I Learned All the Different Types of Diabetes the Hard Way — Here’s What You Need to Know

Three years ago, my 52-year-old mom came home from a routine checkup with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and I didn’t think twice about it. Like most people, I thought diabetes only came in two forms: type 1 for kids and teens, and type 2 for adults who ate too much sugar. We picked up her metformin prescription, cut out the occasional soda she drank, and thought that was the end of it. Three months later, she passed out at home and ended up in the ER with a blood sugar level of 380 mg/dL — four times the normal range. That’s when we found out she didn’t have type 2 at all: she had latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), a little-known third type that’s regularly misdiagnosed. That scare made me spend months researching, talking to endocrinologists, and learning exactly what are the different types of diabetes, how they differ, and how to get the right care for each. I’m sharing everything I learned so you don’t make the same costly mistakes we did.

My Backstory: The Misdiagnosis That Pushed Me to Learn About Diabetes Types

My mom first started showing symptoms six months before her diagnosis: she was peeing 6 times a night, losing 15 pounds without trying, and could barely walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. Her general practitioner ran a fasting glucose test, saw her level was 210 mg/dL, and immediately labeled it type 2, without any additional testing. We trusted his judgment, since we’d always heard adult diabetes was almost always type 2.

When the metformin didn’t help, we assumed she just wasn’t following her diet strictly enough. We cut out all white rice, bread, and desserts, but her fatigue got worse, and she started having blurry vision. The night she passed out, the ER endocrinologist ran two extra tests: a C-peptide test to measure how much insulin her body was actually producing, and a GAD autoantibody test to check for autoimmune activity. The results showed her immune system was attacking her insulin-producing beta cells, so she wasn’t making enough insulin at all — metformin, which works by improving insulin sensitivity, was completely useless for her condition. We delayed her correct treatment by three months because we bought into the common myth that diabetes only has two types.

What Are the Different Types of Diabetes? A No-Jargon Breakdown From My Firsthand Research

At its core, diabetes is a condition where your body can’t properly regulate blood sugar levels, but the root cause varies wildly between types, which is why treatment plans can look totally different for each person. After months of research and conversations with my mom’s care team, this is the clear, practical breakdown I wish I’d had from the start:

1. Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 is an autoimmune condition, where your immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the beta cells in your pancreas that produce insulin — the hormone that moves sugar from your blood into your cells for energy. Without insulin, sugar builds up to dangerous, life-threatening levels in your bloodstream. Most people are diagnosed with type 1 as children, teens, or young adults, but it can develop at any age. My cousin was diagnosed at 10 years old, and now at 22, he uses an insulin pump, checks his blood sugar 4 times a day, and lives a fully active life, including playing competitive soccer. There is no way to prevent type 1 diabetes, and it has no connection to diet, weight, or lifestyle habits.

2. Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 makes up 90-95% of all diabetes cases, and it’s the type most people are familiar with. With type 2, your body still produces insulin, but your cells don’t respond to it properly (a condition called insulin resistance), so sugar accumulates in your blood. It’s most often diagnosed in adults over 45, but rates of type 2 in teens and young adults have skyrocketed in the past 20 years. Risk factors include genetics, physical inactivity, a diet high in processed sugar and refined carbs, and excess body weight, but thin people can get it too: my 5-foot-4, 120-pound aunt, who runs 3 miles 3 times a week, was diagnosed with type 2 5 years ago because of a strong family history of the condition. The good news is that early-stage type 2 can often be managed with diet, exercise, and oral medication, and some people even achieve long-term remission where their blood sugar stays in normal range without meds. My aunt cut out white bread, pastries, and sugary coffee drinks, added more protein and non-starchy veggies to her meals, and now her A1c (a 3-month average of blood sugar levels) stays consistently under 6% with no medication.

3. Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a temporary form of diabetes that only develops during pregnancy. When you’re pregnant, your body produces extra hormones to support the growing fetus, and these hormones can cause temporary insulin resistance. It affects 2-10% of pregnancies in the U.S. every year. My sister was diagnosed with gestational diabetes when she was 24 weeks pregnant with her son. She had to test her blood sugar 4 times a day, eat a low-glycemic diet, and walk 20 minutes after every meal to keep her levels stable. The condition almost always goes away immediately after giving birth, but people who have gestational diabetes have a 50% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life, so my sister now gets her blood sugar tested annually to catch any issues early.

