Adults Can Get Type 1 Diabetes, Too
David Lazarus had just moved to Los Angeles to start a new job as a business and consumer columnist for the Los Angeles Times when he suddenly developed some of the classic signs of diabetes: extreme thirst, fatigue and weight loss. He dropped close to 15 pounds in two weeks. Lazarus was in his early 40s. "The weight loss was the first big red flag. It happened really fast," he says. He consulted a physician, who diagnosed him with Type 2 diabetes and recommended a "monastic" low-carb, macrobiotic diet. When he continued to feel lousy a few days later, Lazarus spoke with another physician. That doctor suggested that Lazarus might have Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition in which the insulin-making cells in the pancreas are attacked and destroyed. But that physician didn't take insurance. Finally Lazarus made his way to the diabetes center at the University of California, Los Angeles. There, an endocrinologist diagnosed him with Type 1 diabetes and immediately put him on the correct treatment, insulin. Without insulin injections or infusion via a pump, people with Type 1 diabetes typically fall into a coma and die within days to weeks, although sometimes adults may have a small amount of reserve insulin that keeps them going longer. Still, eventually all people with Type 1 diabetes must receive insulin. Lazarus' story is not uncommon. It has long been thought that Type 1 diabetes arises primarily in childhood or adolescence and only rarely in adulthood. In fact, Type 1 diabetes was formerly called "juvenile" diabetes, and that term is still widely used, even though the terminology was officially changed in 1997. Across the ages Now, it looks as if not only can Type 1 diabetes occur in adults, it's just as likely to appear in adulthood as in childhood or adolescence. Continue reading >>
Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes As An Adult? You Are Not Alone
What happens when you're diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as an adult? LADA - latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, also sometimes called diabetes 1.5, can strike later in life than typical type 1 diabetes. Imagine that you are in your twenties, thirties, or even your forties or fifties. You are progressing down your chosen path in life, whether it's an established career, a relationship, marriage, children or all of the above. All of a sudden, you're losing weight, thirsty and in the bathroom all the time, and you feel like you have no energy. You just plain don't feel good. You find out that you have type 1 diabetes, and your world is turned upside down, at least until you get the hang of managing diabetes in the middle of everything else you have to do in life. There aren't many resources for adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Most of the literature and support is geared toward kids because typically type 1 strikes children and teens. Not so long ago, type 1 diabetes was known as "juvenile diabetes." How does it feel to be hit with a disease that is usually diagnosed in children? E-mails and comments from readers talk about some of the issues of dealing with a new diagnosis of type 1 as an adult. Mary, on feelings of isolation with adult onset type 1 diabetes I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 42. My doctor had never met a type 1 adult before and absolutely freaked. She rang the specialist and talked to him in front of me before even telling me of her diagnosis. Since then I have self-managed my diabetes control and go through periods of frustration and guilt when I get it wrong. I live in a small settlement north of Wellington in New Zealand, where there are no local diabetes nurses. Being a full-time worker I find it very difficult to connect with Continue reading >>
True Story: I Have Type 1 Diabetes
This is one of many True Story interviews in which we talk to people who have experienced interesting/challenging/amazing things. This is the story of Allison and her diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes. My name is Allison, Im 28 and I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 8 years old. I live just outside NYC with my husband and I currently go to school full-time. Im pursuing my Masters degree in Nutrition and plan to become a Certified Diabetes Educator. For those of us who dont know, what is type 1 diabetes? And how is it different from type 2? Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the beta cells in the pancreas rendering it unable to produce insulin, which allows your cells to use glucose as energy. You cannot survive without insulin, so you take it either through injections or with an insulin pump. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disease where the body either doesnt make enough insulin or doesnt use it very well. Type 1 diabetes can also happen at any age even in adults! A common misconception about type 2 diabetes is that its caused by obesity. Type 2 diabetes is heavily influenced by genetics. You could think of obesity as the trigger. Type 2 diabetes cant be cured either. You can usually prevent type 2 diabetes, but if you have it, youll always have it even if you lose weight. Thats because if you gain the weight back, the diabetes comes right back! How old were you when you were diagnosed? I was 8 years old. I had the classic symptoms like frequent thirst, frequent urination and losing weight. I woke up roughly 4 times every night to pee! My mom spoke to the doctor and I was tested for diabetes. I wear an insulin pump. Insulin pumps are great because you dont have to take shots, and there is more flexibility in the amount of Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes: Not Just For Kids
