Episode 69 - Misdiagnosis, menopause and the joy of female friendship with Eileen Williams and Shelley Thompson

Eileen Williams and Shelley Thompson met at a gym 26 years ago, having put their babies in the same creche so that they could take some time to work out.

They bonded as new mums, and what started as a quick coffee soon became a fierce friendship. But their bonds run even deeper, as both have since been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, although receiving those diangoses was far from straight forward.

Eileen was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in 1996 while pregnant with her son. Her symptoms continued after pregnancy and she was treated as a type 2 for 12 years, painstaking adjusting her diet and exercising 'obsessively' in a bid to keep her blood sugars within range for more than a decade before she received the correct diagnosis and was finally given insulin.

In January 2019 Shelley was hospitalised with DKA, having presented symptoms a year earlier and been presumed type 2. But even then the diagnosis was not straight forward, and the two have relied on each other through the highs and lows of motherhood as well as type 1 diabetes to laugh at life's challenges and enjoy the ride together.

These two are an absolute JOY, and we giggled a lot despite covering some difficult ground, which really is testament to their friendship. Misdiagnosis of LADA is unfortunately not uncommon, so if you've been in a similar situation please know that you're not alone.

Find Eileen on Instagram.
Say hi to Shelley on Instagram.
Diabetes UK: Menopause and diabetes.
Diatribe - LADA Misdiagnosis.