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Info about LADA

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Lainey66

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1.5 LADA
Hello, I've recently been diagnosed with LADA after 6 months of thinking I had T2. That was a shock in itself as I'm not over weight, eat ok etc. Spent 6 months obsessing about what I ate, that didn't help, just caused my anxiety levels to get to the point where, well, I was off work for 4 weeks with depression and anxiety.
Anyhow... I've been told I have LADA and that makes more sense as I initially went to the doctor as I was having episodes of uncontrollable shaking, sweating, blurred vision, which went away after I ate something.
|I'm quite confused about few things. I have to do the finger prick thingy before every meal and it's always in the 9's (T2). SO should I still be looking to my diet to bring that down? (Not that that helped before!)
I am so very exhausted all the time, and itchy all over my skin, especially at night. I also have problems sleeping. No matter how tired I am, I never get to sleep until about 3am. I work full time, 4 hours sleep is not ideal for me!
I've been put on Metformin - will that help with the tiredness and itchy skin?
I'm going to read some of the threads about diet, I feel I need to up my game a lot with what I eat. It's just that I hate pulses and cabbage.. I'm scared to eat in case it's bad for me.
Lainey
 
Good morning @Lainey66 from another late starter with LADA, which is effectively a slower onset T1 and eventually treated in exactly the same way.

I am glad that you finally have a correct diagnosis. Can you tell us how this came about. Did they do a GAD antibody test, or a c peptide test?

Without insulin it will become increasingly difficult for you to achieve glucose levels in range before meals as LADA/T1 is the destruction of the Beta cells that you have, which are responsible for making your insulin. Are you in the care of your Practice or the specialist team at your local hospital?

The tiredness and itchy skin will be due to the high glucose levels. These also lead to blurred vision. I am not sure why they are continuing the Metformin, as with your diagnosis you would usually be out straight in insulin. I know that as soon as I went on insulin I felt so much better as I was able to bring my levels down, and also choose what I wanted to eat as they taught me how to match my insulin dose to match. I am now able to eat what I want when I want with this system.

Once you are in insulin the team will then work with you to bring your levels down and help you to learn to make adjustments. I would ask for an urgent referral to a specialist team if that has not already happened.

Let us know how you get on.
 
|I'm quite confused about few things. I have to do the finger prick thingy before every meal and it's always in the 9's (T2). SO should I still be looking to my diet to bring that down? (Not that that helped before!)

Hi @Lainey66 Was your “T2” in brackets a typo? As a person with LADA (slow-onset Type 1) you need insulin. Early introduction of insulin can help preserve your remaining beta cells for longer. Have you been referred to a consultant? The care people with LADA get often seems delayed or muddled to me. Don’t be afraid to push for what you need.

Insulin will bring your levels down and make you feel an awful lot better.
 
SB2015 said:
Good morning @Lainey66 from another late starter with LADA, which is effectively a slower onset T1 and eventually treated in exactly the same way.

I am glad that you finally have a correct diagnosis. Can you tell us how this came about. Did they do a GAD antibody test, or a c peptide test?

Without insulin it will become increasingly difficult for you to achieve glucose levels in range before meals as LADA/T1 is the destruction of the Beta cells that you have, which are responsible for making your insulin. Are you in the care of your Practice or the specialist team at your local hospital?

The tiredness and itchy skin will be due to the high glucose levels. These also lead to blurred vision. I am not sure why they are continuing the Metformin, as with your diagnosis you would usually be out straight in insulin. I know that as soon as I went on insulin I felt so much better as I was able to bring my levels down, and also choose what I wanted to eat as they taught me how to match my insulin dose to match. I am now able to eat what I want when I want with this system.

Once you are in insulin the team will then work with you to bring your levels down and help you to learn to make adjustments. I would ask for an urgent referral to a specialist team if that has not already happened.

Let us know how you get on.
Click to expand...
@SB2015 & @Inka Many thanks for getting back to me. It's all so new to me and my understanding of all the different terminology is small so bear with me!
I first went to my doc's as I was having episodes as mentioned in my initial post. I was sent to the hospital to see the consultant. She said my high blood sugars would indicate T2(Type 2) however the shaking, sweating etc and feeling better after having something to eat would point to T1 (Type 1) Lots of tests were done, Heart monitor, hba1c. 24 hours urine tests and other I can't remember. All those words and letters... when I went last week to the hospital the doctor said that my GAD antibody test had come back showing I did have the antibodies present. I asked if that meant I was T1 and the doc said as my fasting blood sugars, finger prick test, were consistently in the 9's that would point to T2. So I had both and she said I had LADA.
I was told it would initially be treated with Metformin but I would probably need to go onto insulin. She wants to use the metformin as long as possible.
I'm really confused about the whole T1 & T2 and what effects they have on insulin production. From what the dos says, LADA straddles both but what does that mean?
Am I correct in thinking my finger prick tests are high because I don't have enough insulin to allow the glucose into my bloodstream? Does Metformin help my body produce insulin? I have been put on 2000mg/day.
Will changing what I eat help?
Sorry for all the questions and
 
It’s no surprise you’re confused @Lainey66 I find that the label LADA seems to be used in slightly different ways by some people. From what you’ve described above, it sounds like your doctor thinks you’re Type 1.5 (bits of T1 and T2). Some people use T1.5 and LADA interchangeably.