My insurance company called me about a program they have for people with diseases. The conversation went something like this: Ins. lady:Ms. Kerstetter, if your daughter were enrolled in this program you would automatically get your supplies from Me:It wouldnt be my daughter, it would be me. I dont have a daughter. I donthave any children. Im the one with type 1 diabetes. I know that when the general public sees the words type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes (as Im reasonably certain my insurance formshadto say) they think of children, probablyeven this photo: Heres where I got it, but Ive seen it all over the internet The unfortunate fact is that sweet, innocent faces raise more money for research. Im reasonably fond of my face, but its not going on a web banner ad to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes anytime soon. The thing is, that kids with type 1 grow up to be adults with type 1. And there are kids who dont have type 1who grow up to become adults with type 1. I should know Im one of them. Sure adults arent as cute as showing little faces in anguish at getting an insulin injection. Yes, children provide better fundraising fodder. Yes, saying diagnosed at just 18 months or any infant/toddler age makes people go, awww. Its way more common than people think for adults to be diagnosed with type 1 or LADA diabetes. The reason people dont think its common is because the stories of type 1 being diagnosed in adults are rarely told and rarely shared. I tell it so much that people might feel that I cram it down their throats. No one else seems to want to tell our stories. People diagnosed as adults are often under represented (or not at all) in news articles and on diabetes-supplier sites/blogs/newsletter/etc. I believe that our stories need to be told. Type 1 diabetes cann Continue reading >>
My Diagnosis Story Campaign | Diabetic Connect
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in July 2010 at 21 years old, so I've had it for almost a year & a half. I was living without knowing I had it for about 4 months. I remember it was my 2nd semester as a junior in college and I was extremely stressed with finals and other problems. I wound up loosing 20 pounds. Everyone would ask how I lost so much weight & I would say I have no idea but I'm eating just as much as I normally do! I had a terrible diet, I hated vegetables and would constantly eat candy, cake and bread. Besides loosing all that weight, I was always thirsty (thankfully I would drink diet drinks or water for the most part) I was barely sleeping because I would be up all night using the bathroom and I was ALWAYS tired. I specifically remember walking to my job (about 10 blocks in NYC) and I did this all the time but I began getting tired half way and having to take a break or I would wind up taking the train. I knew something was wrong, but had absolutely no idea that it was diabetes. I wound up getting blood work done & having to go straight to the hospital until my sugars were controlled. This was a very emotional time in my life, I didn't know how I would cope and it has taken a lot, but I have adjusted a lot and changed all of my eating habits. I go to The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University and they have been so wonderful and helpful. They offer various classes here and also give you a diabetes educator/nutritionist, which is so helpful. I really love it there! Although I have my days were Im aggravated with having to live this lifestyle of worrying & needles & diets, I know things could be much worse and am focusing on keeping myself healthy. My Doctor diagnose my type 2 Diabetes at age 52 with no family record of diabetes, I was stu Continue reading >>
My Way-too-sweet Sixteen: A Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis Story
My Way-Too-Sweet Sixteen: A Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis Story My Way-Too-Sweet Sixteen: A Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis Story The theory in my family is that my pancreas had been dying a slow death for fifteen years. A cows milk-related allergy (so the family lore unfurled) had spelled doom for this most delicate of organs before I could even walk. But lets give credit where credits due: my pancreas took its time destroying itself, waiting until my sixteenth birthday before giving up the ghost. While the research is far from conclusive, some past studies havesuggested that beta-lactoglobulin, a protein found in cows milk, may contribute to later development of Type 1 diabetes. As a baby, I broke out in severe red rashes when given cows milk. Concerned, my rural-Wisconsin-dwelling parents bought goats named Friday and Crusoe and fed me their milk instead. This might have helped, who knowsmaybe the damage was already done. Or perhaps this family legend has nothing to do with my disease. The reality is that tracing the factors behind ones development of Type 1 diabetes remains elusive, and may be linked to a number of factors, whether environmental, genetic, or virus-related. Whatever the explanation for my development of Type 1 at the age of sixteen might be, the stark truth is that the months leading up to my diagnosis were near impossible. Not that I noticed. Developing Type 1 is a funny thingits encroachment is so subtle, so nefarious, that you barely recognize that anything has changed. I likely went undiagnosed for months, and my symptoms were simply absorbed into a new reality, even if it didnt make sense. That can of Coke I was dying for by the end of the day? Standard fare for all teenagers. My need to stop halfway up the flight of stairs to catch my breath on the way Continue reading >>
