Type 1 or Type 2?

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pawprint91

pawprint91

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Hello! I'm sure most of you on here have seen that I was newly diagnosed last week with (suspected) Type 1. I am currently waiting on a further blood test to confirm it is Type 1 - all medical professionals I have spoken to seem to think it is, just waiting to have a secondary test. However, I'm still holding onro my doubts that it could be Type 2. I know none of us are medical professionals, but you all have a lot more experience than me, so I thought I'd give you some information and see if it points to one or the other from the experiences others have had.

My symptoms (lots of weight loss, thirst, peeing, episodes of blurred vision, extreme hunger) came on pretty quickly (bizarrely after I had covid?) over the course of about 8 weeks, with partiicularly bad episodes after I had eaten very carb heavy meals, that I obviously didn't realise at the time. My hba1c level from my initial blood test that led to my diagnosis was 158, and my bg pre-insulin was coming out in the 20s and 30s. When I was tested at the hospital, my ketones were 1.4. Now on basal insulin only am and pm, and my fasting readings before meals are now mostly single figures, with it being slightlu higher before bed, as expected. Symptoms have disappeared, I'm now only struggling alot with my eye sight, vision is incredibly blurred at the moment. I'm 30 years old and fairly active, at my heaviest weight before I lost it all as a symptom I was probably around 9st. However, I don't always feel as though I've had the healthiest of diets (not just chocolate and cake, but the diet was pretty carb heavy looking back and knowing what I know now) - it wasn't a dreadful diet, but I liked my weekend treats and have done for the past 10 years at least! I can see why everyone is thinking maybe type 1 but is there anything I've said above that would convince people either way? I really need that blood test so I know for sure :rofl:
 
pawprint91 said:
I can see why everyone is thinking maybe type 1 but is there anything I've said above that would convince people either way?
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Not really. Without covid the symptoms suggest Type 1 to me (most likely, anyway). Covid may make a difference; I just don't know.
 
Have to agree with Bruce, I'm not sure why you say bizarrely though as it's well known that viruses can trigger Type 1 diabetes and surprised this wasn't mentioned
 
Something in this link about new onset Type 1 following covid.
Also some other interesting topics, criticism of the Eat Well Plate particularly.
diabetestimes.co.uk

New-onset type 1 diabetes triggered by COVID-19 infection, study reports - The Diabetes Times

Latest research shows that individuals who have contracted COVID-19 are at risk of developing new-onset type 1 diabetes, which can result in life-threatening DKA and hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state. Academics from the Primary Care Diabetes Society (PCDS) have found that new-onset type 1...
diabetestimes.co.uk diabetestimes.co.uk
 
The weight loss is the big red flag for Type 1. With Type 2 at diagnosis, you would likely be producing extra insulin due to insulin resistance and gaining weight, whereas with Type 1 the body is not producing enough insulin and starts to burn fat and the weight just drops off.
As mentioned by @Kaylz it is likely that the Covid virus triggered your immune system to target your beta cells, so my money would be very firmly on Type 1, even if the blood tests aren't conclusive or come back negative....Unfortunately they aren't always reliable or straightforward to interpret, so not always as clear cut as you might hope. Fingers crossed yours is clear and you get some peace of mind. I still look back and find it hard to accept that my diet pre diagnosis didn't contribute to my diabetes in some way, but your diet doesn't sound bad at all.
 
pawprint91 said:
Hello! I'm sure most of you on here have seen that I was newly diagnosed last week with (suspected) Type 1. I am currently waiting on a further blood test to confirm it is Type 1 - all medical professionals I have spoken to seem to think it is, just waiting to have a secondary test. However, I'm still holding onro my doubts that it could be Type 2. I know none of us are medical professionals, but you all have a lot more experience than me, so I thought I'd give you some information and see if it points to one or the other from the experiences others have had.

My symptoms (lots of weight loss, thirst, peeing, episodes of blurred vision, extreme hunger) came on pretty quickly (bizarrely after I had covid?) over the course of about 8 weeks, with partiicularly bad episodes after I had eaten very carb heavy meals, that I obviously didn't realise at the time. My hba1c level from my initial blood test that led to my diagnosis was 158, and my bg pre-insulin was coming out in the 20s and 30s. When I was tested at the hospital, my ketones were 1.4. Now on basal insulin only am and pm, and my fasting readings before meals are now mostly single figures, with it being slightlu higher before bed, as expected. Symptoms have disappeared, I'm now only struggling alot with my eye sight, vision is incredibly blurred at the moment. I'm 30 years old and fairly active, at my heaviest weight before I lost it all as a symptom I was probably around 9st. However, I don't always feel as though I've had the healthiest of diets (not just chocolate and cake, but the diet was pretty carb heavy looking back and knowing what I know now) - it wasn't a dreadful diet, but I liked my weekend treats and have done for the past 10 years at least! I can see why everyone is thinking maybe type 1 but is there anything I've said above that would convince people either way? I really need that blood test so I know for sure :rofl:
Click to expand...
From what you just said, this would be the type 1 symptoms:

I'm 30 years old.
Fairly active, heaviest weight around 9st.

Symptoms came on quickly over 8 weeks.
Lots of weight loss, thirst, peeing.

Bg pre-insulin was in the 20s and 30s.
Hospital ketones were 1.4

My hba1c level from diagnosis was 158
 
My bet is type1 as well
 
“Deleted member" said:
I posted my post-Covid experience here. My eyesight is almost back to normal now but had some wild fluctuations. I usually wear +1 glasses for driving but when I was in DKA, I didn't need them. Then after starting insulin it swung the other way & I needed +2!

