Update - I'm still striking out when it comes to finding an endo to perform the antibody tests for Type 1.5 LADA. My rheumatologist suggested I contact my insurance carrier, which I did last week. My representative has been calling a list of diabetic specialists in the area and she's also striking out. Labcorp and Quest will do the tests, but I need a doctor to write up a lab slip. It seems that no one specializes in performing those tests or sees LADA patients.
She says she's not giving up and moving closer to the medical center area--it will be a longer commute for me, but may very well be worth it.
Can anyone recommend an endo for LADA in SE Houston?
There are no lab tests for "Type 1.5 LADA". There are only antibody tests for Type 1. (LADA is a slow-onset version of Type 1.) There are no "Endos for LADA" as LADA is not an official diagnosis. If you continue asking for tests for "Type 1.5 LADA" nobody will know what you are talking about.
Sorry, I didn't make myself clear in my original post. I have been asking for the antibody tests for Type 1; however, neither my PCP nor my endo does them and say they are unnecessary even though I have other autoimmune issues. The insurance representative found the lab coding from both Labcorp and Quest and talked with various doctors in the area, but none of them say they do the tests. They consider them to be 'clinician' testing.
My rheumatologist said I would probably have to go to a endo who is a practicing clinician and active in research--within the medical center area.
I was using the Type 1.5 strictly for our group discussion.
Thanks for explaining; how ridiculous that nobody will do antibody testing. If an endo does no antibody testing, my guess is he has many patients who are misdiagnosed Type 2. He probably goes strictly by age. Why use testing when you "know" which type someone is simply by looking...and yes, I am being very sarcastic.
For me when I realized I'd been misdiagnosed Type 2 for 15 months I was living in Guatemala. The good news is there you don't need doctors to write lab slips, you just go to any lab and request a test, then come back a couple days later for results. The bad news is none of them ever heard of the antibody tests. Instead I wrote my endo there (who I only saw once) a list of 5 things that led me to know I was type 1; she checked off each one and said, "Yes, you are Type 1".
