Type 1 or Type 2

[Paddy1001]

Hi all, I have been diagnosed with diabetes about three weeks ago and wondering if anyone has a similar story as me
I went to my doctor knowing I had diabetes (drinking gallons of water and going to the loo all the time) when I went back to the doctors for the results of my blood test I was sent to hospital where I spent the next 4 days being treated for diabetes ketoacidosis
When leaving hospital I have being put on 2 tablets of metformin and 2 large injections of insulin per day and my level are just starting to settle down
Now the thing that puzzles me is that the consultant does not know if I am type 1 or 2 and has done two tests to determine which type it is. One test has come back and it is not autoimmune diabetes
I'm 44, very over weight and my dad has had type2 for about 30 years
So if I have type 2 why has it got so bad so quickly
If it is type1 am I not a little old
I also get a urine test for diabetes once a year at my works medical which had never flagged up any problems
If anyone has similar story or any thoughts I would be sincerely grateful


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[evets66]

Your never to old for type 1. I was 44 when i was diagnosed and my cousin was 38.

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[whompa73]

There is also1.5 which I beleive is when a type 2s pancreas burns out as such and cant produce insulin as such or the for some other reason eg illness that has dammaged the pancreas so it doesn't produce insulin. I think I am about there in my understanding of it . Or atlast that was the way someone with type 1.5 explainded it to me , I I am wrond or /and it needs elaborating on please do so to educate me as well as op.
Cheers and goodluck

 

[phoenix]

People can get Type 2 as a child and T1 as an octogenarian. However we don't all fit in 2 little boxes

The fact that you had DKA at diagnosis suggests that you had very high glucose levels and a relative lack of insulin, hence the DKA .
If you don't have autoimmune markers then you probably don't have autoimmune T1. Nevertheless, if you look at any studies, even of childhood onset T1, there is always a proportion of people who seem to have T1 but don't have autoimmune antibodies. This might mean that the antibodies haven't been detected or that there aren't any.
The World Health organisation categorisation actually has a category for this Type 1b this is idiopathic T1 ie T1 of no known origin. (Type 1a is autoimmune)

Just to demonstrate that definition/ diagnosis isn't always easy
(not saying that you have this; just showing that 2 boxes don't always cover it!)

There is at least one form of diabetes which is not auto immune . It is ketosis prone and needs insulin at diagnosis. It goes under a variety of labels (Type1b, ketosis prone T2, Flatbush diabetes) . Where it differs from T1a (autoimmune T1) is that It may go into remission and can sometimes be treated by oral tablets or even diet alone . Unfortunately the remission is not always permanent and the person can develop DKA again. (and also go into remission again)
This form was first discovered in Americans with an African ancestry and people directly from N and W Africa have been found to have it. There are also American 'Hispanics' with it. However there are reports of people from other areas of the world who seem to have a similar form of diabetes.
Michael Barker, a blogger with ketosis prone diabetes lists some papers here (I haven't gone through them so don't know how valid it is)
http://www.tudiabetes.org/profiles/blog ... people-get
Academic paper about this form of diabetes:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528854/

There are also other 'types'

Type 1.5 usually refers to LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults) which is a form of Type 1 but the autoimmune destruction of beta cells is more gradual than 'classic' type 1.

Occasionally T1.5 refers to MODY (misnamed as Maturity onset diabetes of the young). This is a genetic form of diabetes and so 'runs' in families.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maturity_o ... _the_young

A type 2 who has lost beta cell function is still a type 2 .

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Phoenix has posted some relevant info. My diagnosis was similar but occurred even later (age 60) and slower. In my case I have never been overweight so not insulin resistant but my pancreas is failing to the extent I'm now on insulin. I class myself as T1.5 LADA (perhaps T1b per Phoenix categories). You appear to have mix of issues. Being a lot overweight you no doubt have insulin resistance as well as a failing pancreas. This if true is called sometimes called double diabetes i.e. T1.5 and T2. The GAD test I organised was also negative but my c-peptide confirmed no insulin. It would have been interesting to know your c-peptide before you went onto insulin as this helps point to the underlying problems. My advice would be to try to get your weight down to the 'normal' range as this will help reduce any insulin resistance and reduce your insulin needs. By reducing your carb intake this will both help weight loss and reduce your blood sugar; again reducing your insulin needs. BTW, my diabetes symptoms also came on quickly despite being a regular gym visitor and normal weight. It seems that diabetes type 1.5 can lurk quietly and then come on suddenly. I wonder in my case, and perhaps others, whether a virus may have been the cause

 

[Paddy1001]

Hi thank you for the replies, it is an eye opener to know their are so many types of diabetes. Having only know people with T2 before, the speed of having to inject insulin and being hospitalised is a real shock.
I wish everyone the best in fighting there condition and thanks again for the replies.


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[Gonna]

More variation! My diabetes was a result of pancreatitis. The pancreatitis was a result of a gall stone becoming wedged in the pancreas. Now the pancreas is not producing enough insulin so I am injecting. It doesn't fit type 1 or type 2.


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[phoenix]

More variation! My diabetes was a result of pancreatitis. The pancreatitis was a result of a gall stone becoming wedged in the pancreas. Now the pancreas is not producing enough insulin so I am injecting. It doesn't fit type 1 or type 2.


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Well it isn't really either..
The World health Organisation and American diabetes association classify it as diabetes with an 'other specific cause'. Sometimes it is called type 3c diabetes because that's where it appears on this table.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/conten ... nsion.html
Here's a paper suggesting that many patients (in the US) have been mislabelled when they actually have 3c .
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22121010

I don't think that the 3c label seems to be used much in the UK. There have been a couple of people on the forums that seem to have been told that was what they were by a specialist but more that have been told that they either have T1 or T2.