Lada diabetes: symptoms, treatment, diagnosis
There are first and second type of diabetes. And just a few years ago, this statement was considered an axiom. However, at the moment, doctors have revised the existing classification, since diabetes has specific varieties.
One of them is LADA diabetes, and it is also called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults. This pathological condition is characterized by symptoms that are inherent in the first and second type of sugar disease.
Pathology requires special drug therapy, and if it is treated with the treatment tactics that are used for the second type of disease, then it will take literally several years, and the patient will need insulin therapy with high doses of the hormone.
Having learned briefly what LADA diabetes is, you need to consider this specific form of the disease in more detail. Find out what symptoms indicate precisely this disease, and how does the pathology differ from other types of diabetes?
Diabetes Lada and its features
As the name implies, the main symptom by which LADA diabetes will differ is an autoimmune pathological process, as a result of which own immunity begins to damage pancreatic cells.
The difference also lies in the fact that insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus develops in childhood or young adults, while diabetes Lada diabetes is diagnosed at an older age, including older men and women.
The glucose concentration in this form of diabetes increases almost imperceptibly. Symptoms are similar to the pathology of the second type, so it often happens that doctors put the wrong diagnosis.
In fact, diabetes of the LADA variety is the first type of sweet disease, it just develops in a milder form and degree.
However, if the pathology is incorrectly diagnosed, and adequate therapy is not prescribed, which is inherent in this particular disease, the disease begins to progress, as a result of which it flows into a more severe form. As a result, the patient will need insulin injections.
Blood sugar levels fluctuate, and to a large extent. The patient’s health worsens, it is necessary to introduce extremely high dosages of the hormone, complications of the disease progress. All this leads to disability, and then death.
Statistics show that millions of people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but about 5-6% of them suffer from Lada diabetes. In the absence of the required therapy, the consequences are deplorable.
The clinical picture of Lada diabetes
As for the symptoms, it can vary significantly. As medical practice shows, in the vast majority of cases, Lada disease proceeds without a pronounced clinical picture.
Since the pathology progresses slowly, a person can live with the disease for years, while not suspecting that he has a specific type of diabetes.
However, if the patient has symptoms of the disease, then most often they are characterized by the same clinical picture as diabetes mellitus of the first and second type.
Symptoms of Lada diabetes are as follows:
- Constant weakness and apathy, chronic fatigue.
- Dizziness, tremor of limbs.
- The skin becomes pale.
- The temperature regime of the body rises (rarely).
- High blood sugar.
- Profuse and frequent urination.
- Dramatic weight loss for no reason.
If a person has ketoacidosis, then other symptoms are added to the symptoms listed above: dry mouth, bouts of nausea and vomiting, strong and constant thirst, tongue fenced.
It should be remembered that the symptoms in a person may clearly indicate a pathology, or may be absent.
Diagnosis of LADA diabetes
How is the Lada variety identified, and how to distinguish it from another type of diabetes, what criteria exist?
As medical practice shows, if a patient has normal body weight, he is not obese, then most often he is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. However, in reality, it may have a specific variety.
For the treatment of type 2 diabetes, drugs are often recommended to reduce the concentration of glucose in the body. But they are extremely harmful to people who have latent autoimmune diabetes.
Therefore, in order to establish the diagnosis with accuracy, in addition to examining glycated hemoglobin and blood tests for sugar, the doctor prescribes the following diagnostic methods:
- Analysis of antibodies to ICA.
- Antigen determination
- A study of genetic markers is underway.
- Determination of antibodies to GAD.
Deviations from the norm are the following parameters. Firstly, if the patient is less than 35 years old. Secondly, there is a dependence on insulin after a short period of time (about a couple of years).
Thirdly, the clinical picture is similar to type 2 diabetes, but the patient’s weight is within normal limits, or the patient has a thin body build.
If you suspect a Lada disease, diagnosing it is not difficult. There are many diagnostic measures that help establish the correct diagnosis in patients.
The results of the tests, obtained in the laboratory, help the attending doctor to choose really effective treatment options and increase the period of production of their own hormones.
The potential risk group for Lada pathology includes women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The likelihood of developing this particular type of diabetes is 25%.
Drug therapy
Unfortunately, for patients with Lada diabetes, the administration of insulin is almost inevitable. Doctors give recommendations that involve starting insulin therapy immediately. With an accurate diagnosis of this pathology, the tactics of therapy are based on this principle of treatment.
People suffering from Lada pathology need early detection of the disease, and the early appointment of appropriate therapy, in particular, the introduction of insulin.
This fact is based on the fact that there is a high probability of the lack of synthesis of one’s own hormone in the body. In addition, hormone deficiency is often associated with cell immunity to insulin.
No new way has been invented to treat the incompletely studied type of diabetes. In this regard, doctors recommend including tablets to reduce sugar in the treatment process, as well as drugs to increase the sensitivity of soft tissues to the hormone.
The main goals of drug therapy:
- Reducing the load on the pancreas.
- Inhibition of autoimmune processes in the body.
- Normalization of blood sugar at an acceptable level.
When Lada is diagnosed with a disease, the doctor prescribes low-dose insulin therapy. If you skip this step, or the doctor did not recognize a specific ailment, then over time you will have to enter extremely high doses of the hormone.
The main principles of the treatment of Lada-diabetes:
- Following a low-carb diet .
- The introduction of insulin in small doses.
- Blood sugar control.
- Optimal physical activity.
Glucose targets on an empty stomach should not exceed the permissible norm of 5.5 units. In addition, sugar should not drop lower than 3.8 units.
If the patient strictly follows all the doctor’s recommendations, eats balanced, then he will need small doses of insulin. Which in turn helps maintain the functionality of the pancreatic beta cells.
It is permissible to combine drug therapy and alternative treatment, but only with the permission of the attending doctor. Herbs that lower blood sugar will help improve the condition of the patient, and prevent complications.