Zoe’s Story: A Type 2 Misdiagnosis, Coming To Terms With Lada, And Launching The Type 1 Women’s Group
It was July 2007; I was 58 and finalizing the complex arrangements for my upcoming retirement and move to Guatemala. Developing a life altering chronic illness was the last thing on my mind. I’d been feeling exhausted for a few months but just wrote that off to working a full-time job and teaching at night But when I came up for air for I also noticed that I was peeing a lot and constantly thirsty. I knew those were symptoms of diabetes. I also had been losing weight without even trying, which was something that was unheard of for me, especially at this stage of my life! I didn’t know whether weight loss could also be a symptom of diabetes so I Googled it and when I found out it could I asked my PCP to do a blood test. When the nurse called and told me my fasting blood sugar was 325 I had no idea what the number meant so just said, “So that means I have diabetes?” I had been pretty sure what the results of that test would be and I wasn’t particularly concerned about it. I’d heard that people could go decades with diabetes before needing to go on insulin so I figured,” no big deal, I’ll just take a pill and be fine.” At the time of my first doctor’s appointment I was a little over two months from my departure date, and to be honest, I had other things on my mind. So my memory of that visit is a bit hazy. I don’t recall if the doctor actually said “type 2 diabetes.” I think at the time my sum total of knowledge on the types were “the juvenile kind and the one you get when you are middle age and/or overweight.” I had, over the years, put on 40 pounds of excess weight. At that point I’d lost about 20 so I was still somewhat overweight, plus I was 58. So obviously I had type 2. My doctor, no doubt, made the same assumption. During that visit I Continue reading >>
Diagnosis Stories? | Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community
Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Join the community Hello, I'm Sarah. I'm 13 and was wondering if this could start off a conversation of our different experiences with being diagnosed with Diabetes! Feel free to comment or message me if you are interested in mine novorapidboi26 Type 1 Well-Known Member I'm 30 now and was diagnosed when I was 15....... looking back I can remember being really tired all the time and thirsty, going to the toilet and emptying what felt like litres, then immediately getting thirsty again, downing litres of water, milk, anything really....... at the time though I didn't really think anything was up..........my parents knew what was going on though as my younger brother, who was 14 months younger than me was diagnosed at 2 years old. My parent took me to hospital and they done some tests and it was confirmed, although I never actually heard the word 'you are type 1 diabetic' from the doctors or my parents......... I went through al the phases as clear as day...........denial, anger, sadness........ was kept in for a week and then let out into the big bad world.......... control wasn't the best for most of my teens and early twenties, due to being on a mixed insulin and just lifestyle choices........ now on the pump I have the tools to get good control most of the time.... I think even back then the diagnosis wasn't as bad as it would of been for my brother back in the 80s....... hi! I'm 12 years old and got diagnosed in May 2013. It was horrible! i just got iller and iller and iller. So my Nanna took me to the doctors and they said i had tonsillitis. they gave me some antibiotics which i threw up (was sick). my mum took me back to the doctors about a week later to see my actu Continue reading >>
Adults Can Get Type 1 Diabetes, Too
Type 1 diabetes used to be called "juvenile diabetes," because it's usually diagnosed in children and teens. But don't let that old-school name fool you. It can start when you're a grownup, too. Many of the symptoms are similar to type 2 diabetes, so it's sometimes tricky to know which kind you've got. But it's important to learn the differences and figure out what's going on so you can get the treatment that's right for you. Causes Doctors aren't sure exactly what causes type 1 diabetes. They believe your genes may play a role. Researchers are also checking to see if there are things that trigger the disease, like your diet or a virus that you caught. What experts do know is that when you have type 1 diabetes, something goes wrong with your immune system -- the body's defense against germs. It destroys beta cells in your pancreas that are responsible for making a hormone called insulin. Insulin allows glucose -- or sugar -- to get into your cells, where it's turned into energy. But if you have type 1 diabetes, your body doesn't make insulin. Glucose builds up in your bloodstream and, over time, can cause serious health problems. Symptoms If you have type 1 diabetes, you may get similar symptoms as your friends who have type 2. You may notice that you: Get extremely thirsty or hungry Need to pee often Feel unusually tired or weak Lose weight suddenly Get blurred vision or other changes in the way you see Get vaginal yeast infections Have breath that smells fruity Can't breathe well Sometimes, type 1 diabetes could even make you lose consciousness. Who's Most Likely to Get It as an Adult? People of all races and ethnic groups can get type 1 diabetes, but it's most common among those of northern European descent. *CGM-based treatment requires fingersticks for calibration, Continue reading >>
