November 5, 1999
Daily Care
Question from Rhode Island, USA:
I am 16 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about six weeks ago. After two weeks my blood sugars were consistently between 75 and 100, but then they slowly started going up. Increasing insulin doesn’t seem to work and I am already on a low carbohydrate diet, which I haven’t changed. A few doctors have suggested that I get an antibody test to see if it is a problem with the pituitary gland, but I am wondering how likely this is. Are they telling me that I am not really diabetic?
When I was hospitalized, my blood sugar was 650. But I had been experiencing mild symptoms for over a year and yet ketones were negative and I did not lose any weight.
Answer:
Assuming that you are not very overweight, then I think the likelihood of you having a condition other than Type 1 is quite low. However, you are clearly diabetic and there are a few other conditions that your doctor will want to check for e.g., Cushing’s syndrome [a disorder that might be caused by a pituitary or adrenal gland malfunction]. This test isn’t an antibody test but another type of simple blood test. Your doctor will give you details.
KJR
