In 2020, Lance Bass was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is different from Type 1 diabetes in that you typically develop Type 1 as a child because it’s an autoimmune condition resulting in your pancreas not making enough insulin so you have to give yourself injections to supplement it. With Type 2, your body still produces insulin, but becomes resistant to it. Type 2 is usually treated with lifestyle changes, like diet and exercise.
After his diagnosis, Lance made the adjustments required of him but still struggled to get his glucose levels under control. Now, four years later, he’s discovered that he was actually misdiagnosed this entire time. Lance doesn’t have Type 2 diabetes. He doesn’t have Type 1, either. Instead, he has an uncommon type of diabetes that doesn’t fall within either category. He’s now been diagnosed with Type 1.5, which is also known as Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults (LADA).
Lance Bass shared a new development to his diabetes diagnosis. Bass, 45 revealed the surprising “plot twist” in an Instagram reel and revealed that he actually has “Type 1.5 diabetes.”
“As all of you know, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a few years back,” the singer said in a sponsored post for a continuous glucose monitor. “But when I was first diagnosed, I had a difficult time getting my glucose levels under control even though I made adjustments to my diet, medication, and my workout routine.”
“I recently discovered that I was misdiagnosed,” he confirmed. “I actually have Type 1.5, or latent autoimmune diabetes of adults [LADA].”
According to the Mayo Clinic, LADA is similar to Type 1 diabetes, where the pancreas stops producing insulin because of an autoimmune response in the body that damages cells in the pancreas. Unlike a typical diabetes diagnosis, LADA develops slowly in adults over 30 and typically “people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who are lean and physically active, or who have lost weight without effort, could have LADA.”
The American Diabetes Association also confirmed that LADA symptoms are similar to those in other forms of diabetes and can include excessive thirst, extreme fatigue, and tingling and numbness in the extremities. Since the disease develops slowly, a person can typically manage symptoms with healthy lifestyle changes to diet and exercise habits, but they may eventually require insulin shots down the road.
Dang, the human body is so complicated! Diabetes is no joke. I have had people in my life pass away from both Type 1 and Type 2. I’m so glad that Lance was able to get to the bottom of what was going on with him so that he can treat it properly. I feel like sometimes we adults tend to ignore any bad symptoms in our bodies until we can’t do it anymore. I’m just as bad, so I get it. I actually have a good friend who was diagnosed with diabetes at 30. He had a virus and ended up in the hospital where they gave him steroids that ended up causing an autoimmune response that turned into Type 1 diabetes. I sent him this article and he told me that most likely, what Lance has would fall under Type 1, but by his definition, my friend would also have Type 1.5, even though he monitors his insulin and does injections. Like I said, the human body is so crazy and complicated. Hopefully, Lance is in a stable place right now. The real moral of the story is, however, that if you have anything out-of-whack in your body, please see a doctor and get it checked out. And don’t stop until you get actual answers.
Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon, IMAGO/Dee Cee Carter / Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
IANAD, but enjoy reading medical mysteries, and research studies. There was some endocrinology researchers confab a few years ago, and one of the talks was on diabetes and how is a “we know some stuff, but there’s a lot we don’t know, and some of what we thought we knew turns out was wrong” situation. And that they found there are at least 8-10 different metabolic/cellular level dysfunctions (like this pathway X or that hormone Y or receptor Z isn’t working right), with different (and often unknown causes) that present as “diabetes” in its various forms. And a myriad of things triggering it (genetic, epigenetic, lifestyle, environmental, etc).
It’s going to be interesting as research continues, and treatments, diagnostics get fine tuned to target each different one and eventually ways to prevent them or cure them.
Glad he’s getting the treatment, tools he needs to manage it and is talking about it.
As a Type 2 diabetic let me weigh in to say it is very frustrating. Not only do people react completely differently to the same foods, lifestyle choices, etc. the same person can react totally differently at different times. Yesterday a veggie sandwich on a low carb flat bread is fine, today it spikes my blood sugar by 120 points. Maddening.
One small correction, in Type 2 often your body still produces enough insulin, your body is just insulin resistant and not using it effectively.
Thanks for explaining that, it’s been corrected. I’m sorry you’re going through that it sounds really tough to deal with!
One further correction: in Type 1, the pancreas produces no insulin, or so small an amount as to be barely there. I’ve been Type 1 since the age of 14, and I’ve been tested as producing no insulin at all. A minor point, but worth mentioning.
Thanks, @Lynn and @Silver Birch! Appreciate it! 🙂
Silver
Sister is also type 1. I have admiration how you folks live knowing that your body is working against you. And since it is hormonal, it affects one’s mood, and yet, there is nothing you can do. And giving birth.. people just don’t get the implications of living normally with an insulin pump.
There is a rise of type 1 due to Covid, so it is not just genetics. If you had Covid or other nasty viral infection, watch your sugar levels.
It means it’s autoimmune in nature but unlike most people who were born with it he’s acquired it as an adult and is now dependent on insulin as his pancreas had stopped producing enough of it or any at all.
Whereas type 2’s are not insulin dependent, rather their issue is that they cannot use the huge amounts of insulin they’re producing.
PCOS can also develop out of insulin resistance, and it isn’t type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Hormones are so complicated! I wonder what role inflammation from COVID-19 is playing into development of autoimmune disorders.
Great point about how Covid could affect autoimmune disorders!
People can develop autoimmunity after viral infection.
I’m a type 1–diagnosed at age 5–and this type of thing is exactly why they made a big effort to change the terminology around it. Back in the day it was called “juvenile diabetes” but they realized that it (rarely) can hit adults as well. Even the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation had to change their name.
I’ve known people who refer to themselves as “type 3” because they have both type 1 and type 2 at the same time.
Doctor, here. Just to clarify: corticosteroids don’t cause an autoimmune response. They’re used to treat autoimmune conditions, because they suppress the immune response. An infection, however, can generate autoimmune reaction.
PSA about type 1: As said above, with Type 1 you make no insulin at all, and without insulin injections or a pump you’ll die in a couple days. People with Type 2 still make insulin which is why their body can get less resistant to insulin with lifestyle choices. Also, people can get Type 1 at any age, it shouldn’t really be associated with children anymore. And there’s a lot of antibody testing now that can show if you are likely to get it or are definitely going to get it at some point in your lifetime. And there are drugs in trials to help delay the onset if you are definitely going to get type 1. And finally in terms of type 1 diabetes being a gradual onset that happens with almost all people because your pancreas is slowly failing over time, and the complete failure to produce any insulin after the first symptom might be over a year. But again once that happens you can’t live without insulin, which is why it’s surprising to people that type 1 diabetics don’t get better if they eat better bc regardless of what you eat (apples vs. poptarts) you can’t live without insulin. For general health the apple is obvi the better choice, but for T1D the apple without insulin will be as fatal as a poptart without insulin. My kiddo is 9 and has been T1D since he was 3.