Lance Bass shared a “plot twist” in his journey with diabetes.
The former *NSYNC singer revealed that he was previously misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes when, in reality, he 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. Things just weren’t adding up.”
Back in March, the musician told PEOPLE that he had been previously diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during COVID and that “I’m really trying to figure out how to control that.”
Like type 1 diabetes, type 1.5 diabetes—also known as latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA)—is an autoimmune disease that develops when the pancreas stops producing insulin, according to the Mayo Clinic. The patient then needs synthetic insulin, given through injections or a pump attached to the body, to regulate their blood glucose levels.
Unlike a typical diabetes diagnosis, LADA develops slowly in adults over 30. 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.
“I was so frustrated, and it really was affecting me because I just felt like I was really sick and I could not figure this out,” Bass told Yahoo! Life in an interview posted on July 24. “I didn’t realize that I was 1.5, so I was doing some of the wrong things.”
However, with the correct diagnosis and lifestyle changes, Bass has been able to feel better and even wrote in his Instagram post that he is “feeling more confident and in control than ever 💪.”
“The older I get, the more I know I have to take care of my body. So I work out when I can,” he explained. “Exercising is so key right now[…] I have a nice setup at my house and I get 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there.”
