Question from San Jose, California, USA:

My 19-year-old son was diagnosed with diabetes in August 2007 after increased thirst and weight loss. His doctor in Chicago put him on insulin and said that he was 99.9% sure he had type 1. The antibody test came back negative and, although he is not a typical type 1, his doctor said that additional tests were not necessary as his treatment would not change. My son is 6 feet, one inch tall and only 125 pounds and cannot seem to gain weight. He was down to 117 pounds when diagnosed. He is doing pretty well with an A1c of 7.

I have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, as did my mother, and her mother had rheumatoid arthritis. I also suspect that I may have celiac disease. My mother was told she had a sugar allergy because if she ate refined sugars, she became extremely sleepy almost immediately. My dad and his brother had MS and my dad’s sister, now age 90, has type 2 diabetes as does her two sons, all diagnosed later in life.

What could be my son’s problem? Should he have further tests? How can he gain an extra 10 pounds? What are the risks for my older son (24 years old)?

I have been told there is no such thing as a sugar allergy, so what was going on with my mother? Before she passed away in her 80s, she was also experiencing neuropathy in her legs.