Ok, so open your minds and let me know what you think. There are some theories out there that for LADA if you are obese that loosing the weight will change your antibodies from positive to negative and you may not need insulin. I’m high positive on three of the tests and an educated friend has suggested that when I loose my weight because I don’t take much insulin I won’t need any AND that the tests may not show positive anymore… Nice thought, but my CPep are <1 near non-existent. Looking for the research and support on this…
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Sounds to me a Quack Theory, and this is coming from someone with LADA. I was never obese, per se, but I’ve definitely lost weight since diagnosis (from insulin deficiency and paying very close attention to my diet). At least in my case, my antibodies are showing at higher levels than they were as time progresses (I was initially negative), independent of weight, diet, or treatment. Autoimmune disorders don’t, to my knowledge, just go away.
It sounds to me like your friend is confusing Type 2 with LADA. And even with Type 2, it doesn’t really “go away,” but rather is just well-controlled with weight loss, exercise, and dietary changes. It usually progresses anyways (although sometimes very slowly). Not sure what antibodies have to do with it, although a proportion of diagnosed Type 2s (including myself, initially) are antibody-positive. There are also reports of rapid-onset, childhood Type 1s who no longer test positive for antibodies after significant amounts of time. Don’t think that means they’re cured or don’t need insulin anymore…
However, if you do find anything about this in the research literature, let us know! I could probably lose some more weight if I had to, if it means I can “delay” the progression 
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If you produce some insulin (endogenous), then losing weight, exercising and all the rest may help reduce your overall insulin needs and, correspondingly, the amount of exogenous insulin you may need (if any). But over the long term it is a losing battle and the exogenous insulin becomes absolutely necessary. At least that’s my LADA experience and the message from every professional discussion and research paper I’ve read on the subject.
If it walks like a duck…
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Yes correct, my problem with his theory is if I’m positive for antibodies now, then I have type 1. The tests were run twice one month apart so no false reports. I think the hang up on weight is the problem it should have nothing to do with the antibody and only impact the amount of insulin I need, but with CPep so low I’ll most likely always be insulin dependent, Still a nice thought that we can turn a positive into negative in a good way…
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It is possible that reducing your body’s need for producing insulin (with a low-carb diet) could dramatically increase the length of the ‘honeymoon’ – though no guarantee of that. I doubt there is a diet method to make the antibodies ‘go away’ though. My last c-peptide test had me <0.2 – been dropping with each subsequent test, despite good BG management and a lower-carb or even low-carb diet. (Note: for me, only c-peptide tests were run multiple times.)
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Yep, I agree completely. Insulin-minimizing diets make sense for many people, but nothing is going to change an autoimmune attack (without antibody-specific medications, which don’t exist for T1). Extending the honeymoon is not the same as “going antibody negative,” which is why I’m pretty sure this is a quack theory
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Quackish. 100% quackish. There are all kinds of things you can to do improve control and minimize the need for medication, but adjusting weight is not going to shut off the immune system. If those antibodies are there, you’re stuck with them (and what they signify).
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Just to clarify, if a person who has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes is autoantibody positive, the person has been misdiagnosed and actually has Type 1 autoimmune diabetes. According to AACE, WHO, and the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus, autoantibodies are never present in Type 2 diabetes. Depending on the population, if autoantibody testing is performed on a “Type 2” population, about 10% will be found to be autoantibody positive, have been misdiagnosed, and in fact have Type 1a diabetes. The first study that demonstrated this phenomenon was published in The Lancet in 1977 (Irvine WJ, McCallum CJ, Gray RS, Duncan LJP (1977) Clinical and pathogenic significance of pancreatic islet cell antibodies in diabetics treated with oral hypoglycaemic agents. Lancet 1: 1025–1027). Misdiagnosis is a huge problem!
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We definitely agree on that point, and that is precisely the boat that I’m in (initially diagnosed Type 2, but “weird;” later re-diagnosed as Type 1 after detection of antibodies and low insulin levels). But that wasn’t actually the point of my comment, which I think is important. Once a Type 1, always a Type 1 (and the same could be said for Type 2, or any other type of diabetes for that matter). Losing weight can certainly help in terms of treatment effectiveness, but the idea that losing weight can cure Type 1 (or T2) for that matter is definitely Quackery, whether someone tests positive for antibodies or not.
