Lance Bass shares health battle after doctors discover he had the wrong diabetes diagnosis

Lance Bass is opening up about his journey with diabetes, revealing that he spent years managing the wrong diagnosis before learning the truth about his condition.

The former NSYNC singer revealed that he has type 1.5 diabetes, also known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). This condition is often mistaken for type 2 diabetes because it develops later in life.

Bass, 47, shared in an interview with Health Magazine that he was first diagnosed with prediabetes in 2019 before later being told he had type 2 diabetes. 

However, after years of trying diet, exercise, and medication without seeing improvements in his blood sugar levels, doctors discovered he actually had LADA.

“When someone tells you that you’re on the border of being type 2, and you’re eating so healthy and you’re exercising, you’re like, ‘There must be a mistake,’” Bass recalled.

About a year after his initial diagnosis, Bass’s A1C level reached 10%, leading doctors to diagnose him with type 2 diabetes. 

He then spent nearly two years trying to manage the condition before realizing something was not adding up.

“That’s when I realized: I’m type 2. I gotta start working on this,” he said.

Eventually, doctors determined that Bass had type 1.5 diabetes, an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system affects insulin production. 

Unlike type 2 diabetes, LADA often requires insulin treatment as the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce enough insulin.

When he received the correct diagnosis, Bass admitted he struggled to accept the reality.

“This can’t be happening to me,” he recalled thinking.

The singer said understanding that he would need insulin long-term was difficult, but the correct diagnosis helped him finally take control of his health.

Bass now manages his condition with insulin and uses a continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump, which he described as a major improvement in his daily routine.

“You go 40 years of your life without having to think about diabetes,” Bass said, explaining that technology has made managing his condition easier.

Beyond medical treatment, Bass said he has learned from the diabetes community online and adjusted his lifestyle by paying closer attention to nutrition, exercise and his body’s patterns.

The diagnosis also changed the way Bass thinks about his future, especially as a father to twin children.

“I want to be there for my kids — and hopefully grandkids,” he said.

Bass explained that he wants to teach his children healthy habits while also helping them understand his condition. 

He said his kids are often present when he checks his blood sugar or takes insulin so they do not view it as something frightening.

“I want them to see that. I want them to not be scared of it,” he said.

Now, Bass hopes sharing his experience will help others recognize the signs of LADA and ask more questions about their health.

The singer said he had never heard of type 1.5 diabetes before his own diagnosis and wishes it had been identified sooner.

“I just want to make sure that people of a certain age, like myself, look out for those signs,” Bass said.

He encouraged people with high blood sugar or elevated A1C levels to consider that their diagnosis may require further investigation.

“Obviously look for type 1, type 2,” Bass said. “But just have in the back of your head that there is a possibility this could be 1.5.”