OK... I need to see an endocrinologist!

Type 1 and LADA
1

I was diagnosed with ‘pre-diabetes’ a couple years ago and didn’t take it nearly serious enough. Eight months ago I lost 25 pounds for no apparent reason and was drinking gallons of water and diet coke. I still didn’t think much of it. I was actually proud of myself for losing weight and drinking lots of liquids.

Just as a fluke, I checked my BG a few times just before I went in to see my doc for a normal scheduled checkup. Three readings in the mid-400’s! I was still pretty clueless.

My doc wasn’t so thrilled about my weight loss and thirst. When I gave her my BG log, she gave me that look. She immediately put me on Humalog and two weeks later added Lantus to the regime. I had a CT scan to rule out pancreas problems. I’m now injecting 25U Lantus and on a sliding-scale for the Humalog (5 to 10u per meal). My BG still bounces around quite a bit, and I feel like I’m really not making much progress in stabilizing,

I’m thrilled to have found this website and this group. I guess the only way to really find out is to visit an endo, but what are the tell-tale signs of LADA? I’ve never gotten a really good answer from my GP… she called it something like adult-onset insulin-dependent diabetes. I’ve assumed it was type-2.

Now I need to find a good Endo!

2

Hi James: LADA is adult onset Type 1 diabetes, and the definitive test for Type 1 autoimmune diabetes (at any age of onset) is antibody testing (glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA), islet cell antibodies (ICA), and insulinoma-associated (IA-2) autoantibodies). It would probably be useful to be tested and have a definitive diagnosis. A c-peptide test can also help. People with LADA rather than Type 2 tend to be younger and thinner, and usually don’t have metabolic syndrome. These are just generalizations, again it is probably best to have antibody testing done. You are doing the right thing with using insulin, and might consider getting an insulin pump and if your insurance covers it, a continuous glucose monitor. Glad you found this forum, welcome, and good luck to you!