I was diagnosed at age 41 (actually, one year ago! I spent last Labor Day in the ER with what I thought to be a possible heart attack. Turns out it was diabetes). 4 months earlier I had perfect blood test results so it came out of no where for me! I was in complete shock. Was initially diagnosed as type 2, type 1 was diagnosed in January. I had all the typical symptoms but could explain them away to other things…it was a really busy, HOT summer so I figured, of course I was sweating A LOT, incredibly thirsty, peeing all day/night, loosing weight, SO tired… Its great to feel better now! I’m still working at getting the hang of all of it (is that possible?). Today is my last day with my week-long Dexcom trial. I don’t know what I"m going to do without this thing! Please, please let my insurance cover one for me!!!
I had gestational diabetes and was told that when I got old and fat, I may need to watch my diet. After my baby was born, my glucose returned to normal, as expected. Three months later I got a viral sinus infection. About one and a half months after that, I had already lost 40 pounds and continued to loose weight. I was so tired (duh, I had a newborn and three small children) but this fatigue was different and I was thirsty and peeing constantly. So I checked my FSBG and it was >350. I went into the doctor kicking and screaming that I wasn’t old and I certainly wasn’t fat and I couldn’t have diabetes. The doctor immediately correctly diagnosed type one and started me on insulin. I have no insulin resistance at all so this is definitely classic type one diabetes even though I was diagnosed at 34 years of age. My mother had MS, by the way.
Hi Taty. I have GAD antibodies, low C-Peptide (0.9 I think). My son is type 1 since age 18. Not sure if I produce glucagon. I think it’s interesting as well that this episode started with lows. A few years ago I had high bg’s for about a month, then it went away until now.
I was diagnosed with type 1 at age 44 and it was sudden onset. In 1983 I was fine in September but had all the symptoms by the end of October: weight loss, extreme thirst and loss of vision. I was very happy to start on insulin.
I was diagnosed Type 1 two years ago at 55. I had a blood test in September which was fine. A month or so later my tongue felt like it was burnt (like on toast or coffee) and it would never go away. I went to an ENT who led me to believe I may have Sjogrens (sp) Syndrome. Eventually starting losing weight, thirsty, peeing, and was DKA. The primary I went to could not believe I was functioning so well. I played tennis the day before diagnosis in mid December. I was admitted to the hospital with an A1C of 13.4. Instantly went on Humalog and Lantus. Shots with any food and extremely hard to manage since I also just hit menapause. Am I going low or is it just a hot flash. This was not gradual for me and there is no history of any diabetes in my family anywhere. Lucky me 
Not only is developing T1D as an adult relatively common, diagnoses in people over the age of 20, at 52% of new cases, actually outnumber those in children and young people (at least that is what the figures for Scotland show, and I imagine the numbers are similar in other countries). The most common age group for development in adults is 20-30 where rates are about one third those in age-group 10-20. The majority of these will be full blown rapid onset T1 rather than LADA. The Scotland figures for last year include one diagnosis aged over 90.
Britain’s new Prime Minister, Theresa May, was diagnosed T1 in her 50s (although she tends to keep it pretty quiet). When David Cameron resigned after the Brexit vote and Theresa May announced her intention to stand for PM, she was quizzed by the media as to whether this made her unsuitable for the job on health grounds.
Certainly fits me. Age 28, rapid onset.
Me too! Same age nearly 40 years ago. I remember being so thirsty I was starting to feel compelled to drink the water in the swimming pool.
Did you get the “in 25 years time if you are not dead you will be blind and missing at least a couple of toes if not a leg or two” warning?
My diagnosis story and outcome could use some feedback from the Diabetes community. Last of 2015 I started feeling really tired at work, especially my legs. They felt like they were filled with bricks. I was thirsty all the time. I even had Vertigo one morning when I woke to use the bathroom. Yes, I had my share of nighttime visits to the bathroom. I sweated all day most days. Got dizzy alot. Several days before my ICU stay, I had blurred vision and just thought it was my contacts giving me trouble. I was wrong! Diagnosed with diabetes after 3 days in ICU, bG was over 900. First night in ICU I had acute kidney failure. I hiccuped all night! Not pleasant to say the least. My diagnosis was having had DKA, I was sent home with Levemir, with prescriptions for Novolog, Metformin and Glipizide.
