Did you get LADA after a Covid vaccine?

[UnexpectedDiagnosis]

So, I had 2 Covid vaccines (Astra Zeneca) in April and July 2021. Within 18months of them, I was rushed into emergency care with DKA and nearly died, and was left with LADA. Recently I have seem that law firms are targeting vaccine suppliers with litigation through the Consumer Protection Act.

I have been reading articles which links the Covid vaccine with LADA, but currently not population level studies have been carried out. Prior to the vaccine I was ultra healthy, since I have been a mess.

This post is to try to find others in my position. Did you have the vaccine and then suddenly developed LADA like me? Then please shout up. I do intend to look into escalating this as a multi-party action, providing I can find enough people who have been through the same as me.

Interested in the response to this topic... and very hopeful I find others like me

 

[helli]

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as an adult (LADA) before covid.
Like you, I was previously ultra healthy and there was no history of any type of diabetes in my family.
I don't know the reason why I got diabetes and not sure I will ever find out.
At first, I was angry about my diagnosis and asking "why me?” but, over time, I realised I couldn't change history but I can change the future. Therefore, my focus has been on managing my condition.
Twenty years later, I am "ultra healthy" with no complications due to diabetes.

I understand your frustration and anger, your desire to find out what caused your condition and, if it was caused by something that should have been known, you want justice.
I also encourage you not to let this take over your health - the need to manage diabetes - and not let it take over your life.

 

[rebrascora]

I was diagnosed pre pandemic but my experience was that I had a notable increase in insulin needs following my first AZ vaccine which I think heralded the end of my honeymoon period.
My thoughts on this are that the vaccine may have triggered my immune system to target my remaining insulin producing beta cells, in a similar way to a virus might trigger it. So if I hadn't had the vaccine but had caught Covid, the outcome would likely have been the same but worse because I would have been very ill with the virus as well as needing to increase my insulin because more of my beta cells died.

From what I understand, those of us who are Type 1 or LADA have this autoimmune predisposition and it has been just sitting there like a time bomb waiting for a trigger and it is often a virus which triggers it but it could perhaps also be vaccine, or stress or severe shock which does it and thinking about this I wonder if any research has been done into the timing of vaccines administered to children prior to Type 1 diagnosis. At the end of the day, a vaccine is designed to stir up the immune system so that it is primed for an attack by a specific virus, so I don't think it is all that odd that it might trigger an over enthusiastic response in people who are predisposed to autoimmune conditions.

I still think it is probably better for the vaccine to have triggered your Type 1 or LADA than Covid itself which may well have had even more adverse consequences.

I should also say that I am not in any way medically qualified so I am just touting this as a possibility from applying my own logic to the situation and I am personally thankful to have been offered the vaccines. I think it is easy to look for someone or something to blame when you are diagnosed with a potentially life threatening condition but my gut feeling is that there is a genetic predisposition to autoimmune conditions and sooner or later something will trigger it to occur and if it was in fact the vaccine in your case, it could just as easily and likely have been the Covid virus if you hadn't been vaccinated or possibly some other virus down the line.

 

[UnexpectedDiagnosis]

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as an adult (LADA) before covid.
Like you, I was previously ultra healthy and there was no history of any type of diabetes in my family.
I don't know the reason why I got diabetes and not sure I will ever find out.
At first, I was angry about my diagnosis and asking "why me" but, over time, I realised I couldn't change histor but I can change the future. Therefore, my focus has been on managing my condition.
Twenty years later, I am "ultra healthy" with no complications due to diabetes.

I understand your frustration and anger, your desire to find out what caused your condition and, if it was caused by something that should have been known, you want justice.
I also encourage you not to let this take over your health - the need to manage diabetes - and not let it take over your life.

Hello and thanks for the kind words. I do now feel healthy, but obviously LADA has and does have a large ongoing impact on my life. This is not an obsession where I need to find the answer as I accept this could have been random and was always going to happen.... however the more I read the more I feel that the Covid vaccine caused cell mutation which in turn caused LADA.

None of this, nor the outcome shall affect me or the way I manage my life.... but I am a man of principle and when I feel there's a wrong to right I will go for it. I took the Covid vaccine as it was sold as a social duty, but I regret feeling compelled to do that. My last ha1bc was 40 so I have adapted well, but I still suspect I am not alone in how I feel nor in being affected by the vaccines. The only lasting impact other than LADA itself is heightened anxiety, which I feel is directly linked to having to constantly manage myself.

I was diagnosed pre pandemic but my experience was that I had a notable increase in insulin needs following my first AZ vaccine which I think heralded the end of my honeymoon period.
My thoughts on this are that the vaccine may have triggered my immune system to target my remaining insulin producing beta cells, in a similar way to a virus might trigger it. So if I hadn't had the vaccine but had caught Covid, the outcome would likely have been the same but worse because I would have been very ill with the virus as well as needing to increase my insulin because more of my beta cells died.

