am I really type 1?

[AmyGreen]

Ok i'll keep this as short as possible......
I was diagnosed in sept 2012 when i was only 10 weeks pregnant (got told probably diabetic before as it was found v early on in pregnancy), more or less went straight onto insulin (tried diet and metformin for a week, but numbers were too high), everything fine. as they said i was probably diabetic before i was pregnant, they did tests etc, i had a very high anti gad result and about 3 months after i had my little girl i was put back onto insulin. fell pregnant a couple of months later, again just carried on with my insulin and have done ever since. second daughter was born in may last year and my regime has been fairly consistent background of around 12 a day and quick acting 1 unit to 10g carbs. i went on a dafne course november last year and actually have my 3 month review thing in a couple of weeks. anyway i've started a diet, i say a diet but limiting my calories to around 1200 a day but hardly losing anything (i'm blaming insulin) but anyway i'm finding, its really been this past week (or maybe this is when i've started noticing) but i hardly need any insulin. maybe i'm eating better (well i know i am, but i still have some bad things, chocs, biscuits etc), i;m sure i am eating less carbs in general. before meals i would often be in the 5s or 6s, and example this morning i had 40g carbs and i only took 1 unit and was 7.3 before lunch. i had 35g at lunch and again 1 unit so will see what i am in a bit before dinner. i've dropped my nighttime one from 11-8 in the past week and even tried just doing 5 units last night and was 8.8 this morning (high i know but i would have expected higher) and i've also dropped my daytime background from 5 to 4. my husband reckons if i'm more 7s and 8s with less insulin then i might lose some weight, sorry i digress. anyway i'm just thinking that really i'm a type 2, hence my sudden need for less insulin. i say less insulin but i mean i'm not going stupidly high with less units of insulin. i always read about type 1.5 and i've always said i've had this (although doctors say type 1) and that i'm honeymooning, but i've been honeymooning for over 2 years??????? could this finally be the end and soon i will need more insulin? sorry for the rambling and probably not making sense but does anyone have any thoughts out there?

thanks

 

[Flakey Bake]

anti-GAD antibodies generally means that there is an autoimmune response going on that is specifically targeting your insulin producing cells. The only exception is, on very rare occasions, a false positive anti-GAD result can occur. You don't get these antibodies in type 2. You may well be type 1.5, but this generally mean just a slow onset type 1, but it is type 1 nevertheless. Your decrease in insulin requirements may be the result of an improved diet helping the remaining insulin cells function a little better. I have found that you take the stress off your pancreas, it can perform a bit better, until that is the autoimmune damage completely destroys the insulin cells. I suspect you may still have some pancreas function remaining. Lucky you

 

[Flakey Bake]

Ps) I honeymooned for over 2 years! Most of it without the aid of insulin.

 

[AmyGreen]

thanks for the reply. i guess when i look at my diet it is a fair bit better than it was so hopefully i am prolonging my insulin cells. fingers crossed anyway. i think i just feel a bit of a fraud when i've been honeymooning for so long. i was told if i got pregnant again (before my second and it was planned) that it would probably shorten my honeymoon period, but over 2 years later i would still say i was. plus i'm assuming that when the honeymoon period is over if i had no insulin i would be really high?????? see i don't even know what it means exactly