4. Less Common (And Often Misdiagnosed) Diabetes Types

These types make up 5-10% of all diabetes cases, and they’re the source of most misdiagnoses, like what happened to my mom:

• LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults): Also called type 1.5 diabetes, this is a slower-progressing form of type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in adults over 30. It develops so slowly that people often don’t need insulin for the first 1-2 years after diagnosis, so it’s almost always mislabeled as type 2.
• MODY (Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young): This is a rare genetic form of diabetes caused by a mutation in a single gene, usually diagnosed in teens and young adults under 30, even if they’re a healthy weight with no other risk factors. It runs strongly in families: if one parent has MODY, there’s a 50% chance their child will inherit the condition.
• Secondary Diabetes: This form of diabetes is caused by an underlying medical condition or medication, including pancreatic disease, cystic fibrosis, or long-term use of high-dose steroids. It often resolves once the underlying condition is treated or the medication is adjusted.

Real Case: How We Got My Mom’s LADA Management Right After Her Misdiagnosis

After her ER visit, we spent 6 months adjusting her care plan to fit her specific type of diabetes, and now her A1c stays stable between 6.1% and 6.3%, and she has more energy than she did before her diagnosis. These are the exact steps we took:

1. We pushed for specialized testing and care: We asked our GP to refer us to an endocrinologist who specialized in autoimmune diabetes, not just general type 2 care. We explicitly requested the C-peptide and GAD autoantibody tests to confirm her LADA diagnosis, instead of just taking the first diagnosis at face value.
2. We built a customized treatment plan: Unlike type 2, LADA doesn’t respond to most oral diabetes meds, since the root cause is low insulin production, not insulin resistance. Her doctor prescribed a single daily long-acting insulin shot, plus fast-acting insulin before meals if her pre-meal blood sugar was high. We also worked with a dietitian to create a low-carb meal plan that fit her love of Chinese home cooking, with low-carb versions of her favorite dishes like dumplings and stir-fry.
3. We used continuous glucose monitoring to track progress: We bought her a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) so she could see her blood sugar levels in real time, instead of just pricking her finger twice a day. We logged all her meals and blood sugar readings, and adjusted her insulin doses with her doctor every 2 weeks for the first 6 months.
4. We let go of the “one size fits all” mindset: At first, we tried to use my aunt’s type 2 diet plan for my mom, but it didn’t work, since their conditions had completely different root causes. We learned that the right plan for one type of diabetes can be completely useless for another.

Our biggest mistake early on was assuming that all adult diabetes was type 2, so we didn’t advocate for extra testing when her first treatment didn’t work. If your diabetes meds aren’t controlling your symptoms within 3 months of diagnosis, always push for more testing to confirm you have the right type.

Common Questions (FAQ)

These are the questions I get asked most often when I talk about diabetes types with friends and family:

Q: Is type 2 diabetes only for people who are overweight?

A: No, that’s one of the most persistent myths about diabetes. Up to 15% of people diagnosed with type 2 are at a normal or healthy weight, and thin adults are far more likely to be misdiagnosed with type 2 when they actually have LADA. Genetics play a much larger role than weight for many people with type 2.

Q: If I have gestational diabetes, will I have diabetes forever?

A: Almost all cases of gestational diabetes resolve completely within a few weeks after you give birth. But having gestational diabetes does raise your lifetime risk of developing type 2 by 50%, so it’s important to get your fasting blood sugar tested every 1-2 years after delivery, and stick to consistent healthy habits to lower your risk.

Q: How do I know if I have LADA instead of type 2 diabetes?

A: Ask your doctor for testing if you notice any of these red flags: you were diagnosed with type 2 under age 50, you’re at a healthy weight, oral diabetes meds stop working for you within 1-2 years of diagnosis, or you have a family history of autoimmune diseases like thyroid disease or rheumatoid arthritis. The two main tests for LADA are a C-peptide test and GAD autoantibody test, which most GPs don’t run automatically for type 2 diagnoses.

Q: Can type 2 diabetes be cured?

A: There is no official cure for type 2 diabetes, but many people with early-stage type 2 can achieve long-term remission, meaning their blood sugar stays in a normal range without diabetes medication for months or even years. This is usually achieved with 5-10% body weight loss, a diet low in processed carbs and added sugar, and regular exercise. You will still need to monitor your blood sugar regularly, though, because symptoms can return if you go back to old habits.

Final Thoughts and Free Resource

If you or a loved one just received a diabetes diagnosis, the very first step you should take is to confirm exactly what type you have, before you start any long-term treatment plan. The wrong treatment can make your symptoms worse, as it did for my mom, and raise your risk of long-term complications like nerve damage, kidney disease, or vision loss.

To help you navigate the diagnosis process, I put together a free 10-page checklist of questions to ask your doctor after a diabetes diagnosis, including what tests to request to confirm your type, how to build a customized treatment plan, and what lifestyle changes actually make a difference for each type. You can download it for free by dropping a comment below, and I’ll send it right over.

Disclaimer: This article is AI-assisted for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions related to diabetes diagnosis, treatment, or care.