“The patient often goes through a misdiagnosis or a period of not knowing what’s going on, and that can be frustrating,” he says. “And likewise for the provider, sometimes misdiagnosis comes down to a lack of awareness about the fact that adults can have autoimmune diabetes. But also, a lot of times it’s just a difficult diagnosis to make, especially early on.”
If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but aren’t responding to treatment, it’s a good idea to bring up LADA with your doctor, Boeder says.
You’ll need to ask your diabetes team (usually your primary care clinic) to screen you for type 1 diabetes, according to Wyne. “Most adult clinics do not know how to do this,” she says. “The important thing is to have them draw the five antibodies—GAD, ICA, IAA, IA2, and ZnT8. Just measuring glucose, or A1c, or c-peptide—or any combination of those three—is not adequate.” If these antibodies are positive, it “very strongly supports” the case that this is LADA diabetes, Boeder adds.
LADA can be very effectively treated once the diagnosis is made, Boeder says. It’s all about working with your care team to monitor how much insulin you need and when in the form of an insulin pen or pump, which can connect to continuous glucose monitors to manage your blood sugar at all times. In some cases, GLP-1 agonist drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, may work.
If your LADA is well controlled, you can live a “long and healthy life that’s just as long—or even longer—than people who don’t have diabetes,” Boeder says.
