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Just diagnosed LADA (help!)

D

Damodamo

Member
Messages
10
Hello everyone. I've had a rollercoaster of a week.

Told on Wednesday that I've put myself in non-diabetic range (HBA1C of 5.8) 3 months after first diagnosis of Type 2 (initial HBA1C of 6.8%).

Found out today from privately conducted antibody tests that I have type 1.5 or LADA

I don't know what any of this means yet:

Insulin 2.7 mIU/l
Gad 65 Antibodies 706.6
Ia-2 Antibodies Negative
Znt8 Antibodies 188.8

Am 50. Had worked my *** of running every day and eating better to beat Type 2 so pretty shocked. Also was never overweight. Initially 5'11'' and 12.6 stone. Now 10.9 stone so really quite thin and not sure I have stopped losing weight.

Not sure why I am giving you all this information. I would just like some wisdom.

Thank you.
 
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@Damodamo welcome to the forums, and congrats on getting the tests done privately so that you know you are LADA now rather than waiting until you get really sick for lack on insulin.

Mike d said:
Type in LADA and get reading It's rare compared to T1 or T2 numbers.
Click to expand...

Its rare compared with T2 numbers (90% of the diabetic population) but many many T1s get diagnosed via LADA as adults. I believe roughly 10% of adult T2s are in fact LADA and get rediagnosed such after their diabetes progresses fast despite the T2 medication and/or diet.

Treatment for LADA folk seems a bit variable. Some doctors will start you out on low doses of insulin to give your pancreas a rest and hopefully prolong the period that you still produce some of your own insulin, others wait until your body can no longer cope without insulin. In any case you'll find your insulin needs gradually increase. Some people find that they can have a honeymoon period for years where they still produce insulin, but it's as well to have access to it even if you don't need it yet, as when your production does finally end the need for insulin can be sudden, and no one wants a trip to hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis.

The bad news is that you will eventually need insulin. The good news is that you probably aren't insulin resistant/T2 and therefore you'll have more dietary freedom than a T2 once you learn how to balance the carbs in your diet with insulin.

Have you got an appointment with your doctor to talk about your treatment going forward?

Good luck.
 
LADA is a T1. It's just slower onset. It can take years for you to completely stop making insulin. So you are in what we call the honeymoon period, which means you are still making some insulin, enough that you haven't gotten really sick yet and are managing to have an A1c of 5.8%. But not enough to actually be making enough which is why you are losing weight.

A T1 lacks insulin to properly utilize the food they eat. Hence type 1's lose weight until they get some insulin so they can actually use all the food they eat. You also will probably feel better and have more energy once you start insulin.

38% of T1's get misdiagnosed as a T2 before they are diagnosed right. I was. Most of the time a T1 gets properly diagnosed because they end up with DKA or they switch doctors and the new doctor is more knowledgeable about it.

Make an appointment with a diabetic specialist/team asap.You need to discuss your results and starting insulin and your weight loss. They will probably put you on a small dose at first so you get used to it. But you will need to learn to carb count as soon as possible so you learn how much insulin you will actually need to take. This will vary because of your honeymoon period but your insulin needs will slowly go up as your body stops making insulin. You might request a C-peptide test.

As a type1 we can have a normal A1c, Mine is 5.1 % (32), it just takes some work. Yours is likely to go up right now and eventually you will be able to lower it again.

Good Luck! We have insulin to solve our issues and you will get used to using it and it becomes old hat although irritating at times. You should also learn to always carry an easy hypo treatment with you, where ever you go.

GAD explanation
BTW, even the medical publications don't always get it right. One of these articles says type1 is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, not true, 50% of type 1's when they are diagnosed are over the age of 30.

http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2015/sep-oct/tests-to-determine-diabetes.html

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313764#treatment-for-type-1-diabetes

https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/64926
 
Having your c-peptide test will help find out how much insulin you are still producing. The fasting insulin you listed should be under 25 so it does not give the same information.
You should have a blood ketone meter to monitor your ketones when you are ill or your blood sugars are consistently above 13 mmol/l.
 

Hi there. I was 52 when I had one of those well women checks and they told me I was 'pre diabetic'. They went through a checklist of 'type 2' stereotypical 'lifestyle changes', and appeared perplexed when NONE of them really applied, I was slim, ran most days, ate a reasonable diet (I know now that it was around 150 carbs a day), etc. They then said 'oh well, don't eat processed food' as I had mentioned at work (rarely) I ate a microwave meal!

