Were any of you ever on or currently taking diabetes medicine for your LADA? If so, did it work to control your after meal spikes? What medicine did you take?
I took Glumetza twice per day and it had no effect on my blood sugar at all.
I was given glyburide and it had no effect whatsoever. I would spike to 500+ mg/dl on glyburide.
I was on a few different oral meds for about 6 months, the last one was JANUMET. Was it the meds or the fact i swore off carbs for the most part? both i’m sure. My Dr.'s thought at the time was don’t worry about the after meal spikes just be back down below 120 at your next meal. If I had the choice again I would start insulin ASAP. The oral meds really messed me up. Insulin is great. It took about 3 weeks for the Janumet junk to get out of my system and for me to feel good again.
i’m still on metformin 1000 mg 2 x a day and victoza, in addition to lantus and novolog. i was misdiagnosed as a type 2 and was taking those meds prior to the rediagnosis. the dr. said i should stay on the metformin and victoza for now since i still have a little bit of beta cell function left. who knows? i don’t take that much insulin, so maybe they do help; i take 10 units of lantus at night and anywhere between 2-5 units of novolog before meals, depending on carbs.
How long have you been on that low of a dose of insulin? Have you had any hypos at that low of a dose?
I’ve only been on insulin since April 2010 when they did a GAD and c-peptide test on me. i’m probably still in the “honeymoon” stage which could explain why i don’t need that much insulin. or maybe its because i exercise a lot; who knows. my last a1c was 6.8, which the dr. tells me is good, but i still swing high and low every day! and yes, i have had hypos at that low dosage, especially in the middle of the night or when i wake up.
It’s my understanding that the only med that they give to LADAs is Insulin. The endo is waiting for my numbers to go up.
HI LiL Mama,
I was on janumet and a actos for a short period of time. I would not reccommend the actos due to the water retention. I am currently on low doses of insulin: 5 units of Lantus and 1-3 units of Apidra if I’m eating more than 30 grams carbs. I have found that it’s easier to treat the hypos in the am. So I tend eat my carbs in the am and not in the pm. Hope this helps!
I am taking metformin (and are in doubt if it works) and not on insulin.
I was on oral meds for 14 months before I realized I’d been misdiagnosed. But for me the oral meds (a combination, don’t ask me to remember which!) worked very well for those 14 months before my numbers started to go back up. I don’t know what the protocol is today for LADAs who are correctly diagnosed from the start. I have heard it is advisable to start insulin to preserve beta cells, but haven’t researched that in depth since it is no longer relevant to me. By the time I got on insulin 19 months after initial (mis)diagnosis, it was the only thing that worked.
Ok, so I still have some time before insulin (I hope). It has now been 4 months since the initial diagnosis.
It really varies, Smile. Some people need insulin in a couple months,. some in a couple years. And if I were newly diagnosed LADA I would do more research on the idea that insulin started right away protects beta cells longer. I know it’s easy to dread insulin, but many people find it’s no big deal once they start it, gives them easier management of their blood sugar and prevents side effects from oral meds.
I was also misdiagnosed as T-2 for 2 years and I was dreading the thought of going on Insulin that whole time. Went on Lantus 35 units/day in Feb of this year. It took me about a month or two to get used to the idea that I needed insulin. If I could do it again I wouldn’t have ignored my Dr. recommendations and would have started insulin much earlier. My A1C went from 12 (not treated) to 10 (oral meds) to 6.9 on insulin and oral meds. For literally decades I thought the worst thing that could happen to me would be to have to inject myself on a regular basis. Now I wish I could do it more often (seriously, starting on the pump this week - my after meal spikes are not completely controlled by Lantus). It truly is not that bad. It doesn’t really hurt and if you need it, it’s just part of keeping yourself healthy (alive). For me it just wasn’t negotiable, as hard as I tried.
I’ve heard so many people say that!
Lantus isn’t meant to control after meal spikes, btw; you need a fast acting bolus insulin for that. But starting on the pump is even better! Good luck! There’s quite a learning curve, but it’s worth it.
I know Lantus isn’t designed to control spikes. I’ve been working with an Endo since March and while she’s been assessing me and getting ready to get me a pump she left me on the basal and oral meds I was on. If I knew in April it was going to be July before I started on the pump I would have asked her to consider starting me on MDI in the meantime. If nothing else the time has allowed me to get used to the idea of the pump and get used to the shots. Got the pumps last week but they sent the wrong color so I’m holding out until Tuesday to start training. Yeah, a little worried about learning how to manage pumping and how to use the pump itself. Fortunately there’s a lot of support.
That’s good that you have lots of support. I highly recommend the book Pumping Insulin by John Walsh if you don’t already have it. That and your pump manual or workbook become your bible to refer back to. For me, I was on saline for five days and I used that time to learn about the pump and do the settings before it was crucial being on insulin. It takes time to get your basals set and get the feeling for infusion sets. The second was the hardest for me because I have lousy eye hand coordination. I recommend you try different sets, tubing lengths etc to find which is best for you. Even figuring out how you prefer to wear your pump is just something that comes with time. But after a month or two you will be comfortable. I’m 6 months in now and love my Ping!
I was diagnosed LADA and purposefully tried meds first. I was on metformin and glipizide until as predicted, after a couple of years, they became less effective and A1c rose again. At that point I went much stricter on my diet, quit alcohol, added supplements for autoimmune and damage control, as well as meditation and acupuncture. This regimen has been so successful (A1c of 5.5 and holding) that I quit the glipizide. Am considering cutting back the metformin. My betas are obviously functioning beautifully. No insulin. Absolutely best shape of my life. You’ll find that the pressure to start insulin early is HUGE. So far I can’t find data supporting claims that early insulin is better for LADA (that’s not insulin industry biased). Everyone’s different, of course. But just know that not all LADAs are sporting CGM and pump or syringe.
Russell http://russellstamets.blogspot.com
I was on Metformin, Glipizide and Actos. The first pills to go when they put me on long acting insulin (Levemir) was the Actos, which did me no good what-so-ever, (I would have been just as well to take a sugar pill!). When they started me on Novolog at meal times, they dropped my Glipizide and only last week my metformin was stopped because they finally confirmed I have LADA and not type 2 that I had been diagnosed with.
In the early stages of diagnosis, the pills were fine for controlling my spikes, but they very quickly stopped working. Now the only thing that helps is insulin. I wish I had taken this in the beginning because my blood sugars would very often be in the high 200’s before and it may have prevented the complete exhaustion of my pancreas from happening so soon.
I was diagnosed LADA in last summer after being originally told I was type 2. They started me on Glipizide at first and then went to Metformin. The Metformin worked really well for me A1C down to 5.3 from 9.7 but I started having complications after six months (chest pains, low testosterone, stomach issues, low energy levels, cloudy head, etc) I starting with the Lantus last week and I can't believe how much better I feel being off oral meds. I can't believe that I was so concerned about injections because it's not a big deal at all. If I had to do it again I would have gone right to insulin. I honestly think I have permanent damage to my stomach and esophagus. Also glad to have my testosterone levels back up again.