You've received extremely good advice from Zoe and others. I just want to address the question of insulin. As the resident who first saw me in the ER after my diagnosis (age 57, Type 1) - insulin is the BEST medicine. It works directly, can be managed without help from medical professionals once you have the hang of it and doesn't carry with it all of the side effects that seem to plague most of the new Type 2 drugs.
I hate needles and I had to say a little prayer before taking each shot before I went on the pump but in a short period, insulin stops being scary. Going back to uncontrolled blood sugars is scary.
Diabetes treatment has improved quite a bit in the last 20 years and there is no reason to expect progress to stop. With effort and a little bit of luck, you should be able to eventually play with your grandchildren.
Stephanie first before I repeat anything someone else says I have only read your post and none of the replies. First although I have only known life mostly as a diabetic I can tell you there is still a great beautiful long life to be lived and you can do this. As for the fear,anguish and the uncertainty I understand completely as last year I was told I had Cancer. Yes I was afraid and unsure about anything I cried many days & nights I blamed God my family and the world but I dug down deep inside myself and told myself no this isn't going to take over me my family and the life I love, so I decided to fight and I did and still am, and I have taken control of it for now. Please there are many of us here on TU that understand how u feel what u are going through and we are all here to lend an ear give U a shoulder and a hand to help if we can. Trish
First so sorry about your diagnosis. I also went through a tremendous shock and had ended up in the icu 3 days after my diagnosis. I think I'm still coming to terms with having D and a chronic disease. You will adjust to this and you're going to get things under control. You may have to try different things. Sometimes people who have late onset type 1, lada or whatever you want to call it don't have antibodies, a small percentage, and sometimes it may be that you haven't developed them yet. Either way you will probably need insulin to properly control your bg. I would recommend trying eliminating grains and any high carb foods. Whole grain still acted liked pure sugar for me to raise me to 200's even with a lot of insulin. I don't know if you're seeing an endo but hopefully are and they're doing the full amount of tests that need to be done to figure things out. I went on a low carb diet a la dr. bernstein not long after I was out of the hospital and it helped me a great deal. I eat around 50g per day now and I don't eat grains, starchy veggies at all now. Exercise also helps me to keep bg more stable, walking, housework, gardening, shopping etc. all lower my bg. I have fybro and chronic pain from injuries too and found that arnica, sometimes anti inflammatories etc. when needed, heat/tens help me and also just keeping as active as possible.
It's normal to feel a lot of emotional upheaval from a D diagnosis and all that it entails, it can be very exhausting dealing with D but in time it will get better. The most important thing is not to let your bg go in those higher levels on a regular basis.
You also really need to stop smoking for good, because aside from all the other health problems it causes it will make your D much worse in terms of heart disease, blood pressure etc. It's great you're working to do that!
I'm on metformin. Don't panic too much yet about it not being effective, as it takes about 2 weeks to build up in your body. One thing I have found is that it's better for me to take it around meal times as it does have a peak strength and I like to time that to be when the carbs hit my system.
In addition to the advice already given, I'd like to suggest that you see a nutritionist/dietitian. They will be able to help you figure out how many carbs you are eating and can cope with and find the "hidden" ones that we often consider healthy (like peas, dried fruit and fruit juices). They will also be able to help you find alternatives that your body can cope with better, like the low GI bread I use for sandwiches.
These days I laugh when I walk into a restaurant and look at the menu. So often they have a "health" breakfast of muesli, berries and honey that would be poison to my system, while their "unhealthy" choices like bacon and eggs don't hurt me at all!! If you're hungry, eat protein and/or fat because they won't hurt your blood sugar. Slow down on the carbs until you've been able to get some help with getting to grips with them. The high blood sugar will also cause you to lose weight, and once that is better controlled you'll find your weight will be easier to deal with too.
I am kinda impressed with your doc for considering LADA. You should read some of the stories on this site! Don't worry if you don't understand everything right now. Bottom-line is what does your meter say and act accordingly and over time things will fall in place!
Ditto on the full panel of antibody tests from an endocrinologist. I don't think your numbers are bad. A lot of doctors would have ignored an A1C of 6.1 and probably called you prediabetic. Additionally, many of us have A1Cs around 10 before we get diagnosed. Furthermore, you are on a pretty low dose of metformin and are just starting to learn how to adjust your diet.
