Lance Bass is starting a new chapter when it comes to his health as he learns how to manage type 1.5 diabetesa slower-progressing condition that has features of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The *NSYNC star, 45, revealed he had type 2 diabetes in March after being diagnosed a few years earlier. He told People that it was something he developed during the COVID pandemic and that it caused him to reevaluate his lifestyle and diet.
Now, he tells Yahoo Life that the changes he was making and the medications he was taking weren’t helping him feel better. Bass discovered this was because he was being treated for the wrong condition.
“I was so frustrated and it was really getting to me because I felt like I was really sick and I couldn’t understand it. …I felt like something was wrong with me,” Bass says of her unsuccessful treatment for type 2. “I recently found out it was a misdiagnosis.”
Although he is still coming to terms with his most recent diagnosis, Bass already feels more capable of living with type 1.5 diabetes – also known as latent autoimmune diabetes. Here’s what the pop star has learned so far.
Is there type 1.5 diabetes?
“I am [type] 1.5, which I had no idea existed until a few weeks ago. But you know, it’s interesting and fascinating to me that there’s a whole new level of diabetes that I had no idea about,” Bass says.
It is not uncommon for someone with type 1.5 diabetes, which occurs later in life, to be initially misdiagnosed as type 2, according to the Mayo clinic. The difference is that type 1.5 is the result of an autoimmune disease that causes the pancreas to stop producing insulin, which is the case in type 1 diabetics, while type 2 is when the body develops insulin resistance.
So, although Bass was previously controlling his diabetes with blood sugar monitoring and medication, he has now discovered that his treatment relies on insulin.
“I didn’t know I was 1.5 years old,” he says, “so I was doing some things wrong.”
Diabetes can affect all types of people
When Bass’ doctor told him years ago that his blood test indicated he might have prediabetes, he couldn’t believe it.
“I’m healthy, I work out, I eat well. There’s no way I’m diabetic,” he remembers thinking. “And then finally, you know, I got my next blood test and the doctor said, ‘You’re full of diabetes.’ And that’s when I really started to take it seriously.”
In retrospect, he realized that the symptoms he had been living with for years were because of his diabetes.
“It really answered a lot of questions I had for a few years,” Bass says. “I was very thirsty sometimes. I would be very lethargic most of the time. So now that I understand what diabetes does to me, I can fully recognize when my glucose is rising or falling.”
Using the Dexcom G7 the continuous glucose monitor also took the guesswork out of this process. “Every five minutes I take a new reading and see exactly where my glucose is,” he says.
Health and well-being look different after diagnosis
“Strangely enough, I tell people there is a silver lining to being diagnosed with diabetes – you actually worry more about your health,” he says.
When it comes to food, for example, Bass prioritized vegetables and redefined his relationship with sugary snacks. “I thought I was a good eater [before]but now I’m a really good eater,” he says.
His workouts have also changed. “I increased my exercise. I do more aerobic exercise,” he says. “I think I’m a much, much healthier person.”
Most importantly, he discovered new ways to manage his mental health, including meditating more and getting massages. “Knowing that stress really affects my diabetes in a big way made me really try to relax more. So I reduced my workload, I try to take breaks as much as possible,” he says. “I’m just trying to get my brain as healthy as possible.”
Managing type 1.5 diabetes is a full-time job
In addition to learning to eat well, sleep well, and exercise more efficiently, Bass says “the biggest learning curve” with type 1.5 diabetes is trying to remember to have your insulin accessible.
“For four decades, I didn’t have to remember to get my insulin from the refrigerator before getting in the car,” he says. “So I would say 50% of the time I forget my insulin at home and you know, I go to breakfast or I go out to lunch. I’m like, ‘Well, shit, I totally forgot.'”
He adds: “You’re always thinking about everything like, did I get my insulin? Did I order my insulin? Has my insulin expired? Did I get my needles? Do I have my Dexcom ready? Is it about to expire this week? Did I get a recipe for this? There are so many things you have to think about when you are diabetic that, unfortunately, it feels like a full-time job.”
He may have future doctors on his hands
Bass says she has relied on her support system throughout this process, including her friends, her manager, her husband and, of course, her two children.
“They’re two and a half now, so they don’t really understand it. But even at this age I’m very open and honest about everything with them,” he says of his twins – son Alexander James and daughter Violet Betty. “They love going to the doctor [with me]they’re excited about the photos and everything.
Bass says his children play doctor at home and he shows them how he uses his glucose monitor. “I’ll show them the little needle that sticks out and they just think it’s fascinating,” he says. “They are not afraid of it. I explain over and over why I do this and what diabetes is, and you know, I don’t know how much they’re understanding of this. But you know, eventually they will.”
Visibility is important
“It is very important for me, especially as a public figure, to be visible as a diabetic. Especially for the younger generation who may be scared by what they are going through,” he says. “Having to put in a Dexcom or get an injection [of insulin] can be scary for children. So if I can help make this seem less scary, you know, I’m glad I can be a voice.”
Bass says that’s one of the reasons he loves taking photos and seeing that his glucose monitor is visible. “I’m thinking, OK, maybe a kid is seeing this and thinking, ‘Oh, I have this too,’ and they don’t feel so alone,” he says.
