Ok so this is my situation:
When I was a kid I was ALWAYS sick with pneuomia, bronchitis,kidney infections etc. I was hospitalized at least 3x a year because of it.
When I became a teenager, I had fainting spells… usually before my period and then again during heavy flow.
I was always depressed as far back as I can remember… but wasnt allowed to talk about it, let alone seek treatment.
As for the fainting spells… the dr.s just told my parents it was my way of getting attention. ( ya like I enjoy getting my head hurt from passing out! jerks!)
Then when I was pregnant 20 years ago I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes… no treatment was given, and I wasnt even told until a few days before my son’s birth,
As far as I know… that was the only time I was even tested!
Now… I was recently diagnosed as a type 2
was put on metformin but i found it was bringing me down too low, during my normal times and… it did nothing when I spiked up to 18.9…( it was right before my period)
I have since stopped taking it and have been documenting everything I put in my mouth and testing 8x a day.
My levels have been not too bad… just a little over 10.0 after eating and I haven’t been lower than 5 before eating.
I am expectiing my levels to go freakishy high again during ovulation and freakishly low for a day or 2 after my heavy flow starts…
So my question to you all is…
Does this sound LADA to you or is my dr.correct in type 2?? (keep in mind I was born sick and always very thin!)
Hi KareBare: I am sorry for what you are going through! You have come to the right place for lots of support and good information. It certainly is possible that you have LADA. About 10% of Caucasian women have autoimmune gestational diabetes–basically pregnancy pushes them over the edge into Type 1 diabetes/LADA/whatever you want to call it. The definitive test for Type 1 diabetes/LADA is antibody testing (glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA), islet cell antibodies (ICA), and insulinoma-associated (IA-2) autoantibodies), and c-peptide is also useful. C-peptide can help determine if you are insulin-resistant or insulin-deficient. Hopefully you have a good doctor who is open to listening to you and getting these tests ordered for you. There are MANY women here at TuD that developed Type 1/LADA at or just after pregnancy. Menstrual cycles (hormones) have a lot of effect on most women’s blood sugar levels–blood sugar goes high in the week just prior to your period, and then drops a lot when your period starts. That’s really normal. Best of luck to you, I am sure you will get the answers here that you are seeking.
Ok so I just got back from seeing my nurse and my dietician… they looked at my detailed log of my levels and everything i have put in my mouth for the last few weeks.
They both have a sneaky suspicion that I may be type 1.5
We will continue the intense monitoring until the end of the month and see what comes out of it. And I have an appt. with my Dr. on Monday… she said she will send her notes to him so He knows whats going on. In the meantime… she told me to continue NOT taking my metformin, beings as it doesnt help me much anyway,it puts me too low when I am in my normal phase and does not lower me when I am high.
I really hope this all gets figured out soon as I am ready to pull my hair out! aaarrrrgggghhhhhh!
I can understand your frustration, Karebear. You have not been given a definitive diagnosis, but something is obviously wrong with your blood sugar responses. Getting the correct diagnosis and treatment is extremely important. Unfortunately some doctors are too good at saying “you have diabetes, take metformin” which may or may not be the right answer and certainly isn’t if you’re type 1. It sounds like you have had several things going on medically throughout your life and they may be connected, yet again they may not which is also frustrating I’m sure. Sometimes all we want is an answer and it’s a relief when we hear something like "you are a type 1 diabetic, you are a type 2 diabetic or you are LADA/type 1 because we knew something was going on. Coming on here is great to hear others experiences and share your own. What it can also do is raise your expectations. You know the correct questions to ask your doctors, and the tests to ask for. Don’t accept any less. Hopefully you will be lucky and get a doctor who is willing to help you clarify what is going on for you. If not, press on to the next one, perhaps an endo. Good luck to you and don’t hesitate to ask anything.
Thanks Ladies!
I really dont think my GP will refuse any treatment or tests I may need. In fact I rarely even deal with him unless I need a prescription or a test ordered. They have a large number of diabetics in this town and have a Diabetic clinic here with nurses and dieticians etc that monitor us and educate us in management. Beings as both my nurse and dietician are both open to the possibilty of Lada…I beleive I will get to the bottom of this soon. My nurse sends my GP her notes… basically telling him what to do. She is also diabetic so She really understands.
I am just at the point where I just want a diagnosis and a plan to manage so I can get on with my life…I am losing my patience with all this documenting and poking and prodding…I wake up every morning and feel like screaming…JUST FIX IT!!!
I have always been someone who goes 100 mph in my life and need to keep busy.
I am stuck at home most days because my eyes go blurry when I am too low or too high and my eye doctor said he cant give me glasses until I get this under control.
I have to wear my old contacts in the meantime which are an outdated Rx.
(he did check my eyes for damage and so far everything is fine)
So thanks for the great advice and I feel better knowing I have all of you for backup and informing me of what needs to be done so I can make sure I get the proper treatment!
Love to all!!