Your Child Is Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes. These Families Have Been There
Brooke Miller, a college freshman at the University of Florida, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 3. “I don’t really remember my life without it because I was so young,” says the 18-year-old. Her earliest memories are of feeling tired at school and her mother coming to give her insulin injections. She also remembers sitting on the kitchen floor at her Weston home trying to prick her finger to check her blood-sugar levels. “I wanted to be independent and do it on my own.” Over the last 10 years, however, new technology such as the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and insulin pump have been introduced and are becoming more sophisticated, allowing patients such as Miller more freedom and power over managing their condition. Never miss a local story. Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access. SUBSCRIBE NOW When Miller started using a CGM four years ago, providing her with a 24-7 reading of her glucose levels, she went from having to prick her finger six to seven times a day to calibrating the device and pricking her finger only two to three times per day. The CGM communicates with an insulin pump, which maintains the body’s glucose levels. Brooke Miller has Type 1 diabetes. ADP Andrew Duany In Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks part of the pancreas, destroying insulin-producing cells called islets. This leads to either no insulin produced or a severe shortage of the valuable hormone. It also results in dangerously high blood sugar levels, which can damage eyes, kidneys, nerves and the heart, and can lead to diabetic coma. The condition is treated by taking insulin and constantly monitoring blood sugar levels. The insulin calculation is different for every patient and is established early in treatment through Continue reading >>
D-spotting: Catching Type 1 Diabetes Before Diagnosis
D-Spotting: Catching Type 1 Diabetes Before Diagnosis D-Spotting: Catching Type 1 Diabetes Before Diagnosis Email addresses will not be shared with 3rd parties. See privacy policy We're sorry, an error occurred. We are unable to collect your feedback at this time. However, your feedback is important to us. Please try again later. We've all heard the stories: a child or adult starts experiencing symptoms that seem to be nothing more than a cold or the flu. There's no sign of anything more serious afoot, at first, so no one catches on to what's really happening. The doctor doesn't catch the cycle of high blood sugars, and that spirals into hospitalization, often with dangerous diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) . For many, that leads to shock and panic, because it seems like a diabetes diagnosis came out of nowhere. And sadly, some don't make it. All because there may not have been enough awareness of this illness ahead of time, either in the public eye or even among the practicing general medical community. Two new new diabetes awareness campaigns created this Spring are hoping to change that. While they're two separate programs, these grassroots efforts go hand-in-hand and aim to raise the level of public knowledge about type 1 before a full-fledged onset. Behind both of them are well-known advocate and D-Dad Tom Karlya in New York, who has two kids of his own with type 1 -- and helping him with one of the campaigns is D-Mom Kim May in Amarillo, Texas, who has a son diagnosed about five years ago. The initiatives hope to not only raise the bar on recognition of T1 symptoms among the general public, but also to push for family doctors to screen for type 1 with a simple glucose test if and when any classic "flu-like" D-symptoms are seen in patients. There's actually a lot of ta Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes: Personal Stories From Patients And Families
Type 1 Diabetes: Personal stories from patients and families Type 1 Diabetes: Personal stories from patients and families I know several people with Type 1 Diabetes and this past year I was involved The One Group for JDRF which helps raise money to cure Type 1. I set a fundraising goal, and its very rewarding to know that that money is being put to great use and has helped develop the artificial pancreas system. Checkout this story and please share it with anyone you know who has Type 1. This is BIG! Diabetes is scary- not only for the people who have it, but for their family and friends. One of my closest friends has type 1 diabetes. She pricks her finger 8 to 10 times a day (up to 25 times a day when she was pregnant) and is constantly watching and mentally recording everything she eats, estimating how much insulin she needs. If she doesn't stay on top of everything, she ends up in the hospital. One of the scariest moments I had with her was when she was visiting me. One morning she didn't wake up. She loves sleeping in, but it was almost 2 in the afternoon and I hadn't heard a peep coming from her room. Finally I cracked the door and asked if she was okay. She didn't respond. I shook her gently telling her it was time to wake up. Nothing. I shook a little harder. Finally she cracked her eyes and started mumbling, but she wasn't making sense. I didn't realize what was going on, but she was on the verge of a diabetic coma caused by low blood sugar, or "hypoglycemia. I was told by another friend to feed her sugar immediately. So there I was, feeding my 23 year old friend orange juice the way a mother would feed her infant. She had very little control of her body. It took a good 45 minutes until she started communicating to the point where I could understand her. Once s Continue reading >>
