No sleep

[granada]

Hi I have recently been diagnosed type 2 diabetes caused through pancreatitis. I can't sleep properly at night so feel exhausted during the day . GP says it's all to do with diabetes

And my blood sugars drop during the night to about 4 is this normal. Any help appreciated

Thank you

 

[HayleyR]

Hi @granada and welcome to the Forum 🙂. Sorry to hear that you're struggling a bit at the moment. Have you been put on any medication like Metformin? Being a Type 1 I'm not best placed to offer much support but I'm sure there will be plenty of Type 2s here who can help....

 

[Wendal]

Hi I have recently been diagnosed type 2 diabetes caused through pancreatitis. I can't sleep properly at night so feel exhausted during the day . GP says it's all to do with diabetes

And my blood sugars drop during the night to about 4 is this normal. Any help appreciated

Thank you

Granada welcome to the board though we would all rather not be here.
Can you tell us a little more about your Type 2 Diagnosis and your experience of Pancreatitis so was it acute or chronic.
The reason for asking is there is a specific type of Diabetes called Type 3c which results from damage/ removal of the Pancreas and most GPs are unaware of but it is important to have the right diabetes diagnosis for a host of reasons.

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, I too thought you might be Type 3c rather than Type 2.

Diabetes is classified by what causes it. Type 1 is autoimmune, where the immune system mistakenly kills off the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Type 2 is metabolic and can be linked to fatty liver. Type 3c is due to damage to the pancreas by disease like pancreatitis or cancer or cysts or excess alcohol consumption, trauma or surgery. It sounds like your pancreatitis is the cause of your diabetes and therefore you should be Type 3c. Do you also need Creon?
Most GPs have no knowledge of Type 3c but it is important to have your diagnosis correctly identified as it can make a difference to your treatment and access to technology and education courses.

Are you still using mixed insulin?

Are you checking those lower levels at night with a finger prick as Libre can give false low readings if you lie on the sensor.... We call this a "compression low" If your low alarm goes off at night then the first thing to do is consider if you are lying on that arm as you wake up. Also, is there a sudden drop in your levels as shown on the graph? If you do not feel hypo, then it is best to double check with a finger prick before you take a hypo treatment.

 

[granada]

Granada welcome to the board though we would all rather not be here.
Can you tell us a little more about your Type 2 Diagnosis and your experience of Pancreatitis so was it acute or chronic.
The reason for asking is there is a specific type of Diabetes called Type 3c which results from damage/ removal of the Pancreas and most GPs are unaware of but it is important to have the right diabetes diagnosis for a host of reasons.

Hi there
Thank you it's chronic pancreatitis so ongoing unfortunately but has brought on diabetes 2

 

[granada]

Yes, I too thought you might be Type 3c rather than Type 2.

Diabetes is classified by what causes it. Type 1 is autoimmune, where the immune system mistakenly kills off the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Type 2 is metabolic and can be linked to fatty liver. Type 3c is due to damage to the pancreas by disease like pancreatitis or cancer or cysts or excess alcohol consumption, trauma or surgery. It sounds like your pancreatitis is the cause of your diabetes and therefore you should be Type 3c. Do you also need Creon?
Most GPs have no knowledge of Type 3c but it is important to have your diagnosis correctly identified as it can make a difference to your treatment and access to technology and education courses.

Are you still using mixed insulin?

Are you checking those lower levels at night with a finger prick as Libre can give false low readings if you lie on the sensor.... We call this a "compression low" If your low alarm goes off at night then the first thing to do is consider if you are lying on that arm as you wake up. Also, is there a sudden drop in your levels as shown on the graph? If you do not feel hypo, then it is best to double check with a finger prick before you take a hypo treatment.

Thank you

I have been diagnosed with type 2 but by my diabetic nurse so will look into your comments.

Yes I am still on the novamix. But that's good information if I am lying on the sensor could give a false reading so will look at doing the finger pricks too.
.hope you are keeping well