GLP -1 Inhibitors - LADA

[Red_Fox22]

Hi

I am currently non-insulin dependent LADA and have just had a sobering chat with my endo.

He is nervous that my latest A1c was creeping up (from 42 to 63 over 5 months) and unless I can get this down again in 6 weeks I need to consider insulin. My feeling is that the higher A1C was a blip caused by Xmas food and stress and that once I get back on the wagon (of LCHF) in Jan my numbers should regularise.

I do however need to consider Plan B if that doesn't happen by the time of my next appointment in 6 weeks and he was initially of the view that I need to start taking small amounts of insulin once a day. My previous endo thought that the next step before insulin would be a GLP-1 Inhibitor. I told my new endo about this advice and he said there was no clear medical consensus on this yet but he did not object.

Does anyone have any war stories or comments about GLP-1 for LADA?

All comments welcome.

 

[Diakat]

I would worry that by Pushing you to release more insulin it is killing beta cells faster.
With a lada diagnosis you will need insulin eventually so why not just start?

 

[Red_Fox22]

Thanks, I genuinely have no idea and will need detailed medical advice. My previous endo (when I live in London) was fairly sure it is a safe method albeit fairly avant garde.

I would really like to hear what others have found. Insulin is of course on the table as the next step but I thought of this as some years away yet.

 

[KK123]

Thanks, I genuinely have no idea and will need detailed medical advice. My previous endo (when I live in London) was fairly sure it is a safe method albeit fairly avant garde.

I would really like to hear what others have found. Insulin is of course on the table as the next step but I thought of this as some years away yet.

It is complicated isn't it? I was told that going on insulin sooner with LADA helps to preserve your beta cells which in turn staves off potential complications for longer.

 

[SB.25]

Thanks, I genuinely have no idea and will need detailed medical advice. My previous endo (when I live in London) was fairly sure it is a safe method albeit fairly avant garde.

I would really like to hear what others have found. Insulin is of course on the table as the next step but I thought of this as some years away yet.

Hi, I’m still awaiting my peptide results to come back from testing - but my consultant thinks there’s s high chance of it being LADA. He therefore has put me on 6 units insulin in the evening to ‘tide me over’ until the results are back.

I also didn’t want to use the insulin and wanted to try more tablets but he thought this would just overwork the beta cells and therefore wouldn’t be useful in the long run. Unfortunately for me I had only been diagnosed as diabetic for 2 months so it all seemed so fast. But I guess it is what it is.

Sorry I can’t be of help to your actual question.

 

[Tennisplayer]

My endo immediately took me off oral medication and started long acting insulin (Tresiba) when my antibody tests came back positive. I felt better, blood sugar was more stable and had very few lows. Conflicting evidence is out there regarding the beta cell overproduction theory. Good luck. Best advice I can give is to try and wrap your brain around the fact that you are a diabetic and will use insulin. When you do everything "right" and put a lot of pressure on yourself to stay off insulin, you set yourself up for disappointment if your pancreas has other plans.

 

[Diakat]

My endo immediately took me off oral medication and started long acting insulin (Tresiba) when my antibody tests came back positive. I felt better, blood sugar was more stable and had very few lows. Conflicting evidence is out there regarding the beta cell overproduction theory. Good luck. Best advice I can give is to try and wrap your brain around the fact that you are a diabetic and will use insulin. When you do everything "right" and put a lot of pressure on yourself to stay off insulin, you set yourself up for disappointment if your pancreas has other plans.

@Tennisplayer - your profile is still showing you as T2, it might help to change it to reflect your actual status.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I know little about GLP-1 inhibitors as they are quite new. I would certainly consider going onto insulin earlier rather than later. My GP wouldn't agree that I was LADA and wrongly kept me on tablets e.g. Gliclazide for far too long when my HBA1c kept going up. Insulin is not a problem but just a nuisance and does the job.

 

[SimonCrox]

The auto-antibodies in Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of the Adult lead to destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas so one cannot make insulin. Thus the problem that develops slowly rather than quickly in standard type 1 DM is the lack of insulin; hence insulin is what would be required.
There is some debate still as to whether LADA actually exists, but most think it does.
There has been some use of victoza liraglutide in T1DM, but this is as an adjunct to insulin, and the benefit was mainly weight loss.
At the end of the day, it hinges on whether the beta cells are producing insulin, so a C-peptide test eg the urinary c-peptide to creatinine ratio might be ery useful.
Best wishes

 

[Providence 62]

I had some pretty grim experiences with GLP-1s they were the last ditch attempt to keep me off insulin. My guts have only just about recovered three months after stopping taking the Victoza. That being said I have a very sensitive gut. Now I am almost entirely on insulin therapy I wonder why it took so long to get to this point. My life is transformed. No more bad stomach, no more depressing double-figure readings in the morning. Try not to worry about insulin - it's a game changer.