New user here and first time poster. Anyway, I've been diagnosed as a Type 2 for a little over a year now. I do not fit your typical Type 2 characteristics, such as being obese or of old age. I'm 22, and weight around 140 pounds, with a BMI of 19. Now I've been looking around online and it seems like there is a chance that I could be possibly Mody or LADA. Though, if I am, how can I tell the main difference? I'm trying to get tested for both, but its been a slight headache as my endocrinologist seems hesitant about it for some reason. Any help and insight on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Augustus, I would try to get your endo to do the tests so you know and so you can get the best treatment possible. Mody testing is quite expensive I think so most endos will probably be hesitant to do that, but the other tests aren't so I would push for those and go to another doctor if necessary. IMO it should be standard to test for antibodies and c peptide levels. If you have a family history of Mody and genetic factors for that I think you can get the testing done for free in various research facilities and if you enter a study also. I'm sure someone will come along with that information soon.
I'm going to go to my GP hopefully sometime this week and ask him about the possibility of Mody or LADA being in my case. I will have to ask about the antibodies and c-peptide tests when I go as well. My endo did recommend trying to contact the University of Michigan, as they have a well known diabetes center, but its been a slow process, and my patience is thinning. It's just frustrating is all not knowing, but I know that I'm also not alone in all this.
I'm not gonna assume too much but I was diagnosed last year with type 2 at 22 (by a terrible doctor, the er doctor at my diagnosis suspected 1 or LADA but told me to go to a internal med doctor and check it out or an endocrinologist except the internal med doctor insisted I was a type 2 and crazy to worry otherwise), and have never been overweight ever. Granted I had NO improvement with metformin , but a world of difference with insulin.Right away, my endocrinologist diagnosed me as a type 1 instead because nothing about me was type 2 (particularly on the insulin resistance front as I'm not resistant I'm probably one of the most insulin sensitive people you'll ever meet in your life I swear to god) and most of all, I don't have family history of diabetes really at all? Apparently MODY and Type 2 come with more family history than type 1. I could be wrong on this but still.
I feel your pain for real, like we were diagnosed in the same year and around the same age and have dealt with people who don't want us to know what our disease actually is. I had the fortune of finding an endocrinologist that was also diagnosed at 22 and went through some similar crap , but that's kind of a rare find I suspect lol.
It was definitely a complete shock being diagnosed. I was young and not overweight at all (most people describe as just skin and bones lol), so I was confused, angry, and upset. Type 2 just didn't really fit me. But my GP has been pretty good so far. I was on Metformin and Amaryl, and my A1C dropped from around 10 to 5.9. The only issue was the fact that I had too many lows on Amaryl, so I was taken off that. Now recently my bs numbers have been pretty high but still sometimes oddly normal (I ate 3 pieces of pizza and was 78 at 2 hours later). So I'm not sure what it is. I know family history is important for Mody, as my grandfather was Type 1 and my mother had gestational diabetes when she had me, so that might be important. I just want to find an effective treatment, insulin or pills, just want to have some better numbers.
My diagnosis was shocking too as no one in my family has it and it was just really odd and I never expected it, I went in the ER with bad GERD/acid reflux (kinda worried I was having a heart attack or something like that it was THAT BAD lol. Though now I wonder if it was my pancreas instead) found out I had diabetes in the process and in the end it made sense as I had some weird stuff going on recently (like peeing all of the time ,stomach upset that was likely related to high blood sugar, being thirsty a lot, etc...but of course I didn't know I was symptomatic until later on, but still important). I completely understand being upset too when your treatment doesn't work as I went through the same crap with Metformin , though they never put me on anything else until I started insulin (and was taken off the metformin) . I was constantly above 200 on metformin unless I ate nothing for like an entire day (which was honestly close to what I did I was starving myself due to the whole type 2=fat people disease shame people directed towards me) . My A1C has never been all that high , but I wasn't immediately tested for my a1c so I have no idea what it was at diagnosis, but after a few months I was 7.2% , insulin brought me down to 5.5%.
I'd say on the whole pizza thing though? Pizza effect due to the fat in pizza, that makes the carbs hit your system very slowly and leads to it not hitting you until like 4-6+ hours. I had to be careful with fat at first, but now that I'm pretty sure I'm honeymooning (meaning my last few beta cells have not kicked the bucket yet and are trying to help me out) , it's less of an issue.
It sounds good that the insulin is working for you instead of the Metformin. Metformin alone for me isn't doing so great, but with amaryl it did pretty good minus the lows. I'm going back to my GP and possibly my endo to figure something else out when it comes to medications. I don't think I need insulin right now, and I'm hoping a diagnosis of Mody or LADA might make it more clear of me being a Type 2, while not fitting the so-called "bill" of a Type 2.
