Since LADA Diabetes has a gradual onset, it’s common that people can feel symptoms even pre-diagnosis. A1C, fasting blood glucose, and glucose tolerance test can all be normal but that doesn’t mean you aren’t experiencing symptoms. Unstable blood sugar can cause mood swings. Here’s my story.
Sugar Sensitivity and Weird Feelings
In the years prior to my diabetes diagnosis, my blood glucose was normal, and I did not have diabetes. It’s not like I’ve always had LADA diabetes but just didn’t know it. On the contrary, I got bloodwork done that showed a normal fasting blood glucose. I even did a finger prick blood glucose test at home, which showed normal results.
Yet, I seemed sensitive to sugar.
If I ate too much candy, I felt terrible. This was always the case, even as a child. So I always self-limited how many sweets I ate. I didn’t understand why people would want to eat so much sweet stuff. It made me feel icky.
One morning I drank orange juice and felt very weird afterwards. I avoided orange juice after that.
Potato soup made from Yukon Gold Potatoes prompted a similar experience.
What did the orange juice and potato soup have in common? They likely caused my blood glucose to rise quickly, and my pancreas probably didn’t produce enough insulin to keep up with it. But, I’ll never know for sure, as this was the pre-diabetes me, who didn’t test blood glucose.
Shaky After Exercise – Was I Have Blood Sugar Problems?
I started feeling icky after exercise. At this point, I bought a blood glucose meter, because I wanted to know what was happening. I felt like my blood glucose was probably dropping fast, but it tested at a normal 90 mg/dL. (In hind site, I know that a single reading doesn’t provide rate of change measurement. I would have had to test again in 10-15 minutes.)
A CGM is Invaluable – I wish I had one then!
A CGM is a Continuous Glucose Monitor. It shows you a graph of your blood sugar. If you are “feeling weird” and suspect it could be blood glucose, a CGM is the easiest way to find out the answer. It truly can provide a wealth of information. Find out if your blood sugar is going high or low. Gather the data and share it with your doctor.
No Prescription Required!
In the United States, there are two over-the-counter CGMs that are ideal for people who may be prediabetic or in the honeymoon phase of LADA. See my deep dive comparison of the Lingo vs Stelo CGM, and find out which one is best for you.
Weight Loss as a symptom of LADA Diabetes
I lost over 50 pounds in the two years leading up to my diabetes diagnosis. I didn’t know that the weight loss was a symptom of anything going wrong. I had previously struggled with unexplained weight gain, so unexplained weight loss I welcomed.
You may find the idea that weight loss can be a symptom of diabetes surprising. It’s true that being obese is a risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes. However, if a person has diabetes and it’s not being treated, weight loss can happen as a symptom of the illness. This is more commonly seen in Type 1 Diabetes or LADA Diabetes. Diabetes is actually a term for a family of different illnesses, which have different root causes and treatment.
LADA Diabetes is similar to Type 1 Diabetes. The main differences is that LADA Diabetes usually happens in adulthood and the onset is more gradual. The cause of LADA Diabetes is an autoimmune issue, same as Type 1. The treatment is insulin. Without insulin, weight loss occurs, and it is a symptom of being sick.
Weight loss is not always a good thing
As I was losing weight, I got compliments about my looks from friends and complete strangers! I took a walk around the neighborhood for exercise, and neighbors would congratulate me on my new look. I found this disturbing that they were observing my weight loss and felt OK to comment on it.
Some people were clearly inspired by my apparent success. They saw me exercising and they saw the weight loss, and thought that I was so driven and successful at achieving weight loss.
Instead, I was sick… I needed insulin but did not know it.
Supplements for Managing Blood Glucose
In these pre-diabetes years, I didn’t have insurance, and I was a big fan of supplements. I still think some supplements work surprisingly well, but would never recommend them as a first line of treatment for diabetes.
In my pre-diabetes years, I found some positive results from Chromium Picolinate which is described as an “Insulin Co-Factor” and is supposed to support healthy glucose metabolism. It just “made me feel better,” but it didn’t prevent the LADA Diabetes. (Update: Many years later, my condition has progressed, and I no longer find any benefit from taking this.)
I also found a remedy in Sugar Balance & Women’s Tonic Tea during my time of the month, as the hormones from my menstrual cycle effected my glucose levels. Read more about this: Menstrual Cycle and LADA Diabetes and Insulin Sensitivity
When the LADA Diabetes arrived, I didn’t recognize it at first. I was really thirsty and peeing a lot, and then I had an “aha moment” when I realized those were signs of diabetes. That’s when I tested my blood glucose to find it was in the 300s, and I sought medical treatment. Today, I am alive thanks to insulin. I write about my experiences on my insulin pump life blog.
Tips for the “Flaky Pancreas” Stage of LADA Diabetes
Read the Book
Success with LADA Diabetes
The patient’s complete roadmap to Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults — from screening and misdiagnosis through the “flaky pancreas” stage, insulin, technology, mental health, and the daily craft of managing diabetes well.
“An admirable book… valuable as an aid to both patients and medical practitioners.” — Professor R. David G. Leslie, MD, FRCP, Blizard Institute