The Story That Unites All Type 1 Diabetics ** Dottli
The story that unites all type 1 diabetics Aparticular type of story unites all type 1 diabetics. These stories are most often heard at peer group meetings. I have always loved to hear them. The stories have quite a few common nominators, yet they all are different. They all lead to diabetes mellitus diagnosis and often include the most common symptoms of diabetes. The endless thirst, the fatigue, the need for frequent urination and dehydration are like the evil henchmen of these stories. The hero fights them until she/he has to face the arch villain, the big D. Some of the stories have immortal one-liners; others lead to the intensive care unit. None of them is a particularly happy story but they all describe the beginning of a very different chapter in the lives of type 1 diabetics. These are the stories of me and Karita. It was exactly 14 years ago. I had just started my second year in high school. The last couple of weeks of summer holiday had gone by in a blur. I had fallen in love with ice tea. It was something I had not tasted it before and there was nothing as sweet as peach-flavored ice-cold tea. Pretty much all money I got, I spent on the tea. It was filled with sugar and I realised I had to go to the bathroom all the time. At the end of the summer our family took a few hour long road trip and I had to ask my father to stop the car every 30 minutes so I could go and pee (for minutes at a time). This arose everyones suspicion that everything was not okay. My father told me to go to the school nurse at once as the school started next week. Well, I took my time and went after a few days, because who goes to the nurse to complain about peeing too much. Thats totally normal!. The school nurse immediately measured my blood glucose levels and there the numbers stood Continue reading >>
Understanding Adult-onset Type 1 Diabetes
When then 34-year-old Rebecca Gill was pregnant with her second child in 2004, high blood sugar levels led to a diagnosis of gestational diabetes, an often-temporary form of diabetes that can occur in pregnant women. After Gill’s son was born, her blood sugar levels returned to normal, and her doctors assumed that the diabetes was gone. But another blood test given several weeks after she gave birth showed that her diabetes problems had returned. She was referred to an endocrinologist who ran tests and eventually diagnosed her with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, or LADA. “Thankfully, I was one of the lucky ones whose endocrinologist had experience with LADA,” says Gill, an internet marketing consultant in Commerce, Mich. LADA, also known as type 1.5 diabetes or double diabetes, is a form of diabetes in which an adult’s immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas, cells that produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that converts the body’s blood sugar to energy. Without enough insulin, blood sugar levels can become too high, resulting in nerve damage, blindness, and other problems if untreated. LADA is similar to type 1 diabetes in that both forms are caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking beta cells. However, most diabetics with LADA are diagnosed after age 30, while the most common form of type 1 diabetes usually develops in children or adolescents. LADA: A Different Diabetes Because LADA appears in adulthood, it may be initially mistaken for type 2 diabetes, but it is different. People who have LADA are often initially misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes, says Priscilla Hollander, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. “Many people with LADA present symptoms a little like type 2s,” Dr. Hollander expla Continue reading >>
Adult T1d Position Paper
The Patient-Centered Approach for the Person with Adult-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Adults with new-onset Type 1 diabetes frequently experience the problem of incorrect or delayed diagnosis which can result in the rapid onset of diabetic complications and even death due to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The aim of this position paper is to improve diagnosis and treatment of adult patients with Type 1 diabetes. New-onset Type 1 diabetes in adulthood[1] is far more prevalent than childhood-onset Type 1 diabetes[2], but the myth that Type 1 diabetes is a childhood disease combined with the rising epidemic of Type 2 diabetes often means that adults with new-onset Type 1 diabetes are incorrectly diagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes, an altogether different disease. Patients who are misdiagnosed and treated as if they have Type 2 diabetes are frequently undertreated with medications that do not help their medical condition. As stated in a Wall Street Journal article on the problem of misdiagnosis (“Wrong Call: The Trouble Diagnosing Diabetes,” August 2012), "Most of my [adult Type 1 patients] have been misdiagnosed as having Type 2," says Robin Goland, co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. "Once the right diagnosis is made the patient feels much, much better, but they are distrustful of doctors and who could blame them?" Here are four stories of patients with adult-onset Type 1 diabetes who were initially misdiagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes, and what they want the medical community to know: At age 30, soon after she retired as professional ballet dancer, Kris was misdiagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes and told by her doctor to lose weight (at 5’6” tall, Kris weighed less than 100 pounds) and exercise more. Her doc Continue reading >>
