DiabeticGeek
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Sorry you are still having trouble. Are you taking the metformin under the direction of a diabetes specialist or your GP? If you do have T2 then metformin will, if you can build up a tolerance to it, be very helpful. However, if you have LADA then my understanding is that the use of metformin is quite controversial. There are some reports in the scientific literature that say metformin is useful in the early stages, some say that it doesn't do much and some say that it can actually be harmful. Now, I'm no expert in this - but if I had LADA I would really want to talk to someone who was before embarking on a course of metformin treatment (and that really means a specialist, rather than a GP). Hopefully the sickness will go away as you get used to the metformin, but do increase the dose very gradually. Don't be afraid to rebel against your doctor if this is making you ill - remember you are the one suffering, not him.
As for the tests, I shall try my best to interpret the technobabble!
I can see why your doctors are uncertain, you seem to have an unusual combination of results. One test seems to point to point to T2, another to LADA. Hopefully the ICA (islet) test should cast some light on this.
As for the tests, I shall try my best to interpret the technobabble!
I think what you are talking about is an "Islet Cell Antibody" (ICA) test. The Islets of Langerhans are the parts of the pancreas that contain, among other things the beta cells that produce insulin. In LADA your own immune system attacks these cells, and a part of this attack involves the production of ICA. Therefore people with LADA usually have ICA, whereas T2 diabetics don't. This is one very good way to tell the difference between LADA and T2.manxangel said:i'm waiting on a eyelet? test result.
That does sound like T2, although on its own it isn't conclusive. It does mean that it is almost certainly not T1 (in T1 C-peptide levels are extremely low, in T2 they are normal or high). In LADA the C-Peptide levels are usually low, but this is notoriously difficult to interpret. It is, however, one bit of evidence pointing to T2.manxangel said:my c pep is ok
This is very good news. DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) is the greatest short-term danger of uncontrolled diabetes (especially with T1) - it can come on very quickly and it can be fatal. Ketones are worrying, but if you were close to DKA then you would have very low bicarbonate levels.manxangel said:bicarb is ok, even with the high levels of ketones i was experiencing
Now this does sound like either LADA or T1. Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) is an enzyme that is produced by the pancreas, and in LADA it is one of the things that is attacked (hence the presence of GAD antibodies). They can, however, be found in T1 and sometimes even in very early pre-diabetics.manxangel said:GAD antibodies, she said that my body was attacking my pancreas
I can see why your doctors are uncertain, you seem to have an unusual combination of results. One test seems to point to point to T2, another to LADA. Hopefully the ICA (islet) test should cast some light on this.
This probably won't happen. The C-Peptide test shows that your pancreas is still, for the moment, producing insulin (or at least that the early stages of insulin production are normal). You have got the diabetes under control using insulin, so it will probably stay under control for a while. However, do monitor your BG very carefully when you reduce the dose. If it does go up drastically, then go back to the original dose. You are unlikely to do yourself any harm over the short term - although a sudden increase in BG might make you feel a bit poorly.manxangel said:to be completly blunt, i'm terrified that when i drop my Lantus dose my levels are going to shoot up again, i can't go back to the way i was i really cant. i'm scared of what will happen, i'm going to try it though..