New...Type 1, LADA, Type 1.5 not exactly sure just yet

1

or maybe all of those are the same? still learning the ropes!

Anyway, hello! My name is Kim 37yrs old and recently dx with diabetes, currently per endo type 1. Diabetes isn't new to me, I had GD with both of my pregnancies and now less than 2 years after the birth of my son it is back, maybe it never fully went away? I can't say for sure. While preggo I was on Glyburide and diet regimen, the Glyburide didn't help that much, which all makes sense now! It all started this time around when I was having some health stuff going on and went to see my primary care who did labs, all perfectly normal except for that pesky glucose, it was 354 fasting, yikes! My A1C was 8.2, not horrible I guess. So she immediately said "you are a type 2 diabetic" I didn't buy what she was selling ;) I mean I like her but I just don't fit that typical mold, I know there is no typical but I just felt something else was up. I am thin (too thin actually), exercise, eat decent and I have huge family history of diabetes type 1 and 2. My brother was a type 1 dx in toddlerhood (he sadly passed away from complications at age 39), my cousin was just dx with type 1 at the age of 34, another cousin with type 1 around age 10, and countless type 2ers who were dx after the age of 60. So I took it into my own hands, researched local endocrinologists who specialized in this kind of thing and made an appointment, she immediately said "you seem like a type 1" she ordered a battery of tests (still waiting on some, I see her next week) but in the interim she started me on Lantus 10u at night, a day later she called to say while she was still waiting on the antibody testing she had received my insulin levels and they were low, she said I needed more insulin so she added Humalog 2u before meals to start....so that is where I am at, I see her again next week to talk about the other results and come up with a better plan. Prior to insulin my fastings were running around 180 and 2 hr pp around 230 and that was with minimal carbs, very minimal. Since starting the insulin my fastings are more in the 100-130 range and 2hr pp were around 160-170 but I recently upped my Humalog to 3u and that has kept them under 130, that makes me happy....I know this is still a learning curve, I am still working on figuring out the carb to Humalog ratio and it will take time but for now I feel like I have a plan or at least the start of one. I must say I get worked up about this, if my number goes to 200 I start to feel freaky, part of that is likely because it makes me anxious and stressed when I know it's high. But anyway I just wanted to introduce myself, you seem like a very knowledgable bunch and I am on a quest to figure this all out and gain some control!

Now onto my questions, regarding the types, currently the endo says "you are a type 1" my insulin level was low but still some is being produced, does that mean LADA? or not really? what happens if the GAD antibodies come back negative? does that mean anything or not really? ....I guess at the end of the day the bottom line is I need insulin but I just like knowing what my body is doing! Any feedback appreciated, I look forward to chatting with you all, thanks for reading my novel, I ramble a lot :)

2

Sorry I meant to post this in LADA section, new to this LOL

3

LADA is a controversial diagnosis with no consensus on definition.

Type 1 diabetes is often diagnosed in people still making some insulin.
GAD is not the only type of autoantibody that can cause type 1 diabetes and you do not need to be GAD positive to have type 1 diabetes. If all of the antibodies are negative, then given your family history it might be appropriate to test for unusual genetic forms of diabetes. But I bet the antibodies will be positive.

4

You can edit the original post and change the forum that it was posted under. You will see an +option button right to the left of the +add. Click that and you will see the edit function.

5

I wish everything were clear cut, but it isn't. Diabetes is complicated, and even a diagnosis of T1, which would seem to be clear, isn't. There is still a lot of judgement involved. The antibody tests (GAD, ICA, IA-2) can help confirm an autoimmune attack, but only some 85-90% of T1s test positive for one or more antibodies. And in the end, all that really matters is that you get good treatment. And the way I look at it, if you can get good control of your blood sugar with insulin, it really doesn't matter what your diagnosis, you have good treatment.

As to the deeper questions: "What is wrong with me?" "Why did this happen to me?" They may always be unanswerable. Over time, I have accepted that there really isn't anything "wrong" with me, I'm just different and I will likely never know how I got this way.

6

thanks all! it really is a learning and accepting process for me right now. I def get moments of the "why me?!" but have to put it in perspective, I have twin nephews (my husands side of family not my genetics) that were both dx within 6 months of each other at age 8 with type 1 diabetes, I see their struggles, they are just little boys! and I think it could be worse and quickly I am put back in my place and reminded to accept and take control of my own fate. I do worry about my genetics though and how it will effect my own children, I am keeping a close eye on them at this point and will be speaking with their pedi soon. Also I will be seeing my endo this week for results of the antibody testing, she also did mention MODY and we will be discussing that further as well. Thanks much for the kind words of wisdom! very much appreciated. In other news my fasting level this morning was 75!!! I haven't had that happen since this whole thing started, nice to see that number on the screen! Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!