Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kristin on May 12, 2008 at 10:31am

I also usually say type 1.

Interestingly, the internal medicine doctor at the emergency room diagnosed me as type 1.5 at the age of 21. My endo corrected him and said that type 1.5 doesn't exist-- it's just late onset type 1.

I also had rapid onset (definitely less than 9 months, from normal fasting BG level to over 600). So I don't even know if I should be called LADA or type 1??

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Permalink Reply by Diabetic_Iz_Me on June 9, 2008 at 8:56pm

lol...I was dx w/ type 1.5 at 22 finally someone my age w/ LADA.

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Permalink Reply by Diabetic_Iz_Me on May 11, 2008 at 8:12pm

I tell people I am Type 1.5/LADA. I want everyone to be aware the we are here!!!! I explain and tell them to look it up on the net. My endo said I should just say type 1 to regular dr's. HE said it confuses them.

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Permalink Reply by Kristy on May 12, 2008 at 9:10am

Yes I agree that's probably why so many of us are misdiagnosed. I was diagnosed at 38.. of course as T2 and my PCP even said I was insulin resistant since I still made insulin..My Endo agreed, I do make insulin, just not enough which is often the case with adults with T1. He has not yet used the term T1.5 or LADA ; he writes "T1 insulin deficient" on my forms for diagnosis. My CDE did mention she thought T1.5 is what I have and said her boss recently (Jan or Feb) attended a seminar where T1.5 was being discussed. It seems like it is just now becoming a term in the main stream medical community. With that said.. I also just tell people I am T1. If they seem to grasp that concept I may continue to ramble on about T1.5 .. especially among family.
The scary part is that most people go to their PCP first so it seems that's where most of the education needs to start. They need to recognize the symptoms and order the proper tests..or just send you to an endo early on.

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Permalink Reply by lane jaeckle santos on May 16, 2008 at 10:24am

Generally I say type 1 since most of the people can't get the two main types straight. However, most of the doctors I speak to and work with believe (and so do I) that LADA is simply type 1 that progresses more slowly than traditional type 1s. So you aren't lying when you say you are a type 1.

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Permalink Reply by Brandy Gunderson on June 28, 2008 at 4:10am

I understand your frustration. I do not know exactly whatthey teach in Med school, as I am only a nursing student. But I imagine that most residents/interns have a basic understanding of diabetes untilthey do their internal medicine rotation. In studying endocrinology in nursing school, I guess I understand that it is easier to think that way because we learn that the thymus gland generally works until about puberty, when most patients develop type 1, then begins to atrify. But there are always deviations to the norm. I have see babies personally as early as 2 months old be diagosed with type 1, and in theory, they don't even have an active thymus gland yet. An canyou imagine - they don't usually get diagnosed until they are wasting away, because you cant really tell thata neonate is thirsty or urinating more frequently. I understand that doctors sometimes get a bit too booksmart, and expect each patient to present clinicaly as a textbook. Frustrating.

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Permalink Reply by Anita on May 16, 2008 at 2:17pm

A lot of the confusion may stem from the insurance companies too. I was originally diagnosed as T2--age 34, relatively thin, no family hx of diabetes. After my referral to an endo, he said T1.5. Because the medical community cannot agree on type 1.5, the insurance companies do not recognize type 1.5. Thus, for insurance companies, I am type 2 until I am totally insulin dependent.

To others, I typically say type 1.5. Yes, a brief explanation usually follows. Perhaps we can help spread the word...

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Permalink Reply by Brandy Gunderson on June 26, 2008 at 6:26pm

I apoligize for my ignorance. I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years. I tried to reverse in the blog to see what LADA refers to, but no such luck. What does the acronym stand for?

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Permalink Reply by Kristy on June 26, 2008 at 9:04pm

Brandy,

LADA= "Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults"..It is when Adults, typically over 25, are diagnosed with type1. Often, because of our age, we are initially misdiagnosed as T2. This article "What's In A Name helps explain LADA. It is dated 2003 and even after 5 years the term is still not widely recognized or used.

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Permalink Reply by Brandy Gunderson on June 27, 2008 at 5:01am

Thnaks. I get it now. I am a nursing student and our 2008 textbooks make no mention of it either. What we are being taught is that the terms type 1, type 2, and juvenile diabetes are being phased out. We refer only to insulin dependant and non-insulin dependant. No matter how it is referenced, it is always confusing to a newly diagnosed patient. We are taught that type1/IDDM diabetes can strike at any age, and can have a honeymoon period of a couple of months to a couple of years in some cases. And then of course there is the gestational type and insipidus, but that is something else entirely.
Thanks for clearing it up. It would help if they taught us these things - even if only to know what a patient is refering to.

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Permalink Reply by JDavid on July 27, 2008 at 3:07pm

While I have never been LABELED type-1 or type 1.5, I have been labeled DM2 "insulin required", IDDM and jsut plain type-2 (on insulin).............

I am, and ahve always bee a little different. I was warned at age 14 I would end up taking shots, but I did not want to hear or think about that and did not have any real problems till my 30s. My REAL problems started when I had a sore throat and landed in the hospital eventualy. (long story).

When I was 15 a dentist noted my teeth were going bad from the inside, I was hsopitalized for 5 weeks then home 2 weeks before returning to school while everyone else was back to work/school in 2 weeks. Developed an eye problem at 16 (possable diabetes related) and in retrospect several other POSSABLE symptoms of elivated BS levels, even if not quite diabetic, long before I was actally Dx'd.....

Now I am looking at a decline in kidney function, got 2 phone calls last week after my last labs to move up my next nephrologist's apt.....(now set for next week)

(*&*( GOMER

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Permalink Reply by Cody Turner on June 26, 2008 at 6:30pm

I usually say adult onset type 1 when I am asked what type I am.

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