Misdiagnosed as Type 2

[leanne345]

This is my first post on here - i have kind of been lurking around these forums reading bits and pieces but now its me that needs some help.

I was diagnosed in April 2008 as Type 2 diabetic after many many tests to try figure out what was wrong with me - i lost 3 stone (i was 14stone so not majorly overweight), constant thirst, headaches, tiredness etc. The doctor i saw then was very unhelpful and just told me to take Metformin and Glyclazide. I did this and through various reading and research by myself I learnt how to control it and got myself pretty much under control.

A routine blood test in June last year showed I had very low levels of Vitamin B12, they tried oral medication but this didnt work so I was put on injections which apparently have worked too well. So when i went today to find out from the nurse what happens now - if i need 3 monthly injections as originally thought or something else I was told to start back on oral medication (despite it not working last time). She then went to see the Doctor to 'discuss my diabetes situation'.

The doctor came back with her and they said they are now referring me to the hospital as they don't think i have Type 2 but Type 1 or something different altogether.

So now i have to wait for this referral and wait for a bunch more blood test results to find out whats going on.

But my question is how easy is it misdiagnose type 2 instead of type 1? And surely the metformin wouldnt be working if i was Type 1 or would it? Type 1 does make more sense because i have no family history of diabetes and im relatively young - well 29. It all seems a bit out of the blue and doesnt seem linked to the low B12 levels so im a bit confused right now.

 

[phoenix]

Hi,leanne,
Welcome to the forum
At least your doc is alert to the posssibily of a different diagnosis .
I wrote this this morniing in response to another question but it might be of some help to you.
"This might help to understand LADA, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults and it's treatment and diagnosis in the UK.http://www.locallada.swan.ac.uk/faq.html
With LADA the cell destruction is slower than in classic type 1 some people may be able to control their diabetes for a period with oral drugs (on average 2-6 years) but they will eventually 'stop working
Tests for various autoimmune antibodies may indicate type 1 (in LADA notably antiGAD) , a C peptide test will show how much insulin you yourself are producing, this is low in LADA but may be at the lower end of normal earlier on in the process.
Even without the tests the persons reaction to insulin is a good indicator, people with type 1 tend to take far less insulin than someone with type 2 who has exhausted their insulin production"

 

[hazey276]

Hi Leanne, I was originally diagnosed as a type 2 because of my age (48). After 7 months of horrendous illness and eventually ending up in hospital it took a consultant 5 minutes to diagnose me as type 1 purely by reading through my medical notes.

Sometimes it's the luck of the draw as to who you get!!!!!!!

Hazey

 

[chocoholic]

Hi there,
My strapline says it all really.I think mis-diagnosis is more common than we think but at least now, hopefully, you're on the right track to be treated correctly.
All the best, chocoholic.

 

[diabeticmum]

I was just reading this discussion and found it really interesting. I was diagnosed as a type 2 when I was 29. I wasn't overweight, and did not have high cholestrol or blood pressure. The hospital I went too gave me a diet sheet, and told me i had type 2. Even though after eating 2 plain weetabix my sugar readings were 28.1. They basically dismissed me, I got a second opinion from my own gp who disagreed. He said I didn't fit a type 2 catergory. He put me on tablets and kept a close eye on me for six months. After this my readings were still not coming down enough, I went on to insulin, and never looked back. I started off on small twice daily amounts, I am now having 4 injections, and my dosage has gone right up. I never felt I was a type 1 even though I didn't immediately go on to insulin. It is very interesting reading about LADA.!!! I have never heard of it before, wonder how many doctors consider this when making a diagnosis?

 

[diabeticmum]

I meant to say I never felt I was a type 2!

 

[leanne345]

Thanks for all your responses. The doctors have my test results back now and have made a double appointment for me to talk through the results so looks like the results aren't so good.