From what I understand, those of us who are Type 1 or LADA have this autoimmune predisposition and it has been just sitting there like a time bomb waiting for a trigger and it is often a virus which triggers it but it could perhaps also be vaccine, or stress or severe shock which does it and thinking about this I wonder if any research has been done into the timing of vaccines administered to children prior to Type 1 diagnosis. At the end of the day, a vaccine is designed to stir up the immune system so that it is primed for an attack by a specific virus, so I don't think it is all that odd that it might trigger an over enthusiastic response in people who are predisposed to autoimmune conditions.

I still think it is probably better for the vaccine to have triggered your Type 1 or LADA than Covid itself which may well have had even more adverse consequences.

I should also say that I am not in any way medically qualified so I am just touting this as a possibility from applying my own logic to the situation and I am personally thankful to have been offered the vaccines. I think it is easy to look for someone or something to blame when you are diagnosed with a potentially life threatening condition but my gut feeling is that there is a genetic predisposition to autoimmune conditions and sooner or later something will trigger it to occur and if it was in fact the vaccine in your case, it could just as easily and likely have been the Covid virus if you hadn't been vaccinated or possibly some other virus down the line.

I too can see why that logic makes sense, but there is something niggling at me about al this. After the vaccine, 6 months down the line I used to get bouts of feeling very sick, hot clammy and almost panicked at roughly the same time most mornings. Looking back, it felt very similar to a hypo... which in my mind was my pancreas starting to die. Although covid could potentially also do this, the timings and symptoms on the run up to going into DKA just keep bringing me back to the vaccines.

I could be barking up the wrong tree but I am extremely curious if others come forward on this... but maybe they won't and this really was just pot luck.

 

[helli]

I used to get bouts of feeling very sick, hot clammy and almost panicked at roughly the same time most mornings. Looking back, it felt very similar to a hypo... which in my mind was my pancreas starting to die.

If your pancreas was starting to die, your BG would be high rather than low. A hypo seems unlikely.

I can look back on my diagnosis and see symptoms for months before my diagnosis which were probably due to my diabetes which, as an adult comes on slower than child. I was very run down with (unusually for me) a lack of energy, small infections taking longer to go away, not sleeping well, ... It wasn't until I was up half the night going to the toilet that I decided to do anything about it and visit the GP.

 

[rebrascora]

It was the 3 months after the vaccine that my insulin needs rose. Of course I was monitoring my BG levels closely because I was already insulin dependent, so I was able to wee it and act upon it and deal with the rises but it was a frustrating time.

I think you have to be careful in the words you use and I am sure your pancreas is far from dying. It is just that your beta cells have diminished to the point of being unable to balance your BG levels. The pancreas itself is a lot more than just those beta cells and does a lot more than just insulin production.

The symptoms you experienced each morning 6 months after your vaccine could have been your levels going high as that too can feel similar to a hypo until your body gets used to persistently high levels, or it may be that breakfast and DP/FOTF were pushing your levels high because your insulin production was failing and then your remaining beta cells were rallying and managing to produce some insulin but too late causing your levels to spike high and then drop creating false hypos. We will of course never know.

I have no way of ascertaining if my hypothesis about the vaccine causing my immune system to "finish off" my remaining beta cells is correct, but in some respects it did me a favour as my levels have been more stable and predictable now my honeymoon period is at an end.... or at least I believe it is. I haven't had a recent C-pep test, but my gut feeling is that that is the case.

 

[UnexpectedDiagnosis]

If your pancreas was starting to die, your BG would be high rather than low. A hypo seems unlikely.

I can look back on my diagnosis and see symptoms for months before my diagnosis which were probably due to my diabetes which, as an adult comes on slower than child. I was very run down with (unusually for me) a lack of energy, small infections taking longer to go away, not sleeping well, ... It wasn't until I was up half the night going to the toilet that I decided to do anything about it and visit the GP.

The hypo symptoms were always around 8.30am... which is 12 hours after I ate the night before. I understand what you're saying about going high, but I can only say what the symptoms felt like. For me, if my body can't manage insulin production properly, my BG's would be both up and down due to the body trying to compensate for both extremes.

It was the 3 months after the vaccine that my insulin needs rose. Of course I was monitoring my BG levels closely because I was already insulin dependent, so I was able to wee it and act upon it and deal with the rises but it was a frustrating time.

I think you have to be careful in the words you use and I am sure your pancreas is far from dying. It is just that your beta cells have diminished to the point of being unable to balance your BG levels. The pancreas itself is a lot more than just those beta cells and does a lot more than just insulin production.

The symptoms you experienced each morning 6 months after your vaccine could have been your levels going high as that too can feel similar to a hypo until your body gets used to persistently high levels, or it may be that breakfast and DP/FOTF were pushing your levels high because your insulin production was failing and then your remaining beta cells were rallying and managing to produce some insulin but too late causing your levels to spike high and then drop creating false hypos. We will of course never know.

