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Type3c

C

cherryvalley

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 3c
Hi there..I have been diagnosed some time ago with Type3c and find it very hard to manage as I have asked many times to go on a Dafne course but so far here in Belfast have not been offered one. My bsugars are up and down daily and I have to contact my team on an almost weekly basis to have my insulin tweaked etc. Any advice from other Type3cs would be very helpful.
 
cherryvalley said:
Hi there..I have been diagnosed some time ago with Type3c and find it very hard to manage as I have asked many times to go on a Dafne course but so far here in Belfast have not been offered one. My bsugars are up and down daily and I have to contact my team on an almost weekly basis to have my insulin tweaked etc. Any advice from other Type3cs would be very helpful.
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Hello @cherryvalley. Welcome to the Forum. I'll cautiously dip my toes in here, since I am T3c after a total pancreatectomy in Feb 20. A couple of opening questions, if I may:

What insulins are you on please and what are your typical daily doses?

What (and when) brought you to a diagnosis of T3c? Although membership of this tiny, select club is small (less than 1% of all UK diabetics are T3c) the route to this club is surprisingly varied. T3c is for those folk with damage to their pancreas, causing their diabetes. My damage was abrupt and a bit extreme (!), deliberate to treat my Pancreatic Cancer. Others get here after illness, such as pancreatitis, progressively damaging their pancreas (there are several ailments that can cause pancreatic damage). The treatments for T3c can vary from solely oral meds, basal insulin only and full on Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) that you and I have.

With those Qs answered I and others can, I genuinely hope, spot possible answers. When my D is misbehaving, I first change my insulin pens or cartridges, not on the same day necessarily. My CGM graphs and thus the BG trend graphs will influence whether I change my basal first or my bolus. Since you are in NI I ought to check (question 3, sorry) that you do have a CGM such as Libre 2+ or Dexcom One+. Assuming you do, are you getting your results from a smart phone or a hand held Reader/Receiver? Can you add a photo of a typical bad day's CGM graph with your reply?

My 2nd reaction to a period of misbehaving D is to do some basal reviewing and testing. Do you know how to do this?

Look forward to hearing more from you in due course. Hopefully others will join us soon today.
 
Welcome to the forum @cherryvalley

Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time managing your diabetes, and are finding it difficult to access structured education.

Many of our Type 3c’s manage their diabetes like it was a particularly stroppy and obstreperous case of T1.

If that’s the case for you, you might find either of these well-regarded books helpful

Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - but also relevant to T1s of all ages!

Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner - An American Endocrinologist with a chatty style

Additionally there’s a freely-available DAFNE-a-like online learning resource by the Bournemouth NHS trust
www.bertieonline.org.uk

Even if it’s not quite the full-on face-to-face experience (DAFNE graduates often say that the group discussions were particularly helpful), it covers much of the same ground in terms of dose adjustment strategies.

I’ll also tag in a few extra Type 3cs who may have their own experiences to share
@martindt1606 @eggyg @soupdragon @Wendal
 
cherryvalley said:
Hi there..I have been diagnosed some time ago with Type3c and find it very hard to manage as I have asked many times to go on a Dafne course but so far here in Belfast have not been offered one. My bsugars are up and down daily and I have to contact my team on an almost weekly basis to have my insulin tweaked etc. Any advice from other Type3cs would be very helpful.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum @cherryvalley and joining our select band.As Roland says our journey here is very different so finding out more about your situation may help us in helping yourself.
Mine was an acute pancreatitis attack followed by the diabetes about 18 months later and put on insulin.I just get on with managing the condition as best I can without becoming a slave to it and save for the medication which I regard as just part of my routine I live pretty much a normal life.
Anyway am sure others will pop in to offer you their story and support so best wishes to you and ask anything you like.
 
Welcome @cherryvalley from another 3c. One severe attack of pancreatitis led to an immediate diagnosis of diabetes for me.
My clinic does not refer people to DAFNE but I attended a one day course for Type 1s (I'd already been to sessions on carb counting). At the session the DSN described Type 3c as tricksy, which seems a good description to me! I also worked through the Bertie course recommended by @everydayupsanddowns and am a fan of Think like a pancreas.
I'm assuming you are using pancreatic enzymes (such as Creon) as well?

Juggling Type 3c can be really hard work, so I really sympathise.
 
Hi @cherryvalley , and a very welcome from me 🙂 . Hopefully you'll hear more from other Type 3c members..
 
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