Type 1.5 diabetes symptoms to look out for as rare disease is often misdiagnosed
You've more than likely heard of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but have you heard of type 1.5?
Managing diabetes is vital for quality of life and health, however, many people go undiagnosed for years.
It can make a huge difference to someone's life once they have a diagnosis, but it can be difficult to spot and is often misdiagnosed as something else.
Last year, NSYNC star Lance Bass revealed he'd been diagnosed with 'type 1.5 diabetes'. His former bandmate, Justin Timberlake, has recently been raising awareness of Lyme disease following his diagnosis, and many experts may be hoping that Bass will increase the knowledge around his own condition too.
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In July 2024, Lance shared on Instagram: "As all of you know, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years back.
"When I was first diagnosed, I had a difficult time getting my glucose levels under control, even though I made adjustments to my diet, my medications and my workout routine."
He added: "I recently discovered I was misdiagnosed. I actually have Type 1.5."
What is type 1.5 diabetes?
The official name for the condition is Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, shortened to LADA, but it is informally referred to as type 1.5 diabetes.
It's a hybrid form of diabetes which shares some of the symptoms of both types 1 and 2, leading it to also be referred to as 'double diabetes'.
Type 1.5 strikes in adulthood.
Women’s health specialist Dr Soma Mandal told First for Women that the condition happens when 'the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas'.
Type 1.5 has a slow progression, similar to type 2, however, it is different in that they slowly lose the ability to make insulin and will become insulin dependent for life.
According to the World Health Organization, some 50 million people are thought to be living with type 1.5, and women are more likely to suffer from it than men.
Meanwhile, Dr Peter Brukner said: "40 percent of people with type 1.5 diabetes are initially incorrectly diagnosed as having type 2. Women more often get autoimmune diseases, and type 1.5 is the same case.”
And endocrinologist John B. Buse, MD, PhD, warned: "The critical issue for people to recognise is that if they have ‘type 2 diabetes’ that does not seem to respond well to usual treatments, they may in fact have type 1.5."
What are the symptoms of type 1.5 diabetes?
As per National Geographic, patients develop 'classic; diabetes symptoms, including frequent urination and thirst and rapid weight loss, over a period of days or weeks'.
Slow-healing wounds can also be a symptom, as well as fatigue and blurred vision.
“When these symptoms occur, the autoimmune process has been going on for a while, but it finally reached the stage where really the body cannot compensate anymore and the blood sugar starts rising quickly,” endocrinology specialist Alexander Turchin told the outlet.
Type 1.5 has this happening more slowly as Turchin went on to explain: "Instead of happening over, say, two weeks, it happens over years, it's the same antibodies against the same cells in the pancreas, but they're just working more slowly and [the patient’s] insulin levels are dropping more slowly and their blood sugar is rising more slowly."
He says that if you have been diagnosed with type 2 like Bass was, but treatment isn't working, bring up type 1.5 to your doctor.
What's the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
According to the NHS, type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, whereas type 2 is when your body isn’t sensitive enough to insulin.
Type 1.5 is a hybrid of them both and tends to affect people aged 30 or over.
Topics: Health, Women's Health
Jen Thomas