Could I have been misdiagnosed as type 2?

[chattygirl197811]

An ambulance took me to hospital yesterday with severe chest pain. Think my GP was being cautious because of having diabetes and my family's heart history. They kept me in, turns out my problem was muscular related not heart which was good news. Whilst I was in several doctors spoke to me about my recent type 2 diagnosis and suspect I may have been misdiagnosed an am actually type 1! This is somewhat concerning and confusing to me. I am 32 yrs old and slim my blood sugars seem to be getting worse despite all the positive changes I'm making. I had been experiencing the usual symptoms some months before I took the plunge and asked for a blood test which confirmed diabetes. I've ben advised toa sk my GP to refer to a specialist at the hospital who can look into whether I have late onset type 1 diabetes? My family are abroad as is my husband at the moment and I'm just intrigued...Has anyone else ever been misdiagnosed? or is this something any of you good people may be able to sheed some light on?
Thanks

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

It's something I hear of quite a bit. Much of the diagnosis seems to rely quite heavily on things like age or weight.

Patti (member here and admin on another forum) was originally Dx Type 2, which then was 'unofficially' modified to 1.5/LADA, and finally almost 9 years later, has been officially Dx as Type 1 following a further (GAD/c-Peptide?) tests.

Good luck in getting your diagnosis confirmed.

 

[Northerner]

Hi chattygirl, this is far from uncommon (from reading other people's experiences here). Often, a diagnosis is made using basic criteria such as blood sugar levels and age, plus symptoms of course. Type 1 normally manifests itself quite dramatically, often in a matter of weeks or even days, whereas in Type 2 the symptoms can be very mild for many years. However, as you mention there is a type known as LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood) where the cause is due to a gradual failure of the beta cells of the pancreas as they are being attacked by the body's own immune system.

There are tests they can do to determine if you have antibodies and also to determine how much insulin you are producing, so getting these tests done should determine the true type and help you to get the appropriate treatment.

I was slow-onset, possibly for up to 2 years whilst my pancreas just about coped, but then I caught a virus and ended up in hospital with DKA and getting diagnosed. In a way it will be good if your recent drama helps to get you the correct diagnosis - let us know how you get on! 🙂

 

[Caroline]

I hope you get the diagnosis sorted out soon and that you are feeling better. There are some forum users who have been misdiagnosed. Hopefully they will be along soon

It is good you also got the chest pains sorted out too. As there is a family history of heart problems I can understand your doctors caution.

 

[AlisonM]

It's not at all unusual, and happened to me too. I'm apparently a LADA, or Type 1.5 or slow onset Type 1 (pick your preferred label) and was initally diagnosed as T2. There are some fairly straightforward tests that can show which form of the dread D you have and your doctor should be able to arrange them for you.

My symptoms came on very quickly over a period of weeks rather than the usual T2 years and I ended up in hospital as well. As it turned out they decided on T2 purely because of my age and weight.

 

[Raymond]

Hi Chatty Girl

I was also misdiagnosed as T2 as recently as July. I was placed on Metformin and Gliclazide and my GP gradually increased my doses until he'd reached the max he was allowed to prescribe. This had very little effect on my BS readings. I ended up in hospital with BS of 33.3 😱 The nurse (who just happened to also work in the Diabetes clinic) advised me that I was T1. I found this very confusing. It was explained to me that due to the fact that 90% of diabetics are T2 and that predominantly T1's are diagnosed at an earlier age, GP's will go with a T2 diagnosis and try to treat as such. I was taken off meds and placed on multiple daily injections. Its not all doom and gloom though 🙂 being on Lantus and Novorapid gives a certain amount of freedom and allows me to control my BS very well. Of course there's also the added bonus of healthier eating and exercise too.

Hope this helps

 

[imtrying]

It's not at all unusual, and happened to me too. I'm apparently a LADA, or Type 1.5 or slow onset Type 1 (pick your preferred label) and was initally diagnosed as T2. There are some fairly straightforward tests that can show which form of the dread D you have and your doctor should be able to arrange them for you.

My symptoms came on very quickly over a period of weeks rather than the usual T2 years and I ended up in hospital as well. As it turned out they decided on T2 purely because of my age and weight.

hey Alison....I talked about you at my BERTIE course last Friday...we were talking about the types of diabetes and the differences. I mentioned 1.5 and it wasn't really spoken about so I specifically asked and mentioned the 'LADA' bit as at the time I didn't know what that stood for. So in the end, everyone was educated....maybe if more people were, this misdiagnosis wouldn't happen!

 

[Mark T]

Don't forget there is MODY too

That's probably not all that less common then LADA and tends to get detected in there twenties (although there are journal articles showing it can get detected in a persons 50's too). Although that's usually found with lots of family history (diabetic parents, grandparents, etc).

Either way - your Doctor needs to get testing 😉

 

[chattygirl197811]

thanks guys for sharing. Really quite an eye opener. I'll push for these tests as am getting worse at present and keep you updated.