April 16, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Sarasota, Florida, USA:
I am a 40 year old female diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about five years ago. I took oral agents until about four months ago when my hemoglobin A1c was 12.0%, and since I have lost 20 pounds over the past 6 months, I asked to go on Insulin, and my A1c as of last week was 8.0%. Since I was 35 years and thin at the time of diagnosis, I never fit any of the usual categories for people with type 2 diabetes. My endocrinologist finally did a C-peptide which shows I am making little to none of my own insulin. So I guess I now have type 1 diabetes. All other tests are normal.
Answer:
It sounds like you fell between the cracks, in terms of the characterization of the type of diabetes you have. That is not uncommon. The low C-peptide in response to an elevated sugar is evidence for type 1 diabetes. Individuals who have Late-onset Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood (LADA) may start out looking like type 2 diabetes and then experience an accelerated loss of beta cell function. That may have been what happened to you.
JTL