I have no way of ascertaining if my hypothesis about the vaccine causing my immune system to "finish off" my remaining beta cells is correct, but in some respects it did me a favour as my levels have been more stable and predictable now my honeymoon period is at an end.... or at least I believe it is. I haven't had a recent C-pep test, but my gut feeling is that that is the case.

Well ok, not "dead" entirely but I certainly don't see the issue using the term as the endocrine side clearly does not produce insulin, hence the term dead as the cells have likely been destroyed. Half dead would perhaps be a better reflection.

Yes the symptoms could have been me going high, but I don't really know what that feels like so I attributed it more to a "hypo" but yes this is entirely possible.

 

[PattiEvans]

This link might be interesting. I know it's about T2 and not LADA, but it may correlate your theory. I do know two people who became T2 after suffering from Covid.

 

[helli]

This link might be interesting. I know it's about T2 and not LADA, but it may correlate your theory. I do know two people who became T2 after suffering from Covid.

Did you forget the link in your excitement?

 

[Inka]

Hello and thanks for the kind words. I do now feel healthy, but obviously LADA has and does have a large ongoing impact on my life. This is not an obsession where I need to find the answer as I accept this could have been random and was always going to happen.... however the more I read the more I feel that the Covid vaccine caused cell mutation which in turn caused LADA.

None of this, nor the outcome shall affect me or the way I manage my life.... but I am a man of principle and when I feel there's a wrong to right I will go for it. I took the Covid vaccine as it was sold as a social duty, but I regret feeling compelled to do that. My last ha1bc was 40 so I have adapted well, but I still suspect I am not alone in how I feel nor in being affected by the vaccines. The only lasting impact other than LADA itself is heightened anxiety, which I feel is directly linked to having to constantly manage myself.


I too can see why that logic makes sense, but there is something niggling at me about al this. After the vaccine, 6 months down the line I used to get bouts of feeling very sick, hot clammy and almost panicked at roughly the same time most mornings. Looking back, it felt very similar to a hypo... which in my mind was my pancreas starting to die. Although covid could potentially also do this, the timings and symptoms on the run up to going into DKA just keep bringing me back to the vaccines.

I could be barking up the wrong tree but I am extremely curious if others come forward on this... but maybe they won't and this really was just pot luck.

I understand the desire to find a cause. I mulled over things for ages - was it something I’d done, something I’d not done, something I’d eaten, somewhere I’d been, why me?

Type 1/LADA tends to come on more slowly in adults. It’s not until your immune system has killed off 80% of your beta cells that diabetes become obvious as the remaining 20% of cells simply can’t control your blood sugar. Sometimes it can start a few years before diagnosis, so, just as an example, your Type 1/LADA might have begun in 2019 before Covid and the Covid vaccines. Often there’s a tipping point - something that pushes your remaining beta cells over the edge. This might be a virus, stress, pregnancy - anything that puts extra strain on them. People then mistakenly think the tipping point is the cause when actually it’s just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

All of that is a long way of saying be cautious when attributing a cause.

 

[Tdm]

I was diagnosed around covid time, but, looking back, i had symptoms on and off before then

 

[PattiEvans]

Did you forget the link in your excitement?

Ooops, apologies, I'm not over excited but I had to rush out or be late for an appointment. Here it is. I believe it's a reliable site.

 

[SB2015]

It is quite common for any diagnosis to be triggered by an additional illness or anything that requires us to produce more insulin. At that stage if the destruction of our beta cells has started a while ago, the remaining few, when asked to produce extra to cope with an infection just go on strike, leading to high BG and often ketones and then ketoacidosis. So the diagnosis is not caused by other illness or the covid jabs but prompted by the boy’s requirement for more insulin which cannot be met by the remaining beta cells.

I am like @helli and stopped worrying about what and when my T1/LADA came to happen. I now focus on management of my condition.

 

[nonethewiser]

I understand your frustration and anger, your desire to find out what caused your condition and, if it was caused by something that should have been known, you want justice.
I also encourage you not to let this take over your health - the need to manage diabetes - and not let it take over your life.

I understand the desire to find a cause. I mulled over things for ages - was it something I’d done, something I’d not done, something I’d eaten, somewhere I’d been, why me?

Type 1/LADA tends to come on more slowly in adults. It’s not until your immune system has killed off 80% of your beta cells that diabetes become obvious as the remaining 20% of cells simply can’t control your blood sugar. Sometimes it can start a few years before diagnosis, so, just as an example, your Type 1/LADA might have begun in 2019 before Covid and the Covid vaccines. Often there’s a tipping point - something that pushes your remaining beta cells over the edge. This might be a virus, stress, pregnancy - anything that puts extra strain on them. People then mistakenly think the tipping point is the cause when actually it’s just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

All of that is a long way of saying be cautious when attributing a cause.

My thoughts entirely @helli @Inka

 

[TwilightMidna]

I first found out I was “prediabetic” in 2019, had all the jabs available to me and tipped over into being diabetic (type 1/LADA) this year. So in my mind my LADA journey started pre-pandemic. Interesting to read everyone’s thoughts and experiences here!