Type 1.5 Diabetes aka LADA

Did you know, there is a type of diabetes called Type 1.5? It is often referred to as LADA.

LADA stands for Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults. Basically, it is a slow onset of Type 1 Diabetes, that "shows itself" in adulthood. Often times, people with LADA are first diagnosed with Type 2, regardless of the fact that they may not be overweight, but because their body still responds to Type 2 medications, diet, etc.

According to DiabetesNet, "When special lab tests are done, they are found to have antibodies, especially GAD65 antibodies, that attack their beta cells."

They go on to state that 15% to 20% of people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, actually have this type.

So, why is Type 1.5 Diabetes misdiagnosed as Type 2?

Because, often times, patients respond well, at first, to type 2 diabetes medications... atleast for a little while. Once the body stops responding well to those medications though, it becomes appearent that the person is actually Type 1.

Since April 2010, when I was first introduced to the DOC (Diabetes Online Community), I have met several adults with Slow Onset Type 1 Diabetes (aka Type 1.5 and LADA). One lady, in fact, told me that prior to her proper diagnosis of Type 1, she almost died due to this misdiagnosis.

Later this week, we will be interviewing a friend, Beverly Lavelli (you may remember her from a few months ago with our post about the AVON Online Fundraiser). She is a woman living with LADA Type 1. Because LADA seems to be rarely talked about (in fact, I never, ever even heard of it until I met a few people living with it in the DOC world!), I would like to encourage all of you to be sure to read her interview, post questions in the comments, and learn more about this type.

Many people, even people in the diabetes community, believe that there are only three types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational. However, I am finding, as time goes on, that there are actually many types of diabetes, other than just those more common 3 types. This is just one of them. As I learn more about the variuos types, I will be posting about them here for everyone to learn a little something new about diabetes.