how do you know what type you are?

[Dobbs]

Following on from the recent post by DiabeticAl, I'd be interested to know if other people, like me, were NEVER told by their doctor what type of diabetic they were.
Mine never said if I was type 1, type 2, or anything else; he just said "you have diabetes". I tried to figure it out by looking at the internet. This was in Amsterdam. When I was diagnosed I had no idea about anything; I didn't even know there were different kinds of diabetes.
Is my experience uncommon?

 

[phoenix]

Most of the time I think they diagnose type from obvious features age,weight, blood glucose levels whether there are ketones etc. They treat according to symptoms and only if that doesn't work do they go beyond the 'obvious'.
If you're older, and particularly if you're overweight they assume type 2.
If you are a child or a teenager and have symptoms that have come on very quickly they will assume type 1.
If you don't fit into the stereotypes, it depends upon how clued up the doc is, and how 'ill' you are as to how far s/he investigates. Some seem to just go on age.(at least that's the impression I get on these forums)
Some people are diagnosed wrongly with type 2 when they have type 1 (LADA) or MODY but will never find out. Some only find out when they 'fail' to get control with oral medication and are put onto insulin. They find it works well (in 'normal' doses) and they that never were insulin resistant.

Sometimes its not obvious, but you're lucky and have proactive doctors that try to find out. I was in my 50s had lost lots of weight and was very thin, had fasting blood glucose of 22mmol and high ketones. I could have been a long term undiagnosed/untreated type 2 with clapped out beta cells, a late onset type 1 or the symptoms could have had another,possibly more sinister, cause. My gp sent me to hospital. I had blood tests, a whole battery of scans and x rays; for the first couple of days they used an insulin pump with 2 hourly recording/adjustment of insulin dose. It took them several days for them to make their diagnosis.