Reclaim your Rise Podcast

89. Misdiagnosed: my dad's complicated journey to a T1D diagnosis at 64 years old

November 7, 2023

It’s the thing I wish I didn’t have in common with my dad, but he’s back on the show after his T1D diagnosis this year after a T2D misdiagnosis. Join me and my dad, Peter Bongiorno, for a candid conversation about his confusing road to a correct diagnosis, the wild moment I had a suspicion that he was Type 1, his outlook on the disease, letting go of control, his inspiration from parenting me, and his recommendations for getting a correct diagnosis. 

Time Stamps:  

  • (10:14) Peter’s medical history and the confusing road to a correct diagnosis
  • (12:30) Peter’s mindset when he was first told he was pre-diabetic 
  • (13:35) His aortic aneurysm diagnosis 
  • (17:14) Lauren’s panic attacks and mental health distress around her father’s aneurysm
  • (21:06) His extreme diet changes and how nothing was working to maintain his A1C
  • (24:53) His reaction when his A1C comes back at 7.1 in December 2022 and getting on Metformin for Type 2 Diabetes
  • (26:10) Lauren “wakes up” and has T1D suspicions for her father
  • (32:34) The marker tests for T1D that Peter took and getting back the results 
  • (35:22) Why Lauren was uncertain if he had T1D for the longest time and a common reason for misdiagnosis with T2D.
  • (40:04) His outlook on his diagnosis, letting go of control, being courageous, and his inspiration from Lauren
  • (57:14) Peter’s recommendations for people who are concerned they are being misdiagnosed

What to do now: 

  1. Follow me @lauren_bongiorno and @riselyhealth on Instagram to stay in the loop for when new episodes drop.
  2. 4AllFamily creates products that help people protect their insulin and they have more than 200,000 customers worldwide in USA, Canada, Australia, India, and soon Europe. The majority of their staff also lives with T1D which are companies I always love to support, so if you don't yet have one of their insulin protectors, you can check out their products - available on Amazon and directly from the 4allfamily website.


Disclaimer: Nothing you hear on the Reclaim your Rise podcast should be a substitute for personalized professional medical advice. Please always consult your physician or other medical professional before making any changes to your diet, insulin dosages, or healthcare plan.

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