I took it all the first few weeks, because that is what I was prescribed. I feverishly searched the Internet for information on what might have happened to me. You see, I have been riding a mountain bike for 20 years. Three times a week. two hours M - F. 2 to 3 hours on Saturdays. Every week, well almost, for 20 years. How could I get Diabetes, especially to have been diagnosed with Type2 Diabetes. So 6 months later I decide to go see an Endocrinologist to see what help I can get to improve my life with this disease. First words out of his mouth, “what can I help you with”. Come on… Anyway, he orders a C-Peptide test to see if my pancreas is producing insulin. Sure, enough it is, I back off on the insulin and slowly stop it. No insulin for about 4 weeks and then my bG starts creeping up again. So now I am back to Levemir at night and Novolog before most meals and taking Metformin. I can’t tolerate Sulfonylureas very well, so I stopped the glimepiride. Too many lows! My GP has me diagnosed as a Type 2, my Endocrinologist has me diagnosed as an active Type 1, but prescribes medicines to me as if I were a Type 2. Guess it’s time for a GAD test. That won’t change my Rx protocol, but at least I will know which Type I am.
Me too !
Hi @LA_di_DA glad you posted this. Here’s a post from someone who knows a lot about LADA. it also lists the exact antibody tests you should ask for
Our community was founded by another person w LADA, @askmanny.
I see you aren’t exactly brand new to our community, but I’m going to welcome you anyway 
Please let us know what happens.
Hi @LA_di_DA: Welcome! In addition to my top ten tips for the newly diagnosed that the fabulous MarieB provided to you, I also have a more detailed blog specifically on autoantibody testing.. You are wise to not use Sulfonylureas, as they are contraindicated in people with Type 1 diabetes (which IMO sounds like you). And here is my “field guide to IDing the misdiagnosed Type 1” that you may find pertinent. Best of luck! Keep being your own best advocate!
Yes, I have spent the money to see an Endo, just to find out absolutely nothing from him. He typed me as a Type1 because I presented with DKA. No prior knowledge of having Diabetes. It came out of nowhere. Yet, I can look back to the two previous years and see symptoms, but my fasting sugar at the annual GP visit was always around 120 or less until October of 2015 when it was 204. Imagine what my sugar was after eating breakfast lunch, then before a bike ride after 4pm I would down a PowerGel with 42 grams of sugars and then go ride. I wonder about what my Ketone levels were until the exercise brought my sugar level down. Anyway, going to the Endo has proved to be fairly useless. All he wanted to do was to take me off Insulin and give me a pill. Glimepiride. He tested me for C-Peptide and mentioned my pancreas was working just fine. So, I stopped the Insulin and was fine for about a month. I still took the Metformin. Then, after I would eat a meal my sugar started creeping back up to over 180. I took Glimepiride, but had too many LOW’s. Why wear out your pancreas by making it make insulin that sometimes is too much insulin ? I don’t understand that reasoning. So, I did more research to find that some Endo’s (wish I could fine one), believe that taking Insulin helps to not only control high sugar levels, but also lets the pancreas recover and not have to work so hard. It preserves your islet cells so that you’re not full blown Type1. So, now I’m wanting to get tested for Type1, but it’s just too expensive for the full round of autoantibodies testing. Maybe a solution will come, but until then, I pretty much am my own doctor concerning diabetes.
I was wondering about this myself…hair falling out. I was dx as T2 but fixing to get labs done to see about being LADA. Family hx of T1 (2 T1 kids), I’m thin…all the symptoms. My A1c is 5.6. Doctor advised me just to control via diet. However when my baby was 8 months old in September I went to the doctor bc my hair was falling out. I thought maybe thyroid was screwed up from being 38, with an 8 month old. Tests came back fine. Fast forward February my hair is still falling out. Doctor advised stress. Maybe it’s nothing, maybe after tests I will be T2…but I can’t help but to worry until I know for sure.