I don’t understand what your consultant told you at all. Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand in all the stress (easily done)? Both Type 1 and Type 2 can cause high sugars. Mine was almost 30 when diagnosed and I’m Type 1. The sweaty, shaky, feeling better after eating sounds more like a rebound low sugar after being high, and I would say that’s not a Type 1 thing so I don’t know why that was said.

Type 1 is an auto-immune condition where the body mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. You can develop it at any age, but it often comes on more slowly in adults. LADA is a form of Type 1 and stands for Latent Auto-immune Diabetes in Adults. It’s Type 1 that comes on slowly, sometimes over a number of years. Far too many people with LADA are misdiagnosed or left to struggle on without insulin for too long.

Type 2 is often associated with insulin resistance. Many Type 2s make plenty of insulin - they just can’t use it properly as their cells are resistant to it.

Your fasting blood sugar of 9 - again, I’m not sure why the doc took that as a Type 2 sign. My blood sugar came down to 10 in hospital without insulin but I’m still Type 1. Insulin production doesn’t just stop suddenly. The damaged pancreas produces insulin erratically for some time.

Are you testing your blood sugar regularly? What kind of results are you getting through the day?
 
Welcome to the forum @Lainey66

There’s a write-up about LADA here

Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA)

Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults is called LADA for short. It's a different form of diabetes. What is LADA? It's a type of diabetes which seems to straddle type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Bits of it are more like type 1, and other bits are more like type 2. That's why some people call it type...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

Though you’ll note it seems to be a subject of some uncertainty and confusion!

For the most part, my understanding is that LADA is seen as a subset of T1, though slowly developing, and is characterised by rising BG levels as a result of loss of beta cell mass due to autoimmune attack.

Most members on the forum who get a diagnosis with LADA (some healthcare professionals don’t like the term and won’t use it) seem to move onto insulin straight away, and get treated as T1, but can use quite low doses to start with - because they still may have some residual insulin production.

As @Inka suggests, there is a school of thought that a more rapid move to insulin may even help support your remaining beta cells, rather than pushing them to meet all of your insulin needs.

It seems like different Drs have a different view, and the ‘best practice’ approach is still emerging?

Metformin doesn‘t affect insulin production - but it can reduce any insulin resistance (which you may or may not have) and helps to reduce the amount of glucose released from the liver in the background.
 
Thanks for all the info. I'm testing BS before every meal and 2 hours after. Slowly getting to know what takes it to the 20s and above. Trembling seems to start when I'm in the 7's and lower. My question for today is... I'd like an app on my phone to record BS and food. what would you recommend? xx
 
Lainey66 said:
Thanks for all the info. I'm testing BS before every meal and 2 hours after. Slowly getting to know what takes it to the 20s and above. Trembling seems to start when I'm in the 7's and lower. My question for today is... I'd like an app on my phone to record BS and food. what would you recommend? xx
Click to expand...
mySugr app. I found it excellent and the more detail I put in the more it informed me about past trends.
 
Lainey66 said:
Thanks for all the info. I'm testing BS before every meal and 2 hours after. Slowly getting to know what takes it to the 20s and above. Trembling seems to start when I'm in the 7's and lower. My question for today is... I'd like an app on my phone to record BS and food. what would you recommend? xx
Click to expand...
I will start with the caveat that I am not a doctor.
But, if you have LADA, I think it would make better sense to take insulin to avoid reaching blood sugar levels in the 20s rather than restricting your diet.
As @Inka said there is a train of thought which suggests taking insulin sooner rather than later will maintain your insulin producing cells for longer and, with LADA, you will need to take insulin.
 
Lainey66 said:
Thanks for all the info. I'm testing BS before every meal and 2 hours after. Slowly getting to know what takes it to the 20s and above. Trembling seems to start when I'm in the 7's and lower. My question for today is... I'd like an app on my phone to record BS and food. what would you recommend? xx
Click to expand...

As @helli suggests, the 20s are very high. If you’re testing in the 20s two hours after meals, then you might be better off on insulin quite apart from any benefit to your beta cells.
 
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