Looking over these forums I see I left in 2009, when, after 6 months on MDI, the endo told me I was not diabetic.
This morning I had fasting blood sugars of 9.3 (168) and 9.8 (176) and the doctor told me I am diabetic. I can't believe I'm stuck on this merry-go-round again, particularly after the endo was so thorough!
The nurses took blood for an HbA1C, and my new doctor told me to try to control it with diet for the next two weeks and then go back to him with BS records. He also told me that there are three types of diabetes: 1) T1
2) T2
3) The kind that can be controlled by diet.
I rolled my eyes internally, but at least it's an improvement from the doctor who told me to go see a psychologist because there was no physical reason why I was feeling so tired!
Anyway, I'm still in shock and still trying to get my head around things and sort out all the details like test strips and lancets and glucose tabs...
There's other kinds too, LADA or slow onset type 1 in adults seems like a likely culprit? People exhibit some T2esque numbers and last for a bit but then the situation changes and they go back and discover the person to have been T1 all along.
The endo seemed to think it was from a combination of cortisone and chronic sinus problems.
I'm certainly not a "typical" diabetic, but it's early days still so we'll have to see what pans out. My grandpa was a T1 and I have a paternal cousin with relatively early onset T2.
Having been on 70/30, MDI and metformin at different times I'm kind of hoping for MDI again, just because it offers a lot more flexibility. I struggled to eat enough food with the metformin, and the 70/30 is just foul.
So basically you had high bg which you took insulin & metformin for and then you had a "remission" with meds/diet/exerise etc? I wish I could have that and have it not come back ever, lol.
sorry this happened... I'm am recently lada, but I was initially told I was 1.5 and 2.
There are more types than that and typ 2 can also be controlled with diet.
Type 1 ( insufficient insulin ) Type 1 (lada)
Type 2 (on either drugs or diet and exercise)( insulin resistance)
Gestational diabetes when the baby puts pressure on your pancreas (which also gives you a better chance of developing type 2 later
Geriatric diabetes which is sometimes called type 2 and sometimes not. ( caused by a pancreas that is just old and tired)
There is also a condition of type 2 where they have taken so much metformin that their pancreas wears out, and then they sort of have both types, insufficient insulin and insulin resistance.
Welcome back, though sorry to hear of your struggle.
Gee, wonder what the kind is that's controlled by diet. Am rolling my eyes, too.
Have a dear friend with a tumor on her parathyroid who was sent to a psychologist for her "nervous condition." Doctors seem to do that more to women patients. A modern variation on women being "hysterical." Her GP also had her on pyschotropic drugs. She went to four doctors until she got the right diagnosis & then surgery. Meanwhile, she was excreting tons of calcium & became quite ill from a supposed emotional problem.
Hope you get basal/bolus insulin this time. Ugh,70/30.
I was feeling really tired and sick, and the doctor kept giving me sinus meds and told me it was a virus. They weren't working so he put me on cortisone for a week, and at the end of the week I could hardly see, breathe or stay awake. I called my cousin and she took me to the sanatorium (I was based at a university at the time) where the nurse called my doctor. He said told her to give me Vitamin C tablets and painkillers and that I should go home.
I still felt like death warmed up the next day and could hardly see. I called the doctor who thankfully came to my home as I explained I couldn't drive because I couldn't see. He checked me out and said there was nothing wrong, and then gave me a stick to pee on. In his words it "lit up like a Christmas tree". My sugar was 27ish (500) and I had a urinary tract infection. He told me to go straight to hospital.
My next doc put me on the mixed insulin and got me to a fantastic dietitian, but it didn't work well and I was going low a couple of times a day. He then tried me on metformin, but because it suppressed my appetite I was barely eating. He didn't do an HbA1C at all and wanted to just monitor it. He wouldn't give me a diagnosis.
I then found out about a great endo in a neighbouring town. He thought I was T1. He put me on basal/bolus and told me I could eat what I liked as long as I matched the carbs to insulin. But he wanted to make sure so he sent me for extensive blood tests, including cholesterol, liver, kidney, c-peptide, GABA etc to check for LADA and MODY. He called me in for the test results and told me everything was normal and that I was not diabetic, but that my high sugars were the result of being sick/infected and cortisone.
I have to disagree. You have T1, you were in "honeymoon period" for an extended time and didn't need insulin, but now you're coming out of the honeymoon and need insulin again. 100% textbook T1 diabetes.
Extended honeymoons are very typical for T1's diagnosed when not young kids.
Lab tests for antibodies and c-peptides can also be very confusing during the honeymoon. I'm surprised so many here treat them like they are gospel, even though contradict simple evidence.
Sounds horrible... I hope you get a basal/bolus now. I usually remember feeling very ill when I was taking a steroid for asthma or a skin condition although it helped the poison ivy/asthma. I think it must have been causing bg fluctuations in me- it says in the article below that steroids cause insulin resistance.
If you have a c peptide test again that should show what your insulin production is now...
me either... nor of one where you didn't need insulin at all or for that long... I thought the honeymoon was when your insulin needs reduced but didn't disappear...
Honeymoon length certainly does vary widely. Others here are very, um, "prescriptive" in that they know exactly how long everything will last. But real life is much more variable.
I guess if you count LADA as T1, not T1.5. I'm beyond guessing what is going on.
I think I'm going to get my records from the endo to take to my new doc when I next see him. I'm a little nervous to go two weeks without treatment other than diet, but I suppose it's OK because I am monitoring it now.
a lot of people do I think.. they say 1.5 which I think is lada is type 1, it just happens later in life... good idea to get your records. if you go over 250 and you have any issues breathing and so on go to an er right away. you can test your urine for ketones too... I would just avoid carbs except for low carb vegetables now until you start on insulin.
Are you sure it's metformin that wears out a pancreas and not sulfanylureas? I've never heard of metformin having that effect because it doesn't cause you to produce insulin, it just prevents your liver from making sugar. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and I'll consider stopping metformin.
Hi Megan: The honeymoon period can last a long time in people with adult-onset Type 1 diabetes! Here is a link to my blog of top ten tips for the newly diagnosed person with adult-onset Type 1 diabetes; I hope you find it useful. Probably the sooner you can get back on MDI, or an insulin pump, the better. Best of luck to you; let us know how it goes.
So I'm going back to the doctor next week to find out the next step.
I've been eating 30g of low GI carbs per meal and I have been feeling SO much better this week! At least once a week I used to lie down to have an afternoon nap and only wake up the next morning, but now I don't feel the need to sleep any more. My BG's haven't been too far off target, although I must admit that I tend to test 1.5 hours after eating instead of 2 because I hate waiting that long...
I've also been thinking about when my high BG's were first picked up - I was sick and I had my period. Those are both things that raise BG, so I thought that my lower BG's might be because I'm well and my period is over. So I decided to do an experiment to see if I really can't handle carbs now. I ate two bowls of sugary cereal and tested my BG after 2 hours. It was 13 (234), so I guess that conclusively proves that my high BS wasn't just due to confounding factors.
Although hitting 13 made me feel foul I think it was worth it because I now have a bit more information that can be used to make good treatment decisions.
I hope it goes well, and that you get some answers. It does seem you are having diabetes related bg issues from the cereal rises- mine was rising with multi grain low sugar cereal and things like that even with larger boluses of novolog. I find I usually start to rise between 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours after eating.
