'A slow progression': Type 1.5 diabetes is often misdiagnosed, but the earlier it can be regulated, the better for your health

In the annals of diabetes, types 1 and 2 are the most well-known forms of the disease, with the first usually showing up in the young and the second manifesting itself in adulthood.

With Type 1 diabetes, a person does not produce insulin, a hormone whose job is to transport simple sugar, or glucose, in the bloodstream to all the cells in the body.

In Type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced, but the body doesn't deploy it well enough to get energy-producing glucose to the cells. This is called insulin resistance.

It's the most common form of the illness, estimated to affect 27 million people in the United States and another 86 million who have some form of prediabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Somewhere between these two primary forms of the disease is another, more drawn out and less common form of diabetes. It's called Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, or LADA for short. Many in the health-care field also refer to LADA as Diabetes 1.5.

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Lori Pettet, a certified diabetes educator at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, says patients are diagnosed with LADA after being tested for the presence of antibodies called anti-GAD 65.

That is because the disease is thought to be triggered by an immune response similar to how the body reacts to a virus.

"It is a slow progression of the autoimmune destruction of the cells of the pancreas that make insulin. This is similar to Type 1 diabetes, where insulin therapy is necessary for survival, but at a much slower rate," Pettet says. "The person may also have some insulin resistance, meaning the body does not use the insulin properly, which is a characteristic of Type 2 diabetes."

Symptoms of LADA include elevated or unstable blood sugars, weight loss, fatigue, increased thirst and frequent urination. It usually shows up in people who are 30 or older.

Janet Stewart, a diabetes educator at SoutheastHEALTH's Diabetes Center, says the disease tends to be more common in men.

Usually, patients with LADA have a normal body mass index but find themselves feeling tired a lot and still feeling hungry after meals.

As the disease progresses, their vision might begin blurring and their thirst and urination may increase.

Because of these issues, the earlier LADA can be regulated, the better.

"The key is to get their blood sugar under control," Stewart says.

Treating a patient with insulin early in the disease can extend the amount of time a person can get along without multiple insulin injections each day.

Although LADA is considered a rarer form of diabetes, Stewart says she and her colleagues see it in 20 to 30 people every six months or so.

"It's not totally rare by any means. We do see it," she says.

Part of the issue is some patients are misdiagnosed in the beginning, giving symptoms more time to set in and more time for antibodies to attack pancreatic cells, where insulin is produced.

Misdiagnoses also can happen because of the overlap in symptoms between types 1 and 2 diabetes, she says.

Adds Pettet: "Follow-up is recommended for any person who is diagnosed with any type of diabetes, but is vital with those more prone to Type 1.5., especially if misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Their disease will progress more rapidly and will need insulin therapy eventually. Blood sugars can become dangerously elevated if left untreated."