Those diagnosed Type 2 that later show antibodies are actually Type 1. There are people (including here on the forums) that test negative for antibodies after having initially tested positive (and had all the other hallmarks of Type 1). There are also idiopathic Type 1 that never test positive for antibodies. Regardless, that all is just a distraction from the original question here: can losing weight “cure” Type 1 (LADA) by somehow “resetting” the autoimmune attack? I’m pretty sure the evidence is clear on that front: no, it cannot.
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@David49, of course we are in agreement, I just wanted to clarify as I don’t want anyone to think that there are true Type 2s who are autoantibody positive. And of course I am in total agreement regarding the OPs question–those comments are pure quackery–losing weight will not cure Type 1. (My personal opinion is that people just freak out over weight and it causes them to become irrational–for example, doctors routinely misdiagnose overweight children as having Type 2 diabetes, when in fact they have Type 1–the most recent study I saw showed that 17% of overweight kids diagnosed with “Type 2” were autoantibody positive and had been misdiagnosed–the doctors could not see beyond weight, and that can be deadly in children. A six year old girl, Claudialee Nicanor, died because of that very mistake).
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I figured we were in agreement (we usually are)! Just wanted to clarify the clarification haha.
So, being a numbers guy, I can’t help but notice that the 17% mis-diagnosis rate in kids is suspiciously close to the approximate 20% mis-diagnosis as Type 2 rate in adults. And it actually supports your point: doctors are doing a disservice to us all by “profiling” diabetics during diagnosis. Age, weight (or weight loss), even A1c and postprandial BGs are often very, very misleading when it comes to diabetes. I think the actual issue is the streamlining of diabetics into “Two Types.”
That made a lot of sense when it was first proposed (in the 1950s, I believe). It makes absolutely no sense now that we have tools to determine more accurate diagnoses and better knowledge of how little we actually know about diabetes (both mechanism, outcomes, and diagnostic factors). We have genetics testing, we have antibody testing, we have C-peptide testing, we have more or less reliable blood sugar testing and even CGMs. How often are these actually used during the first stages of diagnosis? My own experience was pretty simple:
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I was 40.
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My doctor said I’d gained five pounds in the last couple of years.
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I had an A1c of 7.5.
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…
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Diet, exercise (except not too much), and Metformin for you, young man.
And that was just about the end of the interaction until my treatment worked, and my three-month blood work had my A1c drop to 5.8, at which point my doctor freaked out and told me I had to raise it back up to 6.5 so I didn’t die from hypos in the middle of the night… sigh
Anyhow, it is criminal that given the tools available about 1 in 5 diabetics have to fight their doctors, their relatives, their insurance companies, and even other diabetics in order to get the right diagnosis. There really are “weird Type 2s” and “idiopathic Type 1s” and MIDD and MODY and other such rare varieties. It makes a certain amount of sense that they are hard to diagnose correctly. But it’s not that hard to dig a bit deeper than “40 years old and gaining weight,” is it?
Cheers 
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Indeed. And coupled with the fact that T2 isn’t really a diagnosis at all, but a catch-all . . . oh well, The point’s been made and run into the ground. Sigh.
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Just curious when were you DX? What was your stress level when DX? And how much/what’s your insulin requirements? I’m slightly obsessed with the idea of giving the body/pancreas what it needs to support it’s function… decease inflammation… lighten the stress load… and see how the body reacts.
I’ve had type 1 for 20 years but before “fine tuning” I can remember being on much more almost double the insulin I am on today with an A1c 6-7 vs today 5.3 on half the dose. I find it exciting and fascinating to watch the changes.
Also I just stated taking a new supplement (do your own research! I’m not a dr and seeing very very happy blood sugars. Under 100 all day most days. I think it help support pancreatic function, it’s called Berberine.
I cannot say it will work or not, but as you change your habit, exercise daily the insulin levels are easy to maintain. Wish you all the best
Duck and Cover…
“I shall now read from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, . . . . . and DUCK!!”
(Blazing Saddles)
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Hi, A114!
I haven’t tried Berberine yet, but I find Chromium Piccolinate works well in lowering blood glucose numbers too. You take one capsule before each meal. I was diagnosed with Type 1 in late March and have lowered my numbers from 500(after going lifting) to a 98 average for the week. I will be having a 3 month blood glucose test next week. Can’t wait to see the results. I take 8 units of Lantis at night and 5 units of Homolog before each meal. I try to keep my carbs at 60 per day and 1500 calories. I gained 20 pounds the first month after starting insulin following the same eating regimen. So was pretty discouraged to gain all this weight which persists no matter what I do…walking 8,000 -10,000 steps a day. They say it can take up to 6 months to lose it. Well I’m now on my 4th month and haven’t lost a pound and do not fit in any of my clothes, BUT I do feel well with my energy back. I guess I’ll just have to be patient.
I gained 30 pounds in 30 days and it took 2 years to lose it. I feel that in my situation it was cause I had suffered from an eating disorder at DX. The body stores calories if it’s been starved. So there’s a chance if your body wasn’t making insulin it unintentionally staved and now storing. It takes time for the body to shift from storing calories rather before it lets go of the weight. But I could be totally off… that’s just my story.
Congratulations so stabilizing so quickly. Is your 5 units fast acting a sliding scale? Seems strange to have a set number? I eat low glycemic so I rarely need fast acting. I don’t count calories or carbs. I just know each meal will be healthy protein and fats with low carb veggies. I cook with coconut flour to make flat breads for pancakes and “bread”. 14 units Tresiba covers me. But I am very active. Walking AM and PM (3 - 6 miles each time) plus toning work. I’m defiantly not normal. I love to exercise.
Hi, A114!
I lost 20 pounds when I got Lyme in Nov.2015 and it invaded my intestinal system…diarrhea off and on for two years. I am also very active and it was really tough to stay active never knowing if I’d have an episode. No one was able to diagnose me until I went to a medical intuitive and my acupuncturist backed her up in that diagnosis. My acupuncturist could feel it in my pulse. Fast forward to now…I’m much better and my energy is back. I use Kuzu root, oregano capsules, and a Doeterra essential oil called DigestZen to help with the diarrhea issues.
You are right about the body storing fat and thinking that it’s still in crisis! The hypothalamus has to get the message that it no longer has to be in crisis starvation mode and it takes time for it to do that. Will just have to be patient about it…just hate to have to buy a whole new wardrobe.
My endocrinologist set me at 5 units of Humalog, to account for 15 carbs per unit. I don’t eat 75 carbs per meal, but since I was just starting out, they wanted to play it safe. At first I wanted to eat protein and veggies, but I’m finding that I have an episode of shakes and fuzziness if I don’t have enough carbs at each meal. I refuse to eat the diabetic association’s recommendation of 150 carbs a day…way too many carbs and it forces you to keep your insulin high. As much as I like sweets, I refuse to eat junk food…because in the long run it can really complicate your diabetes. People think that this is too drastic, but sweets and junk food trigger me to eat them more and more…so I just made a decision…complications or health…and I chose the latter. Only healthy carbs and no junk! I also eat coconut everything as well.
I’m also definitely not normal. I walk twice a day, lift weights, go line dancing, and in general just stay active. I think Lyme has complicated my health, but I am determined to get well and stay on top of it. I usually bring a snack with me when I walk, because at the moment I still have episodes while walking and have to play it safe and bring a snack of fruit and I keep two glucose tablets with me at all times, just in case. I’m not sure what causes them, except that my carbs aren’t high enough?? It’s unpredictable, so that concerns me, because it can get scary. I usually can tell when it’s coming on, but I have to plan accordingly and take time out of whatever activity that I’m doing to snack or take 2 glucose tablets. Is there a better way?
Thanks for the feedback.
Jane