All of this is overwhelming, especially at our young ages. It feels unfair, truly, but I know others have it much worse, not just with diabetes, but other diseases as well. I'm just banking on a cure, one day down the road, I have to have faith lol.
Yes I know LADA is Type 1, even though I am diagnosed as Type 2, which I am in dispute about. I also read somewhere that LADA is mainly for people diagnosed over 30? I was diagnosed as Type 2 (or whatever kind I may have) at 21, so possibly there is a lower chance for LADA and more of one for Mody?
Hi there! I was just diagnosed with LADA about a year ago at the age of 34. I was misdiagnosed as Type 2 in the beginning. It was a terrible process. My endo put me on Metformin which made me terribly sick. When my sugars kept sky-rocketing he accused me of eating too many carbs! I went to the Mayo Clinic because I have other autoimmune problems. When I got there, they said they wanted to test me for LADA diabetes because of my other autoimmune problems. Sure enough....they ran a GAD antibody test and we found out the truth. I promptly fired my other endo and found a new one. From what you are saying, it sounds like you could definitely have LADA. If your endo won't test you for GAD antibodies, fire him, and find a new one!!! It's crucial that you find out now so that you can preserve your beta cells if possible!!! Please keep us posted!
The metformin didn't really give me any negative side effects when I first started taking it. It's effectiveness has possibly worn off a little bit, but my bs levels are higher now because I suspect that I was taken off amaryl because it caused too many lows. Now I am back on amaryl (a lower dosage though) and my bs numbers seem better but still too high. I am going to have some other tests done, probably with a different endo like you recommended. I'm leaning towards this being Mody rather than LADA, but who knows, only the tests will tell. Thank you for response and I will keep everyone posted!
I don't think there is an age limit on LADA, Augustus, though the pace of onset tends to get slower as age increases. I don't know anything about Mody, but that it is much rarer than LADA
You're right, I didn't think there was an age limit on LADA, just it was more prevalent in people over 30. I honestly feel like I could fit into BOTH of Mody or LADA, but it obviously can't be both, so I'm going to have to get some tests done by my ever so reluctant endo.
I see LADA generally as T1 diabetes. T1 can hit at any time, but with children it progresses much faster than with adults. My guess is that children have a much more active immune system, and therefore when they have an immune response to beta cells, the progression is quick.
LADA could possibly be the case for me, though I was diagnosed as Type 2, but it could easily be misdiagnosed as well. I guess it all depends on how long LADA takes to develop into Type 1.
LADA IS Type 1. From the start. It is just the attack on the beta cells that is more gradual. LADA stands for "latent autoimmune diabetes in adults". Autoimmune diabetes means Type 1.
To my knowledge mody can be treated very well with sulfonyl based medications like Amaryl - at least if caught early. With very well I mean normal blood glucose control not slighlty elevated nor very carb sensitive.
You could pick some T1 diabetic with residual beta cells and give him Amaryl. Quite likely you will see better control because the remaining beta cells will act more potently. This is especially true for newly diagnosed T1s/Ladas. But this person still needs exogenous insulin and the management will be easier with insulin alone. Same is true for Metformin or extreme low carbing in this situation. Again you will see improvements but to some extend they just prevent to identify the real problem: insulin deficiency!
Melitta wrote in her blog about the misdiagnosis of T1 diabetics. I hope you will find some helpful information there...
My symptoms were occurring for a few months before I went in and got diagnosed, so I'm hoping whatever type I have was got pretty early. It's been over a year now since I was diagnosed and the oral meds are working still for the most part. I guess it all depends on how long LADA takes to develop, which sounds like it could vary greatly from months to years, depending on the individual.
The antibody and c-peptide tests I'm hopefully going to take soon should shed some light on what is going on. It seems like Mody and LADA are both real possibilities, but I'm honestly hoping its Mody as it seems Mody is easeir treated (depedning on the type) than LADA is.
Ask for the GAD antibody test. I was misdiagnosed with Type 2 at 25 yrs. old and 110 lbs. I didn't get a correct diagnosis until I was 33, when my dr finally did the GAD test after trying every Type 2 medication there was with no results. She was shocked when the GAD results were positive. I am on mealtime insulin now, but I still take Metformin for insulin resistance.
That's what the plan is right now. I'm going to get the GAD antibody test, along with the c-peptide test, and hopefully find some more things out. I know I'm not type 2, but what exactly I am, well, I'm not sure. Did you have similar feelings when you were diagnosed as Type 2, being that young and not being overweight?
