How Long Does It Take For The Beta Cells To Be Destroyed Before The Symptoms Of Type 1 Diabetes Appear?
I was diagosed with type 1 at 37 I have always maintained a weight of around 160 and I am 5'8". Previously I spent about 15 years in the Marines. Even now I run in 5, 10k's and some marathons
Wow, that’s late onset! But it does happen. I don’t know if anyone really knows how long it takes beta cells to be destroyed, because people are usually only diagnosed once the symptoms are advanced. Some Type 1’s experience what they call a “honeymoon period” for the first few months to a year, when there are still some functioning beta cells that haven’t been destroyed yet. But they die off and you make little to no insulin from then on. (I didn’t have that, it was full tilt right from the start)
Since you’re athletic, you may want to consider an insulin pump, which gives you much more control over insulin delivery. You can dial it down when you exercise to help reduce “lows”. Assuming you’re not involved in contact sports like football, it would probably be an excellent choice for you.
It really depends on your body. It can take months or years. There really isn’t a hard and fast rule.
I have never heard of Type one being diagnosed that late in life! That’s really rare. anyways, type 1 has nothing to do with how athletic you are or how much you weigh. Infect, most type ones are normal body mass, as opposed to type two which is mostly found in those who are overweight.
there is no specific guideline on how long it takes before symptoms show up, but the beta cells have to be 85-90% destroyed…. the amount of time this takes can very. Some type ones are diagnosed at 2 years old (there fore it would take less than two years), but the mean age for diagnosis of Type 1 DM is 13. There are several reasons or theories as to why DM 1 develops in the first place. The only thing that’s known for sure is that it’s an autoimmune disease, which means the body is attacking itself. There are lots of theories as to what causes this autoimmunity, including a viral origin, or genetic component, but nothing thus far has been proven. So… what does this mean to you? Well, just that for some reason your pancreas didn’t begin destroying itself till later in life. Not sure why… like I said, DM 1 this late in life is really rare. You seem like you have been educated about your disease (based on the fact that you knew it was the beta cells), so I’m assuming you are going to follow your doctor’s instructions. Take care of yourself!