Supporting my Husband with LADA

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Becky123

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Hi everyone,
Hope you are all well..
My Husband L was diagnosed 5 years ago; his story is much the same as others on here. However 5 years on he’s still really struggling with his levels despite being amazing at restricting and counting carbs and trying to living a healthy lifestyle. I’m worried he’s nearing burnout. He has a continued glucose monitor (Freestyle Libre 2) which is great, but nighttime is really hard at the moment as his alarm goes off 2/3 times a night and we have an 18 month old so we are both knackered.
I don’t have much faith in our local hospital Diabetes team if I’m honest. Despite never finding antibodies when testing his blood each year at his annual review they never run any further tests to see what’s going on in any depth. They just see his HBA1C levels aren’t too bad and tell him to keep doing what he’s doing. Despite us telling them his levels are never predictable or make much sense and are a nightmare to manage. He was on Metformin up until about 8 weeks ago and his blood sugar has been so much worse since he’s come off that (it was playing havoc on his tummy so they just stopped it). I just wondered if anyone knew of any specialists we could talk to to try and get some clarity over his diagnose and how we can move forward with our lives as everything’s stalled a bit lately. When I asked my husband when he last felt happy he said about 5 years ago- we’ve got married and had two children in that time; so Diabetes really has robbed him of being able to enjoy his life which makes me incredibly sad…
Sorry for the long post! Any advice would be very gratefully received.
Thank you
 
Oh goodness that is a sad indictment of his situation!

Hello and welcome by the way.

A few questions if you don't mind....

Has he been officially diagnosed with LADA?
Can you tell us a bit about how his diagnosis happened? Ie was he symptomatic.... sudden onset or identified through a routine blood test.
Is he on any other medication for his diabetes.... ie insulin and if so which ones and how long has he been using them?
If he is on insulin, has he been offered an education course like DAFNE or whatever your local equivalent is? There is an online course called BERTIE which is similar although the value of spending time with other diabetics in person and sharing experiences is not to be undervalued so I would urge trying to get on such a course even if he does BERTIE online
Are you self funding the Libre and is he checking the results with a finger prick when he gets high and low readings? Are the alarms through the night genuine (does he finger prick to check when it goes off) or are they possibly compression lows caused by lying on the sensor arm?
What sort of HbA1c results is he getting?

Hopefully with more information we will be in a better position to comment and hopefully help you both.
 
Oh @Becky123 that’s so sad! :( Has he ever seen a consultant? If not, I’d be pushing for a referral. LADA is a form of Type 1, just a slower onset. Early introduction of insulin an preserve the remaining beta cells. He shouldn’t have to restrict his diet and insulin would allow him to eat normally.

Can you tell us a little more about his diagnosis?
 
Hi there. You sound like a lovely caring wife who appreciates the difficulties your husband is facing. Diagnosis of diabetes has an overwhelming effect on day to day life. I can speak from experience when I say that having uncertainty about the diagnosis itself only adds to this. If your hospital are running yearly tests for antibodies then that probably is about the best you can hope for as these tests are not done routinely and usually have to be pushed for. My antibody test were inconclusive and I was told to expect another in around 2-3 years. My endo scheduled me for a 3 month review in January which hasn’t happened and apart from 2 calls from a dietitian I haven’t had a face to face since jan nor hba1c even though I’m newly diagnosed (1 year) I pay private for the a1c Unfortunately this is now common. I look forward to hearing a little more about your husband’s situation. I’m sure there will be plenty of support on here for you both xx
 
A slim friend was diagnosed Type II because of his age by his GP a decade ago. He was quite poorly with poor control on Metformin and switched to insulin. Subsequently he saw a consultant after testing was found to be Type1.5, I.e. LADA. Push to see a consultant and preserve his health and wellbeing.
 
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