Since launching the Type 1 on 1 podcast in 2019, I’ve had a not insignificant amount of people get in touch to recount their experience of misdiagnosis as a type 2. That’s exactly what happened to my latest guest Alex Haighton – the consequences of which were almost lethal. Cruelly dismissed by a GP as ‘old and fat’ (yes, that’s a direct quote), she was unable to convince her healthcare team that further tests might be needed. Seven months into her diagnosis as a type 2 diabetic and without access to insulin, Alex ended up in A&E with DKA so severe that her organs were shutting down.
As she approaches her two year diaversary Alex, who lives in London and works for a medical charity, has chosen to speak out about her difficult experience in the hopes of raising awareness around misdiagnosis, highlighting that type 1 diabetes can occur long after the peak age of diagnosis as a teenager. This is a heartbreaking experience but Alex has not been defeated, and discusses with a huge dose of hope the progress she has made since 2019, as well as the more positive diabetes care she’s received since her diagnosis as a type 1.
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