Worried about developing type 1 diabetes

[adventurine]

Hiya.

Health anxiety is kicking me left right and centre tonight and a thought crossed my mind that I can't shake. A sibling of mine was nearly killed by undiagnosed type 1 diabetes when she was very young, early teens, it led to a blood clot that nearly blinded her in an eye and was also kinda in her brain. This was years ago mind, but I was looking it up and many health websites say that if you have a sibling with it you have a 1 in 10 chance of developing it before the age of 50.

My mum is also suspected to have a pre-diabetic condition (type 2), her brother has type 2 and has kidney failure problems and is on dialysis (anything kidney related freaks me out, turns out I only have one, they speculate the other either failed of something or it just stopped working, the other grew huge to compensate.)

I know it wouldn't be the end of the world if it happened, but obviously don't want it to. I'm kind of depressed over it to be honest, think I might ask a pharmacist tomorrow to test me but to my knowledge they only test for type 2. I've been so thirsty so don't know what to do really and drinking a lot of water, doesn't seem to help it. I recently had a blood test a few weeks back to test for arthritis, would it show up in that?

Would an optician spot it do you think? Bleeeh I'm all worked up over this :(

[ErinKC]

What happened with your sister sounds really scary, and it's normal to feel worried about developing diabetes since there is an elevated chance. My brother has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed at age 11, luckily before any real complications.

If you've been tested for diabetes before and your doctors are aware of your family history and your concerns, it's best to trust them. But, if you've not been tested or haven't had a check up or full blood work in a while, it's totally rational to make an appointment with your doctor and raise your concerns/ask for a test.

I have health anxiety, and despite having a sibling with diabetes I've never worried about it because I've never had any symptoms and know that if I did I could easily go get checked out.

Good luck!

[PASchoolSyndrome]

How old are you?

Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and a 1:10 chance of developing it before age 50 is just simply a wrong statistic. After age 30 you are extremely extremely unlikely to develop it as your beta cells would have definitely all been shot by your immune system.

Type 2 is extremely preventable, so focus more on a healthy lifestyle, diet, and weight and you'll be just fine (:

[Minivil]

One can develop type 1 (lada, mody, etc.) at any point in life. Many type 2 diabetics are wrongly diagnosed and are later found to be actually type 1. It's sometimes tough to pin down.

For the OP, I definitely understand the concern. My 12 year old was just diagnosed this year, and I have t2, although I'm going through testing to see if it's autoimmune type. (For the record, I agree T2 is completely preventable and reversible. I take no meds and have no insulin needs, have completely normal bg now, a1c is between 4-5). The great thing is that you have a leg up on the rest of the population. Although your family has experienced some tough diabetes-related experiences, this does not have to be your experience, if you are even dx in the future at all!

I firmly believe that all people should routinely check their blood sugar. You could easily get a meter and strips and routinely test your fasting/random bg through out the day. Stay hydrated, boost your immune system and avoid foods which tax your body and pancreas. If we all did this, diabetic or not, we'd all be healthier!

Hang in there! It will be ok! :hugs:

ETA: you might qualify for anti bodies testing as a sibling of a T1. Myself and my daughter are. I am not sure where you are located, but check out TrialNet studies on t1. If not, ask your GP to run C peptide and other antibodies tests to ease your mind. It might be latent, but it could give you an indication if you have the markers for t1. Not trying to increase your anxiety, just believe that knowledge is power. :)

Save

---------- Post added at 13:44 ---------- Previous post was at 13:36 ----------




Would an optician spot it do you think? Bleeeh I'm all worked up over this :(

They would only be able to check if you already had retinopathy, a common diabetic complication from having sustained high blood sugar (not diabetes itself). So, if they find nerve damage, you might want to look into it, but diabetes can be present without nerve damage.

Cool thing is that a lot of nerve damage can be completely reversed (and other complications utterly avoided) by dietary changes and good control of bg.

[adventurine]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

So I just go in and ask them to see if I have markers for T1 then?

My diet is pretty good and despite having to use a crutch to get around a lot of the time I'm quite active, I'm not overweight and I include a lot of fruit and vegetables into my diet as I'm aware of my family history. I'm 30 years old and have been okay so far, if anything I've had remarks saying my blood sugar is a bit on the low side whenever I've had it tested (I've passed out a few times a few years ago and one of the first things they do is prick your finger and do a bloods test). During my pregnancy about 10 years ago they had to test me for gestational diabetes because they knew about my family having diabetes but that was negative too.

[PASchoolSyndrome]

You can absolutely get tested for the antibodies for Type 1! Having a sibling puts you at about a 3-6% chance of developing it as well. However, while minivil is technically correct you could develop type 1 at any point in you're life, it gets extremely unlikely the older you get. It does happen though, so never hurts to get checked.

It's actually real interesting. You lose about 70-80% of your beta cell function before you become symptomatic of having type 1 diabetes. It's important to understand that type 1 cannot be treated by lifestyle changes and diet. It is 100% insulin dependent, up to 30 units a day if not more - patient depending. Unfortunately if your body's immune system decides to turn, there is nothing you can do to change it. Having a sibling with type 1 I'm sure you understand the lifestyle.. but it is by no means a death sentence.

In the mean time keep up the healthy lifestyle to avoid diseases that are totally preventable, and educate yourself on the signs of hyperglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (ask a doctor, don't google) just in case something does trigger your immune system.

But like I said, the older you get the more likely your immune system will not attack your beta cells if they have not already begun to do so.

[adventurine]

Update. I phoned my gp and said about being thirsty and family history. Forgot to ask for the antibody test but I got an appointment to get blood taken for testing and to hand in a urine sample to be tested as well. I'll phone up again on Monday to see if there are any cancellations to get tested sooner.