If you are T2, it should be VERY manageable at this point, and if you end up being LADA (T1), you'll be able to avoid the damage to your body that many of us have to endure before we get diagnosed, and you'll be prepared to use the tools that you'll eventually need. Even if you end up being T1, you might be able to slow the process a bit and it could be a few years before you need insulin.
For now at least, count the carbs in what you are eating, and use your meter to verify their impact on you. Also read over some food/carb charts so you have a better feel for what will bring your BG up. My big surprise was with popcorn. For me, there is no difference between 20 carbs of whole wheat, 20 carbs of white bread, and 20 carbs of chocolate. As for eating, eat lots of protein and low carb vegetables. A 3-4 egg omelet shouldn't raise your BG, and then for lunch you can eat a large salad with meat on top and any dressing without many carbs. You can still eat a lot while limiting carbs.
If you don't have the antibodies, I'd probably get a c-peptide tests done periodically to make sure your insulin production isn't crashing (Type 1). Metformin should take a couple of weeks to kick in, and 500 mg isn't high. You should be able to tolerate a lot more too.
Wow, interesting story. I'd say the doc you're treating with is doing a good job to catch it and start the experimental investigation process when he did. There's other members with similar numbers that docs are like "it's no big deal...see you next year" which I think is the wrong approach.
The best article on T2 that I've seen is http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/58/4/773.full.pdf+html. It's very detailed about the different pathologies that can all, or partially or somewhat be involved in messing with your BG and how what doctors do doesn't always work. I also agree with the people who are suspicious of T1 but that's something that has to be looked into and, if you need an endo to do it, that may be useful. I've been T1 since 1984 and had a great GP for a while but, when I said "I want a pump..." (after he'd suggested it for 2-3 years...), he said "great! you need an endo..." so I've been there since then. I don't get that much out of the doctor experience but it's a long story...
Hmmm, yeah you're probably right. I was thinking that maybe since she caught it so early that diet and metformin might be able to keep her beta cells from being too stressed for a while, but I'm probably wrong on that, especially if there is weight loss/issues.
If it hasn't been mentioned,I'd ask for copies of lab work, and get familiar with what they mean. Also, get the anti insulin autoantibody (IAA) test BEFORE going on insulin. Once you are on manmade insulin, that test loses it's validity.
scott, what is DKA? i'm so new to all of this, only diagnosed 12 days ago. do you know anything about the high fat low carb diet? i kinda tried this today and my numbers were really good! any advice is welcome!
DKA = Diabetic ketoacidosis. Many type 1's are diganosed when in DKA. It is a very serious and potentially life-threatening condition.
It happens when you don't have enough insulin. Your body begins to burn fat for energy, and one of the by-products of that process are ketones. When you have too many ketones, your body becomes acidic and you get really sick.
It put me in the ICU for about 2-3 days (about 10 years after my dx), and on the regular floor for about another week while they tried to get my electrolytes stabliized.
I'm not certain, but I think Scott was just joking, even though it's rare for type 2's to develop DKA
agree. i've never heard of a type 1 (and LADA is type 1..don't like that people call it that, it's not a diagnosis...it's just a slower progession, children can progress slowly too, have a honeymoon, not everyone presents DKA, but they don't refer to children as LADA..ugh) not having to start insulin for 'a few years'. it's best to start insulin quickly to reserve beta and alpha cells.
we're all here for you! hang in there. I hope they do a fasting, has to be fasting with BG's below 200, cpeptide test and all the antibodies testing.
stephanie..all this is scary, i know! don't worry about DKA, your body clearly is producing insulin, still. your A1C is still good, i too am surprised that a PCP diagnosed type 1. I hope you can partner with a good Endocrinologist and CDE and/or nutritionist. Stick with low carbs to keep your numbers down, if you can. You're not alone! :)
Hi, seems you have gotten some good advice, I won't duplicate it. I was dx LADA at age 37 via antibody testing and started on insulin, I am 38 now so it hasn't been that long ago. I kinda sound just like you in description but I had previously had GD with both my pregnancies but pretty sure it was LADA/type 1 all along. My intial A1C was in the 8s, since starting insulin it has been in the low 6s. It is a lifestyle change, but manageable. It is extremely overwhelming at first but with time and patience it becomes simply a way of life. I still have days when I cry and get frustrated, I worry about my kids developing diabetes, I worry about all kinds of things to be honest LOL but at the end of the day you have to take it one day at a time. Keep your head up! Hugs and much love to you.