I'm still awaiting blood test confirmation as the first lot taken in hospital were lost. I repeated those yesterday & have seen that the lab apparently rejected them due to insufficient labelling. So it looks like a third attempt is on the cards. Given that this is apparently a known trigger for T1 it's a shame we weren't made aware. :(
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Hang on - over-reaction to virus has ALWAYS been a cause of T1, at the very least for the last 50 years, since they knew it when I was diagnosed in 1972 - I had gastric 'flu' in the Jan/Feb and started getting The Thirsts etc in April/May ish and they thought that might have been the thing - but nobody actually knows that it was. But of course, if you and I didn't have the genes we have, we wouldn't have become T1 even with a virus.

Nobody gets their genes tested under normal circumstances. Most people wouldn't know the symptoms of most medical conditions. Nobody on earth knew anything about Covid to begin with, so who and how could 'they' be expected to tell the population of the world that exposure to it might but not necessarily would, cause T1 ?
 
Nobody is trying to point score, TW is just pointing out that for years it's been known that viruses can trigger Type 1, even the common cold but you don't see that splashed about media and to be honest I'm not sure what difference it would make to be aware as it isn't going to change the outcome and there is no definitive proof that that's what caused it, typically you would have more than fatigue symptoms, the increased thirst, urinating for whichever nation you are in so I'm not sure why fatigue should come with a possible DKA/Type 1 suggestion
 
Thanks Kaylz. No way was I trying to be anything other than informative. Is it worth even mentioning that there are any number of other auto immune conditions that can manifest in people with the 'wrong' genes - I mean I knew early on that Hypothyroidism was one of them - but didn't realise at all for another 30-ish years that Rheumatoid arthritis (as opposed to 'ordinary' arthritis caused by wear and tear on those joints over time, or started off by having eg a knee injury) was another one.
 
Yes, it was "ordinary" flu that triggered mine 27 years ago. As my brother had already been T1 for 10 years I presume there was also a genetic predisposition, though we've never found any others in the ancestry.

To answer the OP, your experience sounds like a carbon copy of mine so my money would be firmly on Type 1.
 
I sometimes find it a shame there is so much emphasis on waiting for test results before confirming Type 1 or 2.
Nearly 20 years ago, when I was diagnosed (in my 30s), there was no mention of GAD or c-peptide. It was a simple case of "you look too slim to be type 2" (yes, I now know slim people can get type 2) so let's start you on insulin. From then on, the focus was treating it rather than giving it the right name.
 
helli said:
I sometimes find it a shame there is so much emphasis on waiting for test results before confirming Type 1 or 2.
Nearly 20 years ago, when I was diagnosed (in my 30s), there was no mention of GAD or c-peptide. It was a simple case of "you look too slim to be type 2" (yes, I now know slim people can get type 2) so let's start you on insulin. From then on, the focus was treating it rather than giving it the right name.
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I remember much the same. At some point there was a desire to concentrate on the outcomes (which is always managing BG) and the ways to do that strongly overlapped so there wasn't so much point worrying what type someone was. Maybe part of it was because testing for type was less available? Maybe also there are more medications for Type 2 now that just won't work for someone that's Type 1 (or shouldn't be used for safety reasons)?
 
When my daughter did her elective in Northern India up in the Himalayas there was no tests, scans etc and most of the diagnosis was on patient history and observation and listening to the symptoms. The American team she was with really struggled as there the first thing was ordering a whole raft of tests.
She learnt a lot from that experience.
 
I'm a 4th generation type 1 and also another one who developed type 1 after having the flu, mind you I have lost count of the other autoimmune conditions I have collected over the years.
 
Sounds like Type 1 to me - weight loss, ketones, high blood sugar. I’m not sure why you think it’s Type 2. Type 1 can develop at any age and is more commonly diagnosed in adults than children. I think there’s a peak around your age, if I remember correctly. It sounds a bit like you’re blaming yourself or looking for a cause that you can process eg you ate cake, chips and then got Type 2. Like you want logic.

My Type 1 had no logic. I had no close family members with it. It’s just bad luck. When I was first diagnosed, I kept thinking that perhaps they’d made a mistake. I thought that a lot. Perhaps it would go away. Perhaps… My blood sugar went down quickly too after I was put on insulin. Early on I could even get normal results without insulin (after an initial spike). But - I still had Type 1. I didn’t have the GAD and C Peptide tests until many years after diagnosis, but they confirmed my diagnosis was correct. I’m Type 1. Acceptance is key as I no longer waste energy thinking of all the perhaps’s and maybes.
 
Inka said:
I think there’s a peak around your age, if I remember correctly.
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I don't remember there being a peak (though that may well be true for all I know) but I think 30 is about the median age of diagnosis, isn't it? (Though I've also seen people say the median is 18, so maybe I'm misremembering.)
 
Bruce Stephens said:
I don't remember there being a peak (though that may well be true for all I know) but I think 30 is about the median age of diagnosis, isn't it? (Though I've also seen people say the median is 18, so maybe I'm misremembering.)
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Maybe peak is the wrong word? I thought it was Mike who mentioned something along those lines but I could be misremembering. It would help if I could remember exactly what he said but I thought 30/30s came into it somewhere.
 
Inka said:
Maybe peak is the wrong word?
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The one I read (recently) is that 30 is the median age of diagnosis (that about half of people are diagnosed after as before 30), but I'm not all that sure that that's true either. It sounds believable. (I'm sure there was a table doing the rounds a year or two ago showing ages of diagnosis from NHS records, but I couldn't find it.)
 
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