Hi,

[Proud to be erratic]

I'm fairly new to this (diabetes and forums!) and just had a challenging 12 months, wrestling with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer last November; surgery in February, including a pancreatectomy and instant T1; then chemo from May to July, but happily an "all clear" in mid September. So its only very recently that I've been able to establish a reasonably regular routine and try to manage my diabetes without other distractions.

I'm 71, now feeling pretty well after this last year's hassles but also learning that even minor ailments present challenges. Eg, I recently had a knee infection, which elevated my sugars before I knew it was an infection needing antibiotics and gave me a scary weekend when my insulin didn't seem to be working. Still lots to learn! I'm now considering things like a carb counting course and whether to move to remote monitoring of blood sugars.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @Proud to be erratic 🙂 That sounds like an extremely challenging year. I’m glad you’re feeling relatively well now.

A carb counting course would be great. It’s makes everything a lot easier. There’s an online one if you’re interested.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thank you Inka. I've seen some details just this evening.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Proud to be erratic

Well done on beating pancreatic cancer - it’s an absolute swine of a disease (my wife’s was inoperable and terminal)

I think a pancreatectomy might make you type 3c, which is a fancy new classification that is not quite so well known - even among Drs and healthcare professionals!

We have a few 3cs on the forum, including @eggyg and @Hepato-pancreato

Are you taking creon alongside your insulin?

There are some carb counting resources in the ‘useful links’ thread which I’ll paste below in case they are helpful 🙂

Carb counting (for basal bolus and pump insulin regimes):

DAFNE - now available in an online version
(dose adjustment for normal eating)
https://dafne.nhs.uk

Online carb-counting course:
www.bertieonline.org.uk (which replaces BDEC)

The Nuts and Bolts of Carb Counting
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/carbohydrates-and-diabetes/nuts-and-bolts-of-carb-counting

Free downloadable guide to carb counting from Diabetes UK:
http://www.diabetes.org.uk//upload/How we help/catalogue/Carbs-Count-2012.pdf

 

[trophywench]

Why are several people linking to Bertie Online and saying in brackets afterwards that the Bertie Online website replaces Bournemouth Diabetes and Endocrine Centre? Has that facility at Bournemouth Hospital closed so they don't provide any treatment for diabetes or endocrinology now?

If OTOH you only mean you don't now need to access the BDEC website to access Bertie online - that's different.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

There's also https://mytype1diabetes.nhs.uk which intends to supply a whole range of information including carb counting.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thank you @everydayupsanddowns. Your name neatly reflects my experiences of the last 12 months! Yesterday I found a lump on my midriff that looks suspiciously like a hernia, from my op; so another thing to distract me from daily life.

I was looking at the learning zone here this morning and the opportunities that exist for getting a better understanding of the diabetes, but hadn't found the on-line DAFNE course, or the nuts and bolts info, so particular thanks for the links.

I'd seen a reference to Type 3c a couple of weeks ago and mildly wondered if that was my classification. I had suspected, a while ago, if having no pancreas at all made my circumstances a bit different; our bodies are so amazingly complex I can imagine that how I internally function will now be different to Type1s with a pancreas, that's there but not working properly. Now I'm generally free from chemo symptoms, I can investigate such things a bit more.

Yes, I take Creon (but sometimes forget); 30-33 capsules at 25,000 units of lipase. There was a supply problem with Creon briefly in September and I was switched to Pancrease, which looked like a reasonable alternative. In practice I found it a poor substitute; the Pancrease capsules dissolved in my mouth too easily and they are a little bigger, making the swallowing just a bit more challenging.

Anyway, overall many thanks for your welcome. I'm in little doubt that my "beating pancreatic cancer" was only possible thanks to the Surgeons at Churchill Hospital and the Cancer Care Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital - along with enormous support from my wife. I just had to attend!!

 

[Proud to be erratic]

There's also https://mytype1diabetes.nhs.uk which intends to supply a whole range of information including carb counting.

Thank you Bruce.

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome to the forum @Proud to be erratic 🙂