As I can personally attest, diagnosing Type 1 diabetes in adults is not always easy. A decade ago – when I first started getting sick and losing a ton of weight for apparently no reason – my doctor told me I had diabetes and prescribed some pills for me. At the time, I didn’t know enough to question her diagnosis and certainly was happy I didn’t have the kind that required me to take insulin shots.
For nearly a year, I was treated as a Type 2 and my blood sugar numbers suffered. Finally I went to an endocrinologist and was told that I didn’t have Type 2 diabetes. However, I did have Type 1.5 diabetes, or latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA). Essentially, its like Type 1 diabetes, but instead of developing in kids, it hits patients later in life. For me, this date came at the age of 23.
Once I started Diabetes News Hound and began interacting on diabetes-centric social networking sites more frequently, I learned there were a lot of people that had a similar story to mine. In fact, researchers estimate that between 7.5% and 10% of adults that are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, actually have Type 1.5, according to a recent article in The West Australian. Type 1.5 can often masquerade as Type 2 because those diagnosed with Type 1.5 often do not need to take insulin shots at the time of diagnose. The article says patients begin taking shots anywhere from anywhere between three and twelve years after diagnosis. I began taking them as soon as I was correctly diagnosed.
Type 2 diabetes is often thought to have a link with obesity, although slim people can also develop that form of the disease. With Type 1.5, many fit folks are developing the disease. In one case noted in the article, a fit 60-year old woman was incorrectly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Eight years later she was told she had Type 1.5 after her heath began to deteriorate.
The symptoms of diabetes – Type 1, Type 2, or Type 1.5 – usually include unquenchable thirst, frequent urination or the constant urge to urinate, dehydration, problems sleeping, unexplained weight loss and often a flu-like feeling. A blood test can confirm a patient has Type 1.5 diabetes.
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