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Right Diagnosis?

H

Hydrazine

Member
Messages
8
Hi all,

Am just curious as to how Hospital doctors differentiate between type 1 and type 2. I was diagnosed type 1 in may. I'm 28 and was slightly underweight, went to the docs who subsequently called me and said I had to get down to A&E as my bloods were 24. They did tests and found ketones (although not too high), took a load of blood samples (douubt they did a peptide test) and about four hours later a junior doctor came round and said I was type 1 and needed insulin.

At a follow appt with my GP I asked how they confirmed it was tyoe 1 and she said it was just because of my age :?: ?!? (Iam caucasian by the way).

The thing is, in the months before my hospital admission I was treating my dehydration by drinking litres and litres of sugary drinks, and would get through bags of sweets like there was no tomorrow. I know that eating sugar doesnt in itself cause type 2 but is it possible i built up an insulin resistance to the constant sugar I was putting into my system??

I guess I'm just curious if it is at all possible i'm type 2, in which case should beon different medication.

Any thoughts on this? Anyone been diagnosed type 1 when really type 2?

Many thanks!
 
No but I was diagnosed with type 1 when really a mody. Despite the fact that I was put on tablets for the first seven years (before switching to insulin) and can go without insulin for a while without getting any form of DKA. All because I was young, so therefore type 2 was not really considered! There are several less common forms of diabetes such as LADA as well. I don't think age is a particularly reliable indicator. Unless you see a specialist most docs only think in terms of type 1 or type 2 and forget those who are neither. Although the advantage to being misdiagnosed as type 1 is that you get to do DAFNE which is invaluable if you are on insulin and want to learn how to adjust your insulin to your food intake.

Good luck seeing someone who can diagnose you correctly.
 
Hi Hydrazine,

(very) roughly speaking, type 1s can't produce their own insulin, while type 2s can't use the insulin they produce.
A rough rule of thumb taught to doctors is that if the patient is young and has lost weight rapidly, they're probably type 1. If they are middle aged or older and their weight hasn't reduced or has increased in recent years, they are probably type 2.
All kinds of untreated diabetes will produce that thirst/hunger for sugar. Literally eating sugar doesn't cause any kind of diabetes, although eating too much (of anything) and becoming overweight can lead to Type 2 for some people. But it's the overweight thing rather than the sugar that is key to that. Obesity makes it harder for the body to use insulin.
MODY (pronounced MOE- Dee) stands for Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young and is often misdiagnosed as type 1, as the_anticarb experienced. There are various kinds of MODY, but again roughly speaking, someone with MODY is producing a little of their own insulin still, just not enough to be 'normal'.
Doctors can do a blood test which works out whether you are producing your own insulin. They may have already done that, but it's well worth asking them if they have checked to see if you are MODY. You have a right to know; it's your body.
I would agree with the_anticarb that it's well worth learning the basics on a course like DAFNE, whichever kind of diabetes you have.

And finally - good luck. Not everything about diabetes is bad.
 
TRhey mostly seem to diangose type by date of birth. I think this is why they sometimes make quite dangwrous mistakes.
Hana
 
Hi,
Being underweight and thirsty are typical symptoms of type-1.
Like you, before my diagnosis 21 yrs ago I was devouring cakes and sweet ribena like it was going out of fashion! The craving sugar was because of the illness, not the cause of it. I had lost weight and being feeling tired and had thrush for up to a year before diagnosis. Following the sugar binges I became very ill very quickly over a weekend , no ketones though.
You could always ask for further tests, but there is nothing in your post that leads me to think you are not type-1.
Jus
 
Hi All,

Many thanks for the replies!

Looking at the available data and my individual circumstances, I'm pretty certain I'm Type 1. It's just I'm quite shocked it didn't appear they did any tests to confirm the diagnosis, so its nagging away at me a bit! Have an appointment with the consultant endocrinologist in a few weeks so will ask him about the diagnostic procedure.

On a side note, the DSN has added me to the DAFNE course waiting list already :) - although the waiting list is a year... They do eight people per course, which happen every two months. The wait is good though as apparently the 'honeymoon period' can last for up to a year. I've heard really good feedback about it so it should be five days well spent!
 
I had exactly the same nagging doubts - I was 36 at diagnosis and I knew for a fact I'd had diabetes of some type for years (whichi s much more like Type 2 than Type 1). I wasn't making any autoimmune antibodies at diagnosis and never made more than a trace of ketones apart from at diagnosis when I was still only +1. This year, to answer my concerns, they did another load of tests. It's come back unequivacolly Type 1 as I am now making those antibodies and little or no insulin of my own. It turns out that the antibodies can come and go. I know exactly how you feel because I was always wondering why I was going to all this bother when I wasn't even sure I needed to. But, I do, and that's that - and it's a weight off my mind, weird as it sounds. Good luck, and you'll find DAFNE a massive education. Oh and by the way I proudly managed to make +1 ketones twice a few weeks ago when I had a stomach complaint. Ridiculous really, but I was actually pleased to see them! It made everything I'm doing finally make sense. I'm keeping my sugars controlled and going to all this bother for a very good reason, and there was the reason, on the end of the ketone testing strip. And you were definitely craving the sugary stuff because of the progression of the disease - I'm sure with more reading you'll find out more. The body hits a certain point where it's not getting enough glucose into its cells (as you have no insulin to get it into them) so it compels you to eat more carbs because it thinks you're not eating (you are basically starving). At the same time, everything you eat just makes the whole situation even worse; round and round you go until you get diagnosed. I was compulsively eating anything and everything I could get my hands on by the end. Whole chocolate cakes etc heh heh heh :) but I couldn't help it!!
 
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