Comments on: Clarifying LADA (Type 1 Diabetes in Adults)

By: sue

sue — Sun, 22 May 2011 02:40:21 +0000

well i am 53, lean, and have LADA.. i am in the honeymoon phase but taking Lantus 2 units at bedtime to help the pancreas not have to work so hard. i am not afraid of taking insulin i am afraid of all the illness that could happen down the road with this illness. I truly hope they come up with a better treatment for this LADA..i have always watched my wt, ate right, exercise etc. etc. but somehow i got this! i trust the endo dr. so that is a good thing.. i hope they find a cure soon.. good luck to all managing this illness. i am trying to keep the faith.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:32:48 +0000

I am 53 yo and was diagnosed as Type 2 at age 29. Very short honeymoon on orals for 1 year and on insulin at 30. I was just diagnosed LADA in the past few weeks. I am obese and was at the time of diagnosis – recent GAD 65 autoantibodies was high, islet cell antibodies negative, and c-peptide very low.

OK, here’s where it gets funky – I have insulin resistance and respond to some orals, but also need insulin. I was considering biliopancreatic duodenal switch bypass surgery for obesity and to attempt “cure” of Type 2 diabetes when all this came to light. Several endos that I have seen have said this will not “cure” my diabetes since I don’t have Type 2, but rather LADA. So, now I am not sure what to do since all of my weight loss attempts are futile due to insulin resistence and the fat storage that happens with my use of insulin. I take a lot of meds – byetta, novolog, lantus, metformin, actos, glimepiride….

Love my endo – and he says my situation is “muddled” because I have features of both Type 1 and 2 – even thinks I might be both types. Just trying to manage each day as it comes and keep researching.

Keep the faith everyone….thanks for the article.

By: April

April — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:16:53 +0000

Recently diagnosed as Pre-diabetic (Type 2) – have lost 23 pounds (not obese but a bit chubby), upped exercise to 60 mins per day and changed diet. Doc very happy w/ my bringing fasting glucose down to only 94. BUT, I test before and after every meal/snack, and I can hardly eat ANY carbs without a big spike in blood sugar. I am now slim and very fit and eliminating foods from the menu practically on a daily basis. My father was what I thought was a Type 2 — but became insulin dependent w/in a year of dx..so now I wonder if it was LADA! I learned about LADA 2 days ago. I have thyroid disease and have already made an appt w/ my Endo asap. My reg. doc is clueless about LADA.

By: Jean-Paul Mosnier

Jean-Paul Mosnier — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:39:47 +0000

I find all these comments so good and so close to my own experience. I was diagnosed just a little over 2 years ago (May 2008). I was 46 years old then. I had lost 14 kg of body weight, kept urinating, felt absolutely rotten, had absolutely no energy, the works…
GP sent me to the local hospital, they just looked at me and told me I had T2D and immediately put me on the pills (Glucophage). I did indicate that my father had T1D.
Things went from bad to worse, I skip the details…insulin treatment started in April 2009 (GAD test very high). Of course, as a T1 diabetic person, I felt immediately better. To be honest, I really didn’t care much then whether the condition is LADA or late onset of T1D or whatever. What I know is that insulin treatment should have started much earlier and that would have spared me quite a horrendous year. Autoimmunity seems to be the defining criterion. It does not matter really whether the condition will progress slower when you are 48 yrs old (my age now) or faster when you are 14 yrs old.
By the way, my eldest was diagnosed with T1D when he was 14 yrs old in July 2008…

By: James

James — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:08:50 +0000

Well I fall into a funny category I am type 1. Became so at age 7 a month or so after a flu shot no family history on mother or fathers side within 5 generations. Highest blood sugar ever recorded at the time 1977 in the children’s hospital in Columbus, Ohio my mom told me it 2390 not sure if that is true but hey it is what I remember. A GP said I had the flu and to give me fluids so I drank a case of orange soda went into a coma woke up 3 days later with a big mac attack. now here is where the story gets strange besides the fact that I lived through the first part. I had a honeymoon period of almost 2 years took 3 units of at the time was called regular insulin a day. so I wonder is what I had lada or type 1 it does not matter at this point but I am curious. To the docs who read this be mindful of the people who come to you. Oh I forgot when I was first becoming symptomatic I went to the eye doctor because of blurred vision a sign of diabetes and was told he could put glasses on me if my mom wanted. I am now 40 lost one eye to diabetes but still have 20/30 vision in the good eye and still do not need glasses. Oh I am a radio guy so I get paid to talk not type so please forgive spelling and punctuation.

