New to all this

[Coolcat66]

Hi, I am a young 53 and was told last week I have LADA. At first I thought that's OK. Now I have read all about it I see my life changing. I eat quite healthy play gold, press ups at night and I have lost a stone over 6 months. I weigh 13 and half stone. Not overweight.

 

[stephknits]

Hi welcome to the forum. There are lots of us late starters on here. It is a lot to get your head around. What insulin regime are you on?

 

[Coolcat66]

I have just stared metformin yesterday.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you have a very "on the ball" GP to spot LADA at such an early stage!

Do you know your HbA1c reading? This is the blood test result used to diagnose diabetes and gives you a starting point on your diabetes journey but also gives us an idea of where on the diabetes scale you are. It will likely be a number of 48 or above but may be well into 3 digits if things are particularly advanced, but it is a sliding scale and you can travel quite dramatically in both directions on it so don't worry if you have a high reading now. With help it will come down and it is best to do so slowly and steadily as big drops can cause blood vessel and nerve damage.
We describe Diabetes as a marathon not a sprint, so slow steady sustainable changes are the best course of action.

How are you getting on with the Metformin? I know it is early days if you just started yesterday. Do make sure to take it with food and usually mid meal is best as it has a bit of a reputation for digestive upset.... It is not unaffectionately referred to as "Metfartin" here on the forum and if flatulence is all you experience then you are probably doing well..... but some people do tolerate it without any side effects, so hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones.

As regards diet, what is generally considered "healthy" is not always ideal for diabetes. Basically, our bodies have developed an inability to deal with the glucose released from carbohydrates. Sugar and other sweet stuff like honey and fructose which is the sugar in fruit are simple carbohydrates but our digestive systems are pretty good at breaking down the starchy carbs as well, like those in bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals.... even the likes of porridge....., so cutting down on your portion size of all these foods will help to bring your levels down.

Anyway, make yourself at home here and feel free to ask anything that comes to mind.

 

[SB2015]

Snap. I was diagnosed at 53 with T1, so another late starter. No need to be overweight or anything with T1 or LADA. The rising BG levels are due to the destruction of your Beta cells by antibodies. Nothing to do with anything that you have done. It just starts for some reason. Like you I lost weight when I did not need to. When I then lost 1 1/2 stone in one week along with other symptoms my T1 got picked up. Sounds like it was a lot later than yours.

With LADA your Beta cells will be destroyed more slowly than for those diagnosed at a younger age. It is great that your GP has picked this up. The Metformin may work for a while, and it will be important to keep any eye in your glucose levels. If they start to go higher you are likely to need insulin. What were your readings at diagnosis?

It is a big shock at the start and there is a very steep learning curve. If you have any questions at all, just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here, and I know that I have learnt most of what I know about my management from others on here.

 

[Coolcat66]

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you have a very "on the ball" GP to spot LADA at such an early stage!

Do you know your HbA1c reading? This is the blood test result used to diagnose diabetes and gives you a starting point on your diabetes journey but also gives us an idea of where on the diabetes scale you are. It will likely be a number of 48 or above but may be well into 3 digits if things are particularly advanced, but it is a sliding scale and you can travel quite dramatically in both directions on it so don't worry if you have a high reading now. With help it will come down and it is best to do so slowly and steadily as big drops can cause blood vessel and nerve damage.
We describe Diabetes as a marathon not a sprint, so slow steady sustainable changes are the best course of action.

How are you getting on with the Metformin? I know it is early days if you just started yesterday. Do make sure to take it with food and usually mid meal is best as it has a bit of a reputation for digestive upset.... It is not unaffectionately referred to as "Metfartin" here on the forum and if flatulence is all you experience then you are probably doing well..... but some people do tolerate it without any side effects, so hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones.

