advice for type 3c diabetes

[dia_05x]

Hi! I've been diagnosed with type 3c diabetes recently and have been struggling with trying to manage what i eat and how i go about my school day (i am a teenager).
Does anyone have any advice in general that would be helpful to know?

 

[eggyg]

Welcome @dia_05x
Firstly can you give us a bit of background re your type 3c, ie what medication you’re on and if you don’t mind, what was the cause. You seem very young to have type 3c. Then hopefully we can help you.
I’m type 3c because of a pancreatic tumour caused by acute pancreatitis, I had most of my pancreas removed 15 years ago.

Elaine

 

[dia_05x]

I went into hospital when I was 11 and I got told that I had acute pancreatitis. They never found out what was the cause of this and why it happened, but I was told to go onto a low fat diet and watch what i eat. A few years went by and I had another episode, but this time they found that my blood sugars were high too. I was told once again to watch what i eat and at this point I was not diagnosed with diabetes, but I went in for an appointment and they told me.
They said it has been caused because of my acute pancreatitis and that its been damaged because of it. I am currently taking 8 units of Insulin every night and just taking care of what I am eating.

Dia

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Hi! I've been diagnosed with type 3c diabetes recently and have been struggling with trying to manage what i eat and how i go about my school day (i am a teenager).
Does anyone have any advice in general that would be helpful to know?

Hello @Dia-05x, welcome to the forum.

Your question is not the easiest thing to answer without knowing a little bit more about what caused your diagnosis, what medications you are currently on (including possibly taking Creon), how you test and monitor your BG and in what way in particular you are struggling.

I came to be T3c after a total pancreatectomy and removal of a cancerous tumour around my pancreas. So my BG management is possibly somewhat different to someone else with T3c after a progressive decline in pancreatic damage from some other reason. Also as a 73 yr old my perspective and needs will probably be pretty different to yourself at age 17 and how long it has taken for you to get such a diagnosis.

If you would prefer to not share so much personal info, that's fine. But I think a little more detail is needed about what you are exactly struggling with.

As for school days - that is way outside my memory! But I'm tagging @Lily123 who is still at school and built up various strategies for managing her days during term time. Others will also pick up with relevant thoughts and advice.

My 1st piece of general advice would be take one day at a time - manage what you can, learn from trial and experience what works for you and if you've had a bad day and can't find a lesson to learn from that bad day, don't dwell on that just move on to tomorrow.

 

[Lily123]

Hi @dia_05x

Have you got a care plan for school? Even if you do everything yourself it’s still important that they know.
How do you manage on a normal day?
Do you use Libre or dexcom?

 

[Proud to be erratic]

I went into hospital when I was 11 and I got told that I had acute pancreatitis. They never found out what was the cause of this and why it happened, but I was told to go onto a low fat diet and watch what i eat. A few years went by and I had another episode, but this time they found that my blood sugars were high too. I was told once again to watch what i eat and at this point I was not diagnosed with diabetes, but I went in for an appointment and they told me.

Hi again @dia_05x , my next bit of general advice is to be cautious about where you get advice from. Lengthy Internet searches can take you to a lot of misleading and contradictory opinions. Different countries can have different methods for treatment and in North America they use different units of measurement.

Diabetes is extremely confusing, can be very complicated and even when you start to think you've got the hang of it - it can be most contradictory (and not do what you think it should do). This forum along with the parent site of Diabetes UK, is full of members who between all of us have centuries of accumulated experience. People offer their advice of their own volition, don't set out to 'dictate' what you must and must not do and generally are very supportive. Folks here understand how frustrating and sometimes debilitating Diabetes can be - day by day.

Diabetes is a bit different to each and every one of us: what works well for one person might not be so for another. And this is particularly true for T3c - any damage to your pancreas for whatever reason has the extra complication of definitely needing treatment for the diabetes as well as possible treatment for the original cause, eg your pancreatitis. Sometimes those 2 ailments can in themselves be contradictory and need a balanced approach.

So don't expect standard answers that will 'always work'.

They said it has been caused because of my acute pancreatitis and that its been damaged because of it. I am currently taking 8 units of Insulin every night and just taking care of what I am eating.

Dia

Exactly which insulin are you taking?
Any other meds to help with fatty foods, possibly such as Creon or a PPI such as omneprazole?

You've obviously been aware for some 6 years to avoid fatty foods. Does this generally work? Are you aware from your own life situation when you've got that wrong and been caught out? It took me a long time to get myself sorted out now with a diet that works for me.

Do feel free to ask questions, whatever is bothering you, no question is stupid; we've all been new to this once. Also feel free to let off steam and have a rant if something is bugging you - that rant alone can help.