few remaining by maintaining tight control.
IR means insulin resistance, which is typically seen in persons with Type 2 diabetes.
Hello Dolores! I can totally feel your frustration with these so-called Diabetic Specialist doctors. I just changed 2 weeks ago to a new specialist. I had 2 days worth of blood tests. I 10 test tubes of blood and now I should find out this Friday what it all means. My previous doctor was so bad that he told me to come in “fasting” for my A1C test, yet he wasn’t going to fast. He was going to eat pancakes with lots of syrup that morning. He was ridiculous!!! I was diagnosed by him as T2 in Feb. of 2006. I have always been too thin to fit the profile. I get tired of telling people I’m T2 and they always say-REALLY, you don’t look like it. I have no weight to lose, and always thought, maybe I’m T1. I realized that my body was responding to Metformin, so I figured I had to b eT2. However, this past summer, I was not responding to Metformin. they recently added Januvia. My new doctor seems to think that I’m T1.5. This makes a lot of sense to me. Which would mean that my pancreas is simply starting to wear out, slowly. I guess that means I would then become more like a T1. Just remember this: Go for a walk or something for 30 min. each day, drink lots of water, and eat lots of celery(HA HA!) That’s what I try to do, anyway. They say that you actually burn more calories eating celery than you take in. I need crunchy stuff to satisfy that craving, it works for me. Take care and search the web for a new specialist in your area. You deserve much better care! Bye.
If it were me, I would insist on insulin. Even a basal will help preserve beta function and when your pancreas does fail it may be sufficient to keep you conscious until you can receive more treatment. I empathize with your delema. When someone is initially diagnosed T2 all doctors are resistant to changing the diagnosis until you are unconscious. Frustrating.
good luck
danny
Look in the mirror and realize your gift. Then ask yourself, what are you going to do with your gift today. No one has the right to make another feel devalued in any way.
Diet and exercise will help any condition, however, it is not the end result to a cure. You need to be with a dr.(s) who respect you and respect the disease. Keep looking, there must be someone in your area that you can go to.
also, do go onto about.com and google low carb. I have found many great alternative recipes that are now diet staples.
(I am a type 1.5 / diagnosed 2 yrs. ago after 2 gestational pregnancies)
You are fine. There is NOTHING ESSENTIAL in refined starchy foods, they’re just empty calories and provide Double the blood Glucose of the same weigh of table sugar. If you want an explanation for this, please ask. If you eat No Grains, You MIGHT run low on B complex vitamins. you can supplement for these. If you’re an American, you probabaly don’t eat liver, which is an alternative source of this group.
Incidentally Root veggies contain starches and some of them sugars too e.g. carrots and beets . If you want to be sure of avoiding carbs, get either the Atkins diet book Or Dr. Bernstein’s complete diabetes solution. Both books have lists of truly low carb veggies.
Hey Delores,
It sounds like you are being shuttled back and forth between doctors. I’m not a type 2. I was type 1 for six years and then I got a new pancreas so I’m not diabetic anymore. But I used to sell Glucophage for Bristol-Myers Squibb. I know quite a bit about type 2 and I’ve dealt with alot of type 2 patients. You will probably end up on insulin in a few years anyway, perhaps before then. Don’t let the endo tick you off about weight. You don’t look at all overweight in your picture. I thought you were type 1 if you had GAD antibodies. Maybe I’m wrong. Have you had a C peptide test? I would recommend that you find a new endo. First tell them you need to know if you’re type 1 or type 2. How high do your blood sugars get? That’s often a good indication of the type because type 2’s don’t get as high of BS’s as type 1’s-atleast that’s my experience. Regardless of what type you are, you need a good endo. Take care. Colleen