As regards diet, what is generally considered "healthy" is not always ideal for diabetes. Basically, our bodies have developed an inability to deal with the glucose released from carbohydrates. Sugar and other sweet stuff like honey and fructose which is the sugar in fruit are simple carbohydrates but our digestive systems are pretty good at breaking down the starchy carbs as well, like those in bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals.... even the likes of porridge....., so cutting down on your portion size of all these foods will help to bring your levels down.

Anyway, make yourself at home here and feel free to ask anything that comes to mind.

Hi, thank you for welcome. TBH I think she said 55 reading but was a bit like a rabbit in headlights. She said that when she called me to get my blodd results she was expecting an obese male. She said at first everything pointed to type 2 but as she (nurse) has worked with diabetics at practise for 17 years she was confident enoght to say LADA. I have appt at end of september to see how things are. I like cooking and eat pretty well.

 

[Coolcat66]

Snap. I was diagnosed at 53 with T1, so another late starter. No need to be overweight or anything with T1 or LADA. The rising BG levels are due to the destruction of your Beta cells by antibodies. Nothing to do with anything that you have done. It just starts for some reason. Like you I lost weight when I did not need to. When I then lost 1 1/2 stone in one week along with other symptoms my T1 got picked up. Sounds like it was a lot later than yours.

With LADA your Beta cells will be destroyed more slowly than for those diagnosed at a younger age. It is great that your GP has picked this up. The Metformin may work for a while, and it will be important to keep any eye in your glucose levels. If they start to go higher you are likely to need insulin. What were your readings at diagnosis?

It is a big shock at the start and there is a very steep learning curve. If you have any questions at all, just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here, and I know that I have learnt most of what I know about my management from others on here.

Hi, thank you for welcome. TBH I think she said 55 reading but was a bit like a rabbit in headlights. She said that when she called me to get my blodd results she was expecting an obese male. She said at first everything pointed to type 2 but as she (nurse) has worked with diabetics at practise for 17 years she was confident enoght to say LADA. I have appt at end of september to see how things are. I like cooking and eat pretty well. I have to say that Farting has only been side effect so far (fingers crossed) how do you measure your glucose levels?

 

[SB2015]

I have a glucose test kit. I do a finger prick test before each meal. I think it would be useful for you to be able to do this and monitor to see if the meds are helping. You could ask the Practice nurse.
You would always be given a test kit if you are using insulin.

 

[rebrascora]

.... but you can self fund if the practice won't supply one. They would not be obliged to provide you with one at this stage but it can be a really helpful bit of kit in helping you to tailor your diet to your body's response to carbohydrate, which can be a very individual thing, so to differences in gut biome, genetics, metabolism etc. Do for instance some members of the forum can get away with eating a Weetabix biscuit for breakfast whilst others can't. Some can manage a few new potatoes but it would sharply spike someone else's BG levels. Some can manage a small portion of porridge but others can't without it sending their levels into orbit. Pasta can be particularly challenging for some people and pizza even more so, but without a BG meter you have no idea what is happening. They are relatively inexpensive to self fund at approx. £15 for a basic meter but the cost of consumables and particularly test strips tots up the cost, so for that reason we recommend the 2 meters with the cheapest test strips which are the SD Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. You get 10 test strips with the kit but those don't last more than a couple of days when you are testing before and 2 hours after each meal for the first couple of months. Test strips for the meters mentioned cost £8 for a pot of 50 and you are best ordering at least 2 extra pots if you buy a meter. Test strips for other meters can be 2x or even 3x that cost per 50 strips, which means it can get expensive pretty quickly and test strips are not universal.

 

[trophywench]

The main thing to get your head round PDQ with any type of diabetes is that the only thing all our bodies have trouble with dealing with, is carbohydrate. It makes no difference to the body where they come from nor what colour they are!

Define 'good' diet - mine is pretty good for me but highly likely it wouldn't be much use to you. OTOH because the body can make the glucose it needs to keep going from any of the 3 food groups (protein fat and carb) quite possibly you already are used to more of a low carb higher fat diet than many folk already!

 

[Coolcat66]

Thanks Jenny for taking time out to reply. Love the user name