another endocrine disease!

[Guest guest]

I sent a post a few months back about my elevated blood sugar. Turns out I

have a new disease called 1.5 diabetes, also known as LADA or late-onset

autoimmune diabetes of adults. Type 1.5 involves beta (insulin producing)

cell destruction and dependence on insulin like type 1 as well as the type 2

issue of insulin resistance, which is a problem in hyperT anyway. Graves is

a major risk factor for LADA.

This type of diabetes has a long (months to years) " prediabetes " stage which

is where I'm at with it. I'm trying to get enrolled in a clinical trial for

a drug that is supposed to arrest or reverse beta cell destruction. I am

also considering low doses of insulin so that the remaining beta cells don't

have to work as hard which is supposed to cut down on the immune system's

attack on them.

I bring all this up because I feel very lucky that I found out about this

very early in the disease process and may avoid life-long dependence on

insulin. As I mentioned, I found a high blood sugar on my partner's glucose

meter. So if you're hyperT, find someone who has a glucose meter (or you can

buy one, they're not very expensive) and check your blood sugar an hour or

so after a carbohydrate-rich meal. Apparently normal people rarely if ever

go above 120 and almost always are below 100. Alternatively, you can get a

fasting glucose test (mine is currently at the high end of normal around 100

mg/dl) or an oral glucose tolerance test at a lab (mine was 155 at 2 hours

which is in the prediabetic range). If anything seems high, get your GAD

levels (an antibody, forget what it stands for) tested as that's the

hallmark of LADA. Finding out early about LADA seems to be a very good

thing.

Ugh, just what I need, another autoimmune endocrine disease...

Nissa

[Guest guest]

Hi Nissa,

Thanks for posting that. My endo did suggest to me I would be at some

risk of getting diabetes, as some of my family have it. I will get

the GP (general doc) to do a test for my blood sugar when I see him

next week.

Kitty

> I sent a post a few months back about my elevated blood sugar.

Turns out I

> have a new disease called 1.5 diabetes, also known as LADA or late-

onset

> autoimmune diabetes of adults. Type 1.5 involves beta (insulin

producing)

> cell destruction and dependence on insulin like type 1 as well as

the type 2

> issue of insulin resistance, which is a problem in hyperT anyway.

Graves is

> a major risk factor for LADA.

>

> This type of diabetes has a long (months to years) " prediabetes "

stage which

> is where I'm at with it. I'm trying to get enrolled in a clinical

trial for

> a drug that is supposed to arrest or reverse beta cell destruction.

I am

> also considering low doses of insulin so that the remaining beta

cells don't

> have to work as hard which is supposed to cut down on the immune

system's

> attack on them.

>

> I bring all this up because I feel very lucky that I found out

about this

> very early in the disease process and may avoid life-long

dependence on

> insulin. As I mentioned, I found a high blood sugar on my partner's

glucose

> meter. So if you're hyperT, find someone who has a glucose meter

(or you can

> buy one, they're not very expensive) and check your blood sugar an

hour or

> so after a carbohydrate-rich meal. Apparently normal people rarely

if ever

> go above 120 and almost always are below 100. Alternatively, you

can get a

> fasting glucose test (mine is currently at the high end of normal

around 100

> mg/dl) or an oral glucose tolerance test at a lab (mine was 155 at

2 hours

> which is in the prediabetic range). If anything seems high, get

your GAD

> levels (an antibody, forget what it stands for) tested as that's the

> hallmark of LADA. Finding out early about LADA seems to be a very

good

> thing.

>

> Ugh, just what I need, another autoimmune endocrine disease...

>

> Nissa