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Type 1 or Type 2 - help please

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debjsuth

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After being diagnosed with type 1 nearly 3 years ago my daughter (who has moved and is now under a different health authority and therefore a different hospital), was told by the doctor at the new hospital that actually she may be type 2 not one because she has background retinopathy and was overweight. By the way this is a doctor who although had never seen her before said, "I remember you". He then said he would give her tablets to lose weight (then he didn't)?? She hadn't been told to lose weight before today.

He didn't say how he would determine whether she has type 1 or 2 and then said he would see her in 6 months! So, she doesn't definitely know what type she is (although she had a blood test at the old hospital) and she is still taking Novorapid and Levemir. Has anyone else come across this situation and what does she do next? Help and advise wanted from her worried mum :(
 
debjsuth said:
After being diagnosed with type 1 nearly 3 years ago my daughter (who has moved and is now under a different health authority and therefore a different hospital), was told by the doctor at the new hospital that actually she may be type 2 not one because she has background retinopathy and was overweight. By the way this is a doctor who although had never seen her before said, "I remember you". He then said he would give her tablets to lose weight (then he didn't)?? She hadn't been told to lose weight before today.

He didn't say how he would determine whether she has type 1 or 2 and then said he would see her in 6 months! So, she doesn't definitely know what type she is (although she had a blood test at the old hospital) and she is still taking Novorapid and Levemir. Has anyone else come across this situation and what does she do next? Help and advise wanted from her worried mum :(
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I can understand why you're worried . If it was me or my children (adults) i would phone the old hospital and speak to her old consultants there. They could then reassure you if the new hospital has her notes or not and if not they maybe making their own diagnosis of her condition. I have been type 1 for 35 years and have background retinopathy. But when i was diagnosed i was 11 years old and very underweight (i'm a stone overweight now :) . I'd also go back to the diabetes centre and ask for another bloodtest to hopefully give you some answers, don't wait 6 months , i hope this helps , good luck x
 
I think I would be tempted to ask doctor for a referral to a different hospital, as I get the feeling she isn't going to have confidence in were she is currently attending.You can go out of area for diabetic care (at least you can in my area), so that may be worth thinking about. Until then I would continue to follow current routine & handle her sugars as she normally would. xx
 
It is quite common to confuse T1 and T2 because it's a spectrum of diabetes conditions. Yes, having some excess weight is normally a pointer towards T2 but not conclusive as you can have insulin resistance (T2) and have an underperforming pancreas (T1). There are two tests for T1 i.e. GAD for anti-bodies and c-peptide to check your level of insulin production. It will be interesting know how much of the two insulins she is taking. If it's very low then the T1 (if it is) would be early stage. The insulin won't do any harm but if a T2 then just tablets should be fine and easier. Either way, a low-carb diet will help with weight loss and require a bit less medication.
 
I'm not surprised you're a worried mum!
I'm slightly over weight and have eye problems but im defo a type 1, maybe I'm missing something but I don't get why them facts alone would make her a type 2?

As diabell said it will be interesting to know how much insulin she takes and how her control is?
She must have had the gad & c peptide tests when diagnosed?

Would definitely be requesting to change care to someone/somewhere else X
 
Thank you all for your replies. I do remember her having a blood test to see which type she had when she was originally diagnosed and she was told then that it was type 1, her younger brother also has type 1 and has had it since he was 9, so there seems to be a link (although, strangely, no one else in the family has type 1). I think we will try and get some answers from the hospital via the diabetes nurses first and take it from there but I had thought already about a referral from the GP to somewhere else but wasn't sure in these days of cuts whether that was a possibility. With regard to the amount of insulin I do know that she takes about 7 units of Novorapid but I don't know about the Levemir. It does seem that there is no continuity of care or proper transfer of records when changing from one health authority to another, which is very unfortunate. Anyway, thank you all once again.
 
yes that does sound concerning. The only thing I'd be insisting on is that they do the GAD and c-peptide tests on your daughter. These tests should be done on all diabetics. Here if they get a hbA1c test result that is in the diabetic range they refer you straight to an endocrinologist for the diagnostic tests to be done. So there is no question what type of diabetes we have because they have the blood test results (not just the hbA1c). If things don't work, then ask for the tests to be done again. I did that myself and I am grateful I did as my type 2 progressed to the point I now have to be on insulin as I hardly produce any. That is probably from years of insulin resistance and 5 years worth of oral pills stressing my pancreas to produce more insulin. So I hope it goes well for you and that you get answers. Maybe it's also a good idea to find a new doctor if this one is going to be making assumptions without facts.
 
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