I am 16 years old, and five months ago I was diagnosed, after much debate, with type 2 diabetes. My tests indicated high amounts of insulin and no antibodies. We were surprised with the diagnosis because of my age and the fact that I’m underweight. For over a week now, I have had severe stomach pain, which seems to trigger shortly after I eat. Today my blood sugar was 121 mg/dl [6.7 mmol/L], and I had a moderate amount of ketones (which I haven’t had before), along with stomach pain, and dizziness. At the time of my type 2 diagnosis, my doctor mentioned it could be a long onset of type 1. Could this be the case? Should I inform my doctor of my ketones and stomach pain this week?

You should most certainly go and see your doctor about the urine ketones and the abdominal pain, which may not be related to the diabetes. Certainly, the high insulin levels with the negative antibody tests, and what sounds like a rather modest degree of glucose intolerance, would fit with a diagnosis of type�2 diabetes, although the absence of obesity is rather unusual, and, these days, your age would not be a contraindication. I just wonder if, perhaps, you have another form of insulin resistance such as type A, which might be accompanied by high levels of blood triglycerides, which in turn could be causing an episode of pancreatitis [inflammation of the pancreas], and, hence, the abdominal pain. In these circumstances, a delayed onset of type�1 is most improbable.

DOB