[Tricia452008]

and he told me i may very well be a type 1.5!!!!

I am going for blood next week and seeing him again in a month to figure all of this out....

I mean it makes sense....i need insulin like a type 1 but i am resistant like a type 2.......are there any other type 1's on here like this?

what other medication are you on? he told me i need to stay on my insulin and i will need another medication...most likely metformin or sylimin....but he said the sylimin makes some diabetics sick and throw up has this happened to anyone? do you prefer the metformin? just curious


you know for the past 17 yrs i was only a Type 1 and to now be told that i am a type 1.5 it makes perfect sense but it is crazy all at the same time...

ok venting over,......thank you

[JediSkipdogg]

Metformin and Symlin are two totally different drugs and do nothing the same. Symlin helps to alleviate spikes that food cause after eating them from the food being more powerful initially than the insulin.

Metformin on the other hand makes the insulin your body produces more effective by opening the cells to allow glucose to be pushed into them.

Depending on why they say you are type 1.5 is what other drugs you will be on. Personaly, like everything, type doesn't matter as long as you know what is causing your diabetes and what treatment you need.

[Cyborg]

I'm guessing metformin.

Little early for Symlin. Insulin is dangerous enough...

[Tricia452008]

no he wasn't really for the symlin he told me if my blood work turned out ok then he was going to put me on the metformin.....and i am actually happy...i knew that i was insulin resistant and it all makes sense to me now....but it is just weird for me to say hi i am a type 1.5 now hehehe but i will adjust...i am just happy someone did not tell me more insulin for once!

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Tricia452008

and he told me i may very well be a type 1.5!!!!
...i need insulin like a type 1 but i am resistant like a type 2.......

My understanding is that T1.5s are not typically insulin resistant. Here is an excerpt from an article on it :

Typical patients are positive for GAD antibodies, 35 years of age or older, nonobese, and present without ketoacidosis and weight loss. Although many maintain good glycemic control for several years with sulfonylureas, these patients become "insulin dependent" more rapidly than antibody-negative type 2 diabetic patients

I have heard of T1s who who are insulin resistant being refered to as T3s .... Anyway, thats just semantics. As a T1 for 29 years, I have some insulin resistance. It probably happens to all T1s over time, to some extent. And I have used the typical tactics to deal with it - reduced carbs, exercise and metformin.

I found that metformin worked very well in containing post-prandial BG spikes. It stops the liver producing glucose, which in a T1 doesn't stop at mealtimes. So if you take one before a meal, it should stop your BG rising so strongly afterwards. I stopped using metformin for several reasons. I have been able to reduce my insulin resistance with exercise, I drastically reduced carbs at breakfast time, and I wanted to avoid taking a drug that messes with my liver. Metformin was also causing some stomach upset.

For me, the cons outweighed the pros. Having said that, metformin is definitely worth a try.

[orpy]

So, if tests don't detect the antibodies, does this mean I am not a 1.5? Could I be in the beginning stages of it? Currently I'm considered 2 yet they did test for antibodies to see if I were, type 1 (they never use the term 1.5 at the endo's).

[NoraWI]

If your GAD65 antibody tests positive, then you have LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults), also sometimes called T1.5. The autoimmune reaction is stronger at the beginning stages showing a large number of antibodies. As the attack on the beta cells continues and beta cells begin to die off, the number of antibodies decreases. When all the beta cells are gone, the antibodies disappear as well.

So, if ANY antibodies are detected in a GAD65 antibody test, it is positive for LADA (T1.5). If a GAD65 antibody test shows NO antibodies, it is possible that the beta cells have all died and the attacking antibodies have disappeared. Therefore, a positive result is definitely a positive while a negative result in an insulin dependent person can mean the person is T2... OR it can mean that the person is LADA (T1.5), has no beta cells left and the autoimmune attack has ceased. Clear as mud?