Never heard anything for 3 years (and to my shame, I never really gave any thought to what pre diabetes really meant anyway so never followed it up myself).

Then I started getting strong symptoms of diabetes and to cut a long story short, off to the GP and straight into hospital where my levels were off the charts and I was on the very verge of DKA.

Still slim and very active etc, so because my appearance (other than age) did not fit their type 2 profile, they actually carried out a C Peptide test & and antibody test BUT only after different Consultants and Diabetes Nurses at the hospital almost came to blows over what type I was! A GP would not have stood a chance and would have still gone for type 2! . The tests came back as type 1 (or you could call it LADA, they won't use that term generally speaking).

If not for being slim I have NO doubt I would have been classed as type 2 and spent even more weeks and months becoming ill. I was placed on insulin and am still, 3 more years later on low amounts as I think I am still producing some of my own.

It is GOOD that you have been proactive and have had private tests done (what made you think of doing that?), because now you have avoided a misdiagnosis which would have had detrimental (if not worse) consequences.

As for wisdom, well don't think about all that running and eating better as a waste (I'm sure that was tongue in cheek) because ANY person with ANY form of diabetes is likely to benefit from that approach. x
 
Hi. You've had a lot of good advice already. You are lucky to have been diagnosed early with the antibody tests; I'm still trying to get my diagnosis fixed via C-peptide tests. You should expect your blood sugar to gradually creep up and need to start insulin eventually. Go for the insulin when you need it rather than the tablets which can hold it away for a while but may over-stimulate your pancreas. For diet keep the carbs down and have proteins, fat, veg and non-tropical fruit freely. Nothing is banned but controlling the carbs will help keep the blood sugar down. LADA is T1 so follow all the process for T1s when you go onto insulin. BTW your weight should stabilise as long as you have a range of foods. Make sure you check your BS regularly and when your HBa1C goes above around 7% you may need insulin.
 
Thank you Ellie. Yes I have appointments lined up X
 


Hello. Thank you for your detailed reply. I was actually diagnosed Type 2 only 4 months ago. I got a private consultation and the doctor advised getting an antibody test because, like you I was thin. Infuriating as, only a week ago my GP told me I wasn't even diabetic anymore because I got my sugars outside the diabetic range. I guess I'll keep them there until the hammer falls. It's grim.

Sorry to hear you ended up in hospital. I hope now that you're OK.

X
 
In 2010 I was diagnosed t2

2019/2020 rediagnosed t1

Lada is ultimately t1 but it typically comes on slowly in the end it mean you stop producing insulin and hence are considered t1


Now is was put on insulin in 2010.. And they think the reason I produced my own insulin for so long is because it was being help with the added.. It was easier when I was producing some..

What you really need to do is go back to you consultant and discuss the gad test and get a proper 'official' diagnosis to make sure you get the right treatment when needed

The work you have don't is not lost either way.. The healthier you are the easier it will be to keep things under control and stay healthier longer

Good luck
 
If I haven't said thank you already, thank you! A bit difficult to keep track. You help is hugely appreciated.
 
Hi, lots of good advice here. My few pence worth: I was misdiagnosed as T2 in 1995, onto insulin in 1998. Finally GP diagnosed me as LADA about 10 years ago. In my experience going for a low carb diet should help a lot. No sweet items at all (including fruit, especially fruit juices) and limit the starch intake, for me, bread causes a big spike. As the proportion of fat will increase on a low carb diet, it is important to choose the good ones, notably olive and cold-pressed rapeseed oils, butter and dripping are good too. Avoid the omega 6 oils such as sunflower, corn oil and margarines. Oily fish is brilliant.
 
Hi I like you was diagnosed aged 52 as LADA and although I was doing everything i could to keep the situation under control, within the year I was on slow release insulin, and two years later i had fast release insulin added to the mix. I kept thinking it was something I had done as no family history not over weight and eat well.
To make sense of it I attended a course via my diabetic nurse and by listening to other people and interacting with the course has made me more understanding of my condition. I come to accept that it was not my fault and that this would be the way of life as I age.
 
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