Newly diagnosed diabetic but inconclusive test results

Hello. I am 20 years old and have recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (or so I believe). After losing a tremendous amount of weight and getting my blood drawn, which led to results of elevated blood sugar levels of 589 mg, non-fasting, and around 280 mg fasting, I was sent to the emergency room and hospitalized for 2 days on 4/4/16. I had some ketones in my urine and my HbA1C level was 15.1%. They got my sugars under control and I am now taking 14 units of Lantus every morning and around 4 units of humalog with each meal (1 unit per 15 carbs but I don’t take it for snacks). My test results for GAD antibodies as well as islet cells both came back negative, but after drinking apple juice to intentionally raise my sugars before a blood test, my C-peptide levels came back fairly low (1.0 on a scale of 0.8-3.9) so my pancreas is not producing very much insulin. I feel I am in a so called “honey moon phase” due to the random spurts of insulin my pancreas does seem to produce because I may sometimes have a meal, count my carbs, and be fairly low (50s) only an hour or 2 later. All of these signs point me to DT1 but my test results confuse me.

Any input? Thanks!

hi @Tayyvayy, glad you found us right away. I think this post might help you

(@Melitta specifically addresses the GAD antibodies, as well as giving some top notch tips)

being so recently diagnosed, you might find your pancreas to do some wacky surges, also known as the “honeymoon phase”.

come and visit us anytime! I’ve been type1 a really long time (and doing ok) and I can say being a member of TuDiabetes the past 8 years has been a lifesaver for me.

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Thank you for the reply! I’ll check out the post. It’s also encouraging to hear this website has been a great resource for you.

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Hi, @Tayyvayy, and welcome! A diagnosis of diabetes is so devasting and confusing! TuD has been a great help to me, especially since I didn’t know any other T1Ds in my community. Frequent BG testing and good record keeping will help you learn what foods you can eat, how exercise affects your BG, etc. In my opinion, the most important thing is that the doctor(s) got you on basal and bolus insulin right away. I was initially put on basal (Lantus) plus sliding scale (Humalog)…and the sliding scale was useless for controlling spikes! Eventually ai asked for help from my diabetes educator, who got me on bolus insulin instead and I started to make improvements right away. So things do get better over time and you’ll get lots of support here as you learn to deal with “this insane disease”.

Thank you for your advice @CatLady06. Your words are encouraging :slight_smile:

Hi there. Exact same boat as you. Lost weight…a1c 12.8 and positive for GAD. My c peptide was low end of normal 1.2 as well. This.was three weeks ago and it’s overwhelming to say the least. Part of me focuses on the normal c peptide figure as hope it’s not type one but the more I read…you and I are not type two. I think the hardest part is feeling alone with it. Hang in there. I’m in the denial stage at the moment.

Hello. I agree with the fact that I don’t feel I am type 2 even though I do not have the antibodies present. If you tested positive for GAD however…that is quite an indicator that you are type 1. I tested negative for that test (as well as for the islet cells) so that’s why I’m so conflicted. But either way…I am currently insulin dependent and can’t change that. I just would like to have a definite diagnosis.

The diabetes online community is truly supportive and informative and welcoming. With TuD I don’t feel so alone with this dang (totally unexpected!) disease. Denial, anger, distress, grief, and hopelessness are normal feelings after diagnosis…and alas, will pop up periodically on difficult days. But there is life after diagnosis…and friendship, kindness, and humor here at TuD.

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