Keep us informed about your Autoantibodies Testing to find out if you’re a T1 or not. Thanks for replying!
I’m late on this post … but my story.
Diagnosed as type 2 at age 45 based on symptoms and glucose tolerance test. Not a blood test. Endo put me on metformin and I lost weight and upped my exercise. A1c, even at the beginning was mid 5’s. Eventually, the A1c started to increase. I blamed myself; I should exercise more, lose weight, etc. Endo change metformin to some other oral meds. The disease kept progressing. Endo eventually put me on Lantus which worked for about a year, then he added another injectable. and I was increasing dosages.
My son was home for a couple weeks between medical school and residency. He asked me what test my endo did to diagnose. I told him none. He said it’s odd that for the past 10 years I’ve lost weight, exercised more, changed my diet … etc. He handed me his phone with an article about LADA. It described ME. Was seeing endo in a week so I told him I wanted a GAD test to see if it was LADA.
The test came back for positive for antibodies and endo changed diagnosis to T1. Then told me the treatment is the same for T1 and T2, so knowing really didn’t change anything. I told him the past 10 years of self loathing and blame are gone. It’s not my fault. I will always be insulin dependent. So, while it changed nothing for him, it took a huge weight off of my shoulders.
There would be nothing wrong with having a consultation with another Endo.
(Pretty awesome you have a personal Doc in the family - congratulations on that!!!)
I was diagnosed at age 27, almost 2 years ago now. I went to my family doctor complaining of pain in my stomach, sudden weight loss, thirst, etc. The finger stick in the office came back 411, and I was sent to the ER for bloodwork. Initial diagnosis was type 2, because I still had “normal” c-peptide levels. After 6 months of endocrinologist shopping, I found one that would send me to get my GAD autoantibodies tested. Sure enough, the diagnosis was changed to type 1, lada. I was able to treat with diet, exercise, and metformin for about 14 months before I needed insulin. My current setup is dexcom G5 with MDI, and my latest A1c was 5.9.
I have to say, I feel really bad that you spent a decade believing that you had T2 and that you were responsible for your diabetes. That is just wrong on a so many levels. It is nice that your son helped you attain a proper diagnosis but in fact many if not most people with T2 find that over time their diabetes progresses. T2 diabetes isn’t caused by weight and while losing weight and diet and exercise can help you manage T2 (and T1) it can’t reverse the condition or cure it. It makes me really angry that you spent a decade with people telling you that you were at fault for your diabetes. If there is any real “cause” of T2 it is likely genetics (and the same can probably be said to a certain degree about T1). So if you want to blame yourself for making a poor choice in parents, go ahead. But I hope that nobody blame themselves for giving them self diabetes. It just isn’t true and the negative feelings of blame, shame and stigma are just toxic.
I see this as pretty “weak tea” with your doctor’s thinking. If you had received the correct T1D diagnosis, you likely would not have gone down the Metformin and other oral meds path. Nothing wring with a T1D taking these meds but they do come with their own set of undesirable side effects. Plus they delayed you from adopting what you body really wanted, the traditional basal/bolus insulin regimen.
I know society wrongly believes that T2D is caused by poor willful choices made by the person over time. But this has not been borne out by medical studies. There is evidence that suggests that in T2D, the diabetes occurs first followed often by an increased appetite, weight gain, and finally a diagnosis. There is no good reason for anyone to cast blame and shame on anyone with diabetes, T2D or T1D.
I’m glad your son was able to help you out with getting your diagnosis corrected. It’s important for you to receive the T1D diagnosis for many good reasons including insurance coverage. Many insurance plans, Medicare included, distinguish between T1D and T2D for important benefits like insulin pump and continuous glucose monitors. (I think all T2Ds should receive access to both of these technologies, but that’s another discussion!)