Your Screening Calendar
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
Screening in LADA follows the same schedule as other diabetes, with two differences: thyroid checks are added, and there is a reason to start without delay.
That reason is the diagnostic delay. If LADA took years to identify, blood sugar was likely running high through those years, and complications develop from high glucose regardless of which label was on the file.
| Check | How often |
|---|---|
| HbA1c | Every 3 to 6 months |
| Blood pressure | Every visit |
| Eyes — dilated retinal examination | At diagnosis, then yearly |
| Kidneys — urine albumin and blood creatinine with eGFR | Yearly |
| Feet — sensation, pulses, skin | Yearly, plus your own daily check |
| Cholesterol and blood fats | Yearly |
| Thyroid function | At diagnosis, then periodically |
| Weight | Every visit |
The kidney and eye checks are the ones people most often skip, because both conditions are silent until they are advanced. By the time vision changes, retinopathy is usually well established. Both are far more treatable when found early.
Ask for copies of your results rather than only being told they were fine. A creatinine that has drifted upward across three years is information; "normal" three times in a row is not.
Thyroid testing is specific to autoimmune diabetes and is covered separately in autoimmune screening.