Type 2 to type1?

[Greenpictureframe]

Hey, sorry long post! Need advice.
I first had diabetes during pregnancies, after first pregnancy it went but 2nd pregnancy, 13years ago, it didn't quite disappear. I was able to control with diet alone and this worked really well up until 4 years ago. During 2020 covid I got very ill (long covid) my blood sugars shot up but I put it down to being less active as I was so ill (couldn't walk or talk without being breathless, was pretty much housebound, lost use of legs for a while, my right side is still droopy as it just dropped, had a heart attack) and then my father passed and food wasn't really on my mind so I know I didn't eat healthily. Anyway the diabetes got wildly out of control and even when I tried to get on top of it it didnt work, loads of symptoms then lots of medications and nothing is working. Went to my last diabetic appt with the nurse in gp surgery and she's said they cannot manage my diabetes now, she's referred me to the hospital but has said that going back on my records my bloods were borderline for years then I got ill and they went crazy high she actually asked if id had covid and i had to say to look at my notes and she said oh, she said she thinks my diabetes has changed from type 2 to type 1 and my pancreas is no longer functioning. She said that I should have been put on insulin ages ago. I'm now being urgently referred to the hospital diabetic clinic. I'm not sure what to expect, ive never heard of this change before. If I'm honest I used insulin during both pregnancies and was fine, but am a bit scared of the idea of having to use it for life. Does anyone know what they will do at the hospital? I had to retrain and find a new job after losing my job working with disabled children due to my illness and I love my new job and have worked hard to get better, I'm scared I'll be banned from driving and I'll lose another job (transport, childrens schooling would make it very hard and work isnt flexible). I know I'm panicking but I'm unsure and therefore a bit scared. Thanks.

she said she thinks my diabetes has changed from type 2 to type 1

That's not a thing.

Perhaps she worded it clumsily, as you can get type 1 if you have type 2 but type 2 doesn't progress into type 1

Please try not to worry. They will give you blood tests that will show if you are producing any insulin and if you are a type 1. You will be put on insulin injections and probably be given a freestyle libre to monitor your glucose levels. There are several courses that will help you to understand and manage your condition.

It is daunting at first but you will be ok.

Thanks so much, that's interesting to know about how it all works, I suppose I never really gave it a thought about types and stuff so the idea of maybe actually being type 1 (which i, clearly wrongly, always assumed was something you had from childhood) threw me a bit and I didn't really think to ask more questions or clarify. Although ive been reading through some posts on here and im already learning, so glad i found this section! Thanks also for the reassurance I'm a natural worrier anyway and since being ill I think I'm worse. I'll definitely relax a bit and hopefully they'll explain everything when I get an appt. Thanks x

My DS became T1 in his 30s. He was told it was probably caused by a severe bout of covid that triggered an underlying autoimmune condition. I didn't realise this could happen and like you thought it was a childhood thing, so a complete shock to us all. We have no diabetes in the family but myself and grandma have lupus, an autoimmune condition, A year on and he's using his cgm to keep on top of it, it sucks but on the other hand he's feeling loads better now. I hope you can get it all sorted.

Type 1 is occasionally misdiagnosed as Type 2 - look online and you'll find stories from people.

No, you are right, changing types is not a thing.

And if you had ben misdiagnosed, you wouldnt have been able to control your diabetes for years via diet alone. No Type 1s can do that.

@Greenpictureframe some Type 2s do need insulin. If its been out of control for a bit, that's most likely what has happened here. Or as a PP said, it is possible to have both types.

Type 1s aren't automatically banned from driving. You will only get a.licence for 3 years and renewing it each time will probably depend on you having yearly eye tests, but then that's a good thing to do anyway. There's nothing you cannot do if you take care of yourself.

Well … it is possible to control T1D via diet if you have LADA I.e slow adult onset. Can sometimes take years to progress to insulin. Often misdiagnosed as T2D.

Hopefully they offer an antibody test to confirm T1.

As a T1 diabetic I really don't like Lada being referred to as T1. It's not really, barely type 1.5, straddling, more T2 than T1.