Diabetes: we know all about it. Kids get “type 1,” and older adults get “type 2.” [1] Except that I got type 1 at the age of 24, and because of the general state of health in the US, elementary school kids are getting type 2.
But wait, do I have type 1?
Several years after I was diagnosed in the hospital with “type 1 diabetes mellitus,” I learned about “latent autoimmune diabetes in adults,” a.k.a, LADA or “type 1.5.” It’s possible that the diabetes I got as an adult and the kind that the kiddos get are different beasts (i.e., have different etiology, as the pathology med school kids might say). This supposition hasn’t impacted my life in any significant way; in fact it almost feels like trivia. Sure, from time to time I introduce myself as having T1.5 diabetes when I’m around other people with diabetes, but it tends to confuse most people without this little disease.
To be honest, I don’t really know that much about LADA. Does it imply a different treatment strategy? Not so far as I know. How do you distinguish between T1 and T1.5? Don’t know. Does it even matter after all these years? I’m shrugging.
It’s not like me to be less than curious about something, but I’ve been trying to be more selective in how deep I get into topics these days; life is choices, and all that. This week, though, is the first ever LADA Awareness Week, so maybe it’s time for me to become more aware about LADA. I’m going to do my best to learn something LADA-related each day this week and share it with you.
Stay tuned.
1 — In case you don’t remember, type 1 is where the body’s own antibodies destroy the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, while in type 2 the body still produces insulin but becomes increasingly resistant to its awesomeness. There’s more to each condition, of course, but in either case blood sugar goes up if it remains untreated. [Back . . .]
I have all the same questions. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 29 and have since learned about LADA. But what is LADA? Do I have LADA? Would it make a difference in my treatment if I did? I’m looking forward to learning more about LADA this week!
Ditto here too. Diagnosed at 22 but never considered myself LADA. Treatments seem to be exactly the same. Need insulin to survive. ’nuff said right?
Most LADA patients have symptoms for a super long time, as if the pancreas very slowly shuts down. For me, I got diabetes “over night”. Lada seems to be Type 1 at an older age.