Answers: Diabetes

15 responses so far ↓

• 1 RIVERKID // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  Me personally? I was 31 when I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. And that's because I was and still am in good health. Type 2 does not run in my family either. What are the odds? I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure it was more of a longshot than anything else. —————-

• 2 Iris // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  hard to say but your chances increase with age & family history can play a role. you can prevent it from occuring by diet and excerise.

• 3 TheOne // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  I think it is unusual to get diagnosed Type I at your age. I don't know what the percentages are. Ask your doctor – he / she is the best source of information (true information about diabetes).

  I am a Type II diagnosed in my 30's.

  Good Luck

• 4 Jen // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  That's impossible. Google it. Maybe you were a weak type 1. Ive never heard of type 2 "progressing" into type 1. do some real research on your own. Maybe one Dr is covering another Dr's ass for never diagnosing you. it's a completely different disease. Type 1 never makes the right amount of insulin their bodies need, type 2 uses up insulin from overeating or binging and crash dieting. I've never ever heard of the 2 being linked. maybe I'm wrong but you should do some major research.

  Really, type 1 is also named "childhood diabetes" for a reason. It's because you would have known by say 13 if you had your blood sugar taken and you would have known something was wrong at some point. Type 2 is "acquired" but also (less) hereditary but it shows up around the early 40s. Get another opinion. You'll be fine with a better diet and exercise but you really need to know what's going on and what you're saying doesn't add up.

• 5 Fully // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  Type 2 diabetes cannot turn into type 1 diabetes

  alot of people usally in their late 20s to 30s that get diabetes and it is usually what they call LADA or type 1.5

  LADA – Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood

  Like Type 1 diabetes, Type 1.5 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood (LADA) is caused by the immune system's destruction of the insulin- producing pancreatic beta cells. The main difference between Type 1 and LADA is the age of diagnosis – thirty or older. LADA is also known as slow-onset type 1 diabetes, late-onset autoimmune diabetes of adulthood, and type 1.5 diabetes. The only difference between LADA and Type 1 diabetes is that in LADA, the beta cell destruction has occurred over years to decades instead of days to months. Like other forms of Type 1 diabetes, people with LADA require insulin injections to normalise their blood glucose levels

• 6 Oscar C // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  I agree with Fully and Jen. Acquiring diabetes at mid-life happens all the time, and it is incumbent on your part to be aware of this disease because it is so insidious. Good luck to you.

• 7 German Shepard // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  Fully nailed the answer, if I could give her 2 thumbs up I would. Jen on the other hand is wrong, type on can happen at any age.

• 8 Gary B // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  It is VERY possible, in fact, PROBABLE, that you were an undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetic for many years before being diagnosed as Type 1. Getting Type 1 Diabetes late in life is not unknown, but it is rather rare.

  The difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes is this:
  The Type 1 Diabetics produce NO (or very little) insulin from their pancreas. they MUST have insulin shots in order to stay alive. If you are NOT taking insulin shots then you are NOT a Type 1 diabetic!

  The Type 2 Diabetic produces insulin at a NORMAL or maybe slightly lower level. In some cases the boy cannot use the insulin the body produces. this is called Insulin Resistant Diabetes. In some cases the body does not produce enough insulin. This is called Insulin Deficient Diabetes. In both case there are oral medication that can help, and the patient will do the most help by eating a better diet, getting more exercise, and losing weight. Sometimes, insulin injections are used, but the GOAL is to adjust the lifestyle so that insulin (and other medications) may be reduced or eliminated.

  What USUALLY happens is that the type 2 Diabetic does NOT get properly diagnosed (usually because the patient is afraid of going to the doctor because they don;t want to hear what the doctor has to say….). Th extra body weight wears and tears on the patients pancreas, until the pancreas finally fails. thus, the patient has progressed from Type 2 Diabetes (treatable with diet and exercise and some oral medications) to Type 1 Diabetes (treatable ONLY with insulin injections).

  Instances of getting Tyype 1 Diabetes initially in an adult over 25 are rare.

• 9 dingding // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  What you have isn't truly Type 1, but it's more like Type 1 than Type 2. It's called LADA – latent autoimmune diabetes. It's unusual but not unheard of. The problem is that there are several categories of diabetes, but everyone tries to cram them into Type 1 or Type 2 as if it's a black and white issue. Here's a good link on it.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latent_autoimmune_diabetes

• 10 ★Beth★ // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  all this stuff about age increases your chances is a load of rubbish. with type 2, age does increase your chances, but type 1 is different, Because it is the death of the islet cells in the pancreas. What causes it is actually unknown, but the most common theory is that you get a bad cold, or the flu, and the antibodies produced by the white blood cells kill the islet cells by mistake. As anyone an get a cold, young or old, this therefore puts no age range on the people who get type 1 diabetes. I am 13, and i was diagnosed at the age of 12. know a girl aged 15, a boy aged 16 (her brother), another girl aged 13, and even a 5 year old! It is common in any age range!
  hope this helps!!
  Xxx

• 11 Teri // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  Anyone can get type 1 diabetes at any age. A well known actress who developed the disease as an adult is Mary Tyler Moore. She is also very involved it the foundation for this disease. Type 2 diabetes cannot turn into type 1, because they are very different. Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder in which the body cannot produce enough insulin.
  This means the body's immune system attacks and destroys its own tissues, in this case, the beta cells of the pancreas. Type II is brought on by weight gain and lack of exercise. The body's cells become resistant or less responsive to insulin. This disease develops progressively over time, so you might have had type II and did not know it until symptoms began to show. Obesity is an important trigger for a cascade of changes that eventually result in diabetes type II. Studies show 80-90% of the people with diabetes type II are overweight or obese. Specifically, the cells of many obese people are less responsive to insulin, exhibiting a condition called insulin insensitivity or insulin resistance. This means the adipose tissue, (fat cells) sit in front of the normal cells and block the insulin, which pushes food into the cells. Therefore the glucose remains in the bloodstream, where it does not belong, instead of being in the cells.

• 12 Seeanna // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  I don't believe there are odds attached to when you became a Diabetic, particularly if your Family
  has a History of Diabetes.

  Diabetes attacks persons from all age Groups, including infancy.

  What I do know is that persons from a Diabetic Family should put in place, early in their lives a strategy of proper eating habits and exercise to avoid this onset of Diabetes.

• 13 fnd40 // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  My husband got diabetes at age 35. His doctors call it type 2, although it it so bad he is on an insulin pump. It cannot be controlled at all through oral meds. Maybe yours is a severe type 2.

• 14 john e russo md facm faafp // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  I participate in this forum as time permits and I say 2 things over and over again: 1 this is a potentially dangerous forum in which to seek health information and 2 people seldom give sufficient information for me to give a complete answer. Most of the existing comments range from horrific to partially true but at least one individual seems to have the right idea. Type 2 diabetes cannot progress to type 1 diabetes. Although they both share hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose) their pathophysiology is quite distinct. It is true that nearly all type 1 diabetics are diagnosed by age 40 it may certainly have its onset at age 45. If the diagnosis of type 1 versus type 2 is in doubt your physician can run a simple test called a c-peptide. Type 1s do not produce c-peptide while type 2s do. It is true that within ten years of diagnosis the majority of type 2s are taking insulin but this does NOT make them type 1. The terms insulin dependent and non-insulin dependent are no longer used for just this reason as it led to consusion. There are 2 types of type 2s which I categorize as type 2A and 2B although this designation has not been widely accepted – at least not yet. Type 2A refers to type 2s with a body mass index of less than 25 kg/M2 and these individuals should initially start on insulin. Type 2B refers to type 2s with a body mass index of more than 30 kg/M2 and these individuals should initially start on oral medications although they should be told at the time of diagnosis that type 2 is a progressive disease and that they are likely to end up on insulin as noted above. As a type 1 I assume that you are taking insulin. There are 2 types of insulin: basal and bolus. A type 1 generally requires 1 or 2 doses of basal (long-acting) insulin daily as well as 3 doses of bolus (rapid-acting) insulin daily. There are also combinations of basal and bolus insulin but these generally do not produce as good a control as basal and bolus separately. Lilly makes 95% of the insulin sold in the US while Novo Nordisk makes 95% of the insulin sold worldwide. Lilly's basal insulin is glargine (Lantus) and their bolus insulin is lispro (Humalog). Novo Nordisk's basal insulin is detemir (Levemir) and their bolus insulin is aspart (Novolog). I prefer Novo Nordisk's insulins because I like their FlexPen delivery system but Lilly's and Novo Nordisk's insulin will work identically well. If you are using an insulin other than those listed I would be concerned. Some type 1s do better on insulin pumps and there are also continuous glucose monitoring devices which avoid multiple pricks of the fingers or forearms to measure pre-prandial (before meal) glucose in order to calculate the bolus dose of insulin. It is important to not that there are no oral medications for type 1 diabetes. If you need additional information please email me more detailed information at johnerussomd@jhu.edu. I wish you the very best of health and may God Bless.

• 15 Ann // May 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

  1. in some rare cases, type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed at this age
  2. type 1 cannot "convert" to type II (with type 1 the pancreas fails and or antibodies attack it and type 2 it does not work due to excess amount of body fat)

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