Lada? Diabetes

[Sallybear]

Hi all, just trying to make sense of a few things this evening. After being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes just over a week ago, it now seems that I might have something called Lada? I initially saw my own GP but have now been seen by a specialist Diabetic GP within our practice and he feels that my blood glucose levels are too high and in such a short space of time and with other symptoms that this may be the diagnosis. I am going back to see him on Friday and have been given a monitor to measure my blood glucose.

The Metformin I was initially given didn't agree with me and now I have been prescribed Glicazide 80mg twice a day.

Does anyone else have something similar, I have never even heard of Lada.

 

[phoenix]

There's quite a few people on here with LADA including (probably) myself.
Its a form of T1 in adults. It develops more slowly than is usually the case in children.
http://www.locallada.swan.ac.uk/faq.html

 

[Daibell]

Hi. There are many people who are diagnosed with or unwittingly have LADA. It is a form of T1 (late onset T1) that comes on after several years or more of life and results from antibody destruction of the Pancreas islets. Increasingly researchers are finding that at least some of the 15-20% of T2s who are not overweight and who perhaps suffer weight loss at diagnosis are actually LADAs. Treatment is similar to T2s, but progression to insulin will be faster and inevitable. Gliclazide is in some ways preferable to Metformin as the first tablet to take as it stimulates the pancreatic cells; the ones that remain which can vary. I believe I may have LADA same as Phoenix but the NHS is reluctant to do the two relevant tests i.e. c-peptide and GAD due to cost or ignorance. You seem to have good diabetic support which makes you very lucky! Hopefully your specialist will do the two tests but the main thing is regular HBa1C tests perhaps every 3 months and to use your meter to see how your blood sugars change.

 

[Sallybear]

Hi, thanks for the advice. I am actually overweight as are most of the women in our family we are all quite round really, so Type II was not exactly unexpected, also it is in the family. But, the thirst is severe and I have lost weight in strange places and lots of it very quickly. As I am big-ish, I have often meddled around with losing weight and when dieting it goes first from my belly, my middle and my face, well this time it has been different, I am sagging all over (gross I know) but not on my middle area at all. My legs are smaller and I have lost over 2 stone . Anyway I do feel I have some great support and will let you know how it goes.

 

[phoenix]

Daibell,
TBH I suspect that if I had walked into a UK doctors in the same state I was in, I would also have diagnosed with T1 in the UK. (well I hope so) Certainly I know of a couple of people in the UK who have similar stories to mine.
It might have been different if I had gone to the doctors earlier in the process as I suspect I would have done if I had been in the UK.
When the hospital saw me I was very thin and had DKA . I was on insulin within 10 minutes of arriving at the hospital and then they had to get electrolytes back in balance. My official diagnosis is simply T1. (but I know it took 3 years to get there which is why I suggest it was LADA,)

 

[phoenix]

Sally being overweight doesn't rule out LADA.
Just to make things more confusing LADA (just like T2) is a spectrum. There are people who have just a few antibodies and those who have a lot.
the LADA site puts it this wasy

How soon they will be insulin dependent depends on the level of antibody they have in their blood. Higher levels of antibodies suggest a faster progression to insulin. People with low levels of antibodies are very similar to type 2 diabetes patients. This means they are more likely to be over weight and have some insulin resistance. They are likely to benefit from tablets that act on insulin resistance. People with very high antibody levels are similar to type 1 diabetes. This means they are likely to have acute symptoms (thirst, unexplained weight loss, frequent urination, dry mouth) and are less likely to be overweight. They are likely to need insulin treatment soon after diagnosi

and of course there are those in between; I think that's what I was.(inbetween)

 

[Sallybear]

Thanks again for the information, the idea that it is a scale really makes sense but to be honest I am quite concerned about my stomach.
Over the last 12 months I have suffered from increasing amounts of terrible heartburn. Normally resulting in awful vomiting which has damaged my teeth and gums. It's as if in the evenings, any food or drink I have consumed does not progress through my digestive system and ends up coming back up. At present about 4 days out of every 7 I suffer from the heartburn in a bad way, and 2 days out of 7 I am throwing up.
I have been reading a lot about diabetes and have read that this can happen when there is damage to the nerves in your stomach. I had no idea this was related so will speak to the GP about it on Friday. Nerve damage has already happened on my head as I have lost so much hair, and with long thick hair down to my middle it has been devastating. I'm really not having a great time, but at the same time feel that this could be the explanation to so many things that have been going wrong for me lately, so in essence it is a bit of a relief. I can only assume that my sugars have been high for some time as the nerve damage has already become noticeable.

Right off for some dinner!!

Does anyone else feel like a zombie when shopping for food after being newly diagnosed, I can't see food only questions.