March 5, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Conroe, Texas, USA:
I am a 27 year old Caucasian male (5 feet 9 inches tall, 160 pounds) who was diagnosed with diabetes about a year ago and is currently treated with diet, exercise, and Glucovance, but my blood glucose is poor, I’m losing weight, and I’m feeling crappy. My doctor’s response to this is, “So what, that’s diabetes”. I would like to be tested for LADA, but my doctor hasn’t heard of it, does not do the test and after 20 phone calls, it seems nobody locally does. Everyone basically says, “I don’t care what the Internet says, there are only two types of diabetes”. Can ya’ll recommend someone? Is there a test I should ask for specifically?
Answer:
Testing for Late-onset Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood (LADA) requires measuring C-peptide levels and an anti-GAD antibody level. I would suggest you speak with an endocrinologist. If you are losing weight, and you are on the maximal dose of Glucovance, you need to have something else done. This would include being treated with insulin.
JTL