By: odessa brown

odessa brown — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:24:30 +0000

i am a 65 yrs old female,ist dx @28yrs old diabetic,not over weight,by a gp.put on insulin until age 45,then told type 2 by int/medicine dr.put on different types pills,could not keep po meds down.went to endo dr,try another type pill,could not tolerated,told that i was now type 1.please help me to understand.i did have c-peptide done in 2005 or 2006,told then,not making enough insulin so will have to take insulin for the rest of my life.HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:12:52 +0000

Late comment. Good article. Long comment (sorry)! LADA and its issues are a big interest for me.

Even though LADA is autoimmune, it apparently shares genetic markers with T2, which is why it got the alternative name Type 1.5 but is classified as T1.

Insulin resistance does occur in thin people, eg in PCOS.

Apparently also if you have GAD antibodies plus another diabetes antibody you’ll progress to insulin dependence more quickly than just GAD alone. Researchers apparently do not yet know why the progression this T1 variant takes so long, whereas in young people with what used to be called ‘juvenile diabetes’, the progression usually fast. I had what we think is about a 20-25 year LADA honeymoon (am in my 50s now)! Or maybe I have double diabetes – no one can tell me for sure. First dx at 25, started insulin in my 50s, but very high GAD antibodies when finally tested.

You don’t have to only be normal weight to think you have LADA. Many overweight and obese have it. Even though it was discovered in the 1970s, so many are still going undiagnosed and so many medical people don’t consider it, if they even know about it in the first place.

My opinion is that early diagnosis goes a long way to beta-cell preservation (by not taking insulin producing drugs), but research is contradictory about this.

The biggest problem seems to be getting a doctor to test for LADA, whatever weight you are, and you continue to be treated as a T2 and eventually a failed and non-compliant T2. I insisted re the testing and to everyone surprise (not me) I was positive. But for those whose doctors won’t listen, it can be psychologically devastating!

By: LADA Testing Criteria Should Be Broadened | LADA Life

LADA Testing Criteria Should Be Broadened | LADA Life — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:02:33 +0000

[...] this post on Diabetes Mine for a great explanation [...]

By: Laurie

Laurie — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:30:16 +0000

I was diagnosed type 1 at age 14 with a blood sugar of 945 (not kidding), 3 months after a bad flu. Yes, I was in denial. Family type 1 history of 1 uncle, 1 Aunt, 2 cousins, and my Dad at a late age (we are Norwegian and MANY type 1′s are scandinavian). What I have read is that getting homogenized milk (rather than mothers milk) at a young age, a genetic predisposition and a strain of flu – start the destruction of the islets in your pancreas and thus the Tpye 1 into motion. Type 1 is an autimmune disorder so I’ve been told, (and I have two other automimmune issues). So isn’t LADA just late onset type 1? My dad got the flu (1976, at age 56) – and became a type 1 within 2-3 months. He had no complications, low BP, low cholesterol, average weight. He lived well until death at 83.

PS – for all you others with similar stories – I am heavy set and have been told by a few doctors that I am type 2 – until they run the damn tests. No damage so far – 36 years and counting. Stand your ground and keep searching until you find an endo who understands it all!

PSS – The pump rocks.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:07:47 +0000

Wonderful post, Catherine. Thanks for hosting Amy!

I’m a classic type 1, diagnosed at 21, but nearly two years later, I’m still honeymooning. It’s all very fuzzy.