When it comes to diabetes, there’s more than meets the eye. Many people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes may actually have a different form of the disease. Phyllisa Deroze, an English professor, experienced this firsthand. After being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, she spent eight years struggling to manage her diabetes, only to discover she had a different form of the disease that didn’t fit the typical Type 2 profile.
This different form of diabetes is known as latent autoimmune diabetes of adults, or LADA for short. Surprisingly, up to 10% of patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes may actually have LADA. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis can lead to months or even years of improper treatment. Four Black women who were initially misdiagnosed with LADA shared their experiences, raising questions about the role of race in proper diagnosis and treatment.
The misdiagnosis problem faced by these women is not unique. Black patients have long struggled with bias in the U.S. healthcare system. Implicit biases can impact medical experiences and care delivery, leading to misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment. Even common tests used to manage diabetes can yield inaccurate results for patients with sickle cell trait, which is present in almost 1 in 10 African Americans.
While LADA itself is unrelated to race, misconceptions surrounding race, weight, and age can cause doctors to misdiagnose LADA patients as having Type 2 diabetes. Kathleen Wyne, an endocrinologist at Ohio State University, explains that Type 2 diabetes occurs in people, often aged 45 and above, whose bodies struggle to regulate blood sugar levels. On the other hand, LADA shares similarities with Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition commonly diagnosed in children, as it also involves the body attacking the cells responsible for producing insulin.
Diagnosing LADA can be challenging because it progresses slowly. Typically, LADA patients are over 30 and may not require injectable insulin for at least six months after diagnosis. However, like Type 1 patients, most LADA patients eventually need insulin injections for the rest of their lives. This delay in needing insulin treatment can lead physicians to believe their patients have Type 2 diabetes, even as the treatment becomes less effective.
Mila Clarke, a Houston resident, experienced the frustration of misdiagnosis firsthand. After struggling to manage her blood sugar levels for over four years, she finally saw an endocrinologist who suspected she might have LADA. Testing for different antibodies confirmed the diagnosis.
Fighting against the stigma associated with Type 2 diabetes, Clarke had embraced her initial Type 2 diagnosis and even started a blog called “Hangry Woman” to provide support and lifestyle tips for people with diabetes. However, her journey with LADA reminded her that diabetes is a complex condition that can affect anyone.
It’s essential to raise awareness about different forms of diabetes to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. If you’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and find that treatment is not working as expected, it’s worth discussing with your healthcare provider whether LADA might be a possibility.
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