Many of the members of this group have personally dealt with the difficulties of having their LADA misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Most front line medical professionals have only a shallow understanding of diabetes. In their eyes, T1 diabetes is when you arrive in the ER in Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and any other blood sugar problem is T2. Unfortunately, many adults show up at their family doctor with a blood sugar problem, they don't fit nicely into these categories and those front line medical professional "have no clue!" Most doctors don't know how to properly diagnose and treat LADA (and other forms of) diabetes that do not fit squarely into the T1/T2 categories and the result is at best confusing and at worst harmful.
Make a pledge this week, any time you have a chance to talk with a medical professional, ask them if they understand about LADA and if not make them aware and give them a pointer to more information. tudiabetes, dLife and a few other folks (Cherise Shockley, a.k.a. Diabetic_Iz_Me) have put together some resources for this:
Well, there ya go. A perfect opportunity. Ask him to do you a favor and read the information in the links above. He will serve you better as a doctor if he understands your condition and he may well help other patients by being better informed.
My endocrinologist is fully aware of all the different types of diabetes including LADA. Being a healthy person — other than having Type 1 diabetes — I see a doctor twice a year. But just in case — I’ll keep the info and pass it along when I do.
You are blessed with a good doctor. My endo, while well respected and says he knows all about diabetes including LADA still is struggling to properly diagnose me. My internist had never heard of LADA and believed that Type 1s are diagnosed as sudden onset in the ER. She still does not believe me that about LADA, but I am working on her. Perhaps you can talk with your GP/internist next time you visit?
When I am asked when I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and I say I was diagnosed at age 35, I invariably get puzzled looks and “isn’t that rare?” or “do you have Type 2 diabetes?”. I hear this from both laypeople and medical doctors. I take the time to explain that it is just a myth that Type 1 diabetes is primarily a childhood disease, and that the vast majority of new-onset Type 1 (both rapid-onset and LADA) is seen in adults. I explain that Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed at age 33. I explain that cute helpless children with T1 are highly effective to display to get funding for T1 diabetes research, but that adults like me wouldn’t get anyone to give $$.
Sadly, it is largely politics rather than medical science that has led to LADA/adult-onset T1 cluelessness and the ongoing crisis of misdiagnosis. Both the Canadian Diabetes Association and the American Diabetes Association call LADA “rare,” despite the fact that LADAs far outnumber (by more than 2 to 1) childhood onset T1. ADA’s emphasis is on Type 2 diabetes, and they basically jack up the number of Type 2s by including LADAs in the Type 2 prevalence statistics. And although the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is now reaching out to those with adult-onset T1, for so many years JDRF promoted the myth that Type 1 is a childhood disease just to get funding (and JDRF has been highly effective, witness the Children’s Congress, etc.). JDRF still can’t manage to state that LADA is Type 1 diabetes (no matter that WHO, NIH, and the Expert Committee define it as Type 1)–JDRF only acknowledges that 50% of new-onset T1 is seen in adults whereas if LADAs are included it is greater than 75%.
Ah we have a long way to go, but having a LADA Awareness Week (thank you, Manny!) is sure to make a difference for the better.
