Hi folks!
Having recently been diagnosed as diabetic at 35 y/o with an A1C of 7.7%, I was sent home by my GP with no prescriptions but to watch my diet and see if I could lower it with diet alone. I then got an appointment with an endocrinologist who ordered four blood tests, those being:
GAD65 AB
IA2 AB
Insulin AB
Zinc Transporter 8 AB
I've received two of the four test results so far: GAD65 showed positive for elevated levels, mine being 32.2 U/mL where the listed standard is 5 U/mL or less. But my Insulin AB test came back completely negative, so I'm hopeful my other two labs will come back negative too.
I understand that positive GAD65 results typically mean type 1 or LADA, which I'm resigning myself to that probability. But in the meantime, I've had excellent results in keeping my blood sugar levels at completely normal ranges with just a low carb (<50g/day) diet. Having read a few other threads with folks posting results of GAD tests in the 1000s, I'm wondering if I can keep my AB levels at a low enough level so as not to destroy my beta cells or require insulin for as many years (maybe decades?) as I can get. I know this isn't really a thing anyone can know, as everyone's body chemistry and immune system is different for reasons not well understood. But I hope beyond hope that if I get tested again in say, 6 months or a year, that my GAD levels can stay as low as they already are or maybe even drop, with just improved diet. I know it's a long shot, but stranger things have happened.
I'm not good with needles or injections of any sort and even finger sticking a few times a day has me at my wit's end, the prospect of a lifetime of multiple insulin injections and finger sticks every day just has me a bit depressed. Sorry for troubling you all with my thoughts and possibly-irrational hopes in this early stage of my diagnosis.
Having recently been diagnosed as diabetic at 35 y/o with an A1C of 7.7%, I was sent home by my GP with no prescriptions but to watch my diet and see if I could lower it with diet alone. I then got an appointment with an endocrinologist who ordered four blood tests, those being:
GAD65 AB
IA2 AB
Insulin AB
Zinc Transporter 8 AB
I've received two of the four test results so far: GAD65 showed positive for elevated levels, mine being 32.2 U/mL where the listed standard is 5 U/mL or less. But my Insulin AB test came back completely negative, so I'm hopeful my other two labs will come back negative too.
I understand that positive GAD65 results typically mean type 1 or LADA, which I'm resigning myself to that probability. But in the meantime, I've had excellent results in keeping my blood sugar levels at completely normal ranges with just a low carb (<50g/day) diet. Having read a few other threads with folks posting results of GAD tests in the 1000s, I'm wondering if I can keep my AB levels at a low enough level so as not to destroy my beta cells or require insulin for as many years (maybe decades?) as I can get. I know this isn't really a thing anyone can know, as everyone's body chemistry and immune system is different for reasons not well understood. But I hope beyond hope that if I get tested again in say, 6 months or a year, that my GAD levels can stay as low as they already are or maybe even drop, with just improved diet. I know it's a long shot, but stranger things have happened.
I'm not good with needles or injections of any sort and even finger sticking a few times a day has me at my wit's end, the prospect of a lifetime of multiple insulin injections and finger sticks every day just has me a bit depressed. Sorry for troubling you all with my thoughts and possibly-irrational hopes in this early stage of my diagnosis.
I've found it's just part of my life now, though I'm sure they'll be times when I get fed up. It'll take a few weeks to get the blood glucose levels down to normal so don't get frustrated.