Hi and welcome from me too.
Not wanting to confuse you too much but you are actually Type 3c rather than Type 1. Diabetes Type is categorized by the cause and Type 1 is caused by the body's immune system attacking and killing off the beta cells which produce insulin. It is therefore an autoimmune condition. Type 3c diabetes is due to damage to the pancreas from disease surgery or trauma. In your case, both disease and surgery. You should be treated the same as Type 1 if you need insulin but there are subtle differences and it is slightly more complex than Type 1. The nurse at your GP surgery is not really to blame as she is not trained to deal with more complex cases and you should probably have been referred to the specialist clinic after your surgery, for support. Unfortunately many Type 1s and Type 3c diabetics are misdiagnosed sometimes for several years and don't get the treatment and support they need. This is often due to a lack of knowledge about these more complex cases at primary care (GP practice) level.
Good to hear that you are now receiving the appropriate treatment and support but yes it is pretty mind boggling and scary at first with trying to get your head around adjusting your own doses to account for the carbs you are eating. It does gradually get easier but none of us get it right all the time so don't even try to get perfect results or expect to. Diabetes is far to complex for that..... Makes you really appreciate what a clever little organ our pancreas was when it worked properly...... Talking of which, as a Type 3c diabetic, do you also need to take Creon? This is a digestive supplement because the pancreas also produces those. It may be that your remaining bits of pancreas are able to continue this function but you should be aware that if you start to have issues with your digestion and bowel movements, that you may start to need Creon. The fact that these sigestive enzymes release the glucose from your food can also have an impact on balancing your BG levels, +
so if for example you don't take Creon but you need it, you may not be able to metabolize the carbs in your food and that could throw your carb counting calculations off, so knowing all this extra stuff about Type 3c is important.
We have quite a few Type 3c members who are active on the forum who can perhaps relate to your situation or offer advice regarding Creon if you need it. Some will be like yourself and have had partial removal,, some total and some damage due to disease but still otherwise intact. I will tag a few of them who will hopefully be able to answer any specific Type 3c queries you have.....
@Proud to be erratic,
@soupdragon @eggyg.
As regards diet, with insulin, you are generally encouraged to eat a normal balanced diet, so you should not feel restricted in what you can eat or when or indeed if you want to skip meals or have snacks in between meals. They key is injecting the right amount of insulin for whatever you eat at the right time..... simple eh
🙄.... NOT!!
In reality, some foods are not worth the BG upheaval as you will find through Libre that they send things a bit haywire and this can be quite individual.... For instance despite it's slow release reputation, some of us find that porridge is like rocket fuel and sends our BG into orbit, whereas others find it works great for them as a breakfast option. Gradually you figure out which things are worth a bit of "turbulence" occasionally and which are not and which foods you enjoy that work well and are easy to dose for. It is very much a process of "trial and improvement" and Libre is really great for helping you see how your body responds to different foods, so really pleased you have that. It is all about experimenting on yourself but obviously keeping one eye very firmly on keeping yourself safe. Libre is also great for helping with this, but never put all your faith in the technology because it isn't always totally reliable and there are certainly times when you need to double check it with finger pricks.
Anyway, please make yourself at home here and ask any questions that you have. I found in the early days particularly, the forum was great for filling in the blanks where I hadn't fully taken in what the nurse had told me..... plus the info here is all lived experience which can be quite different from the theory the nurses and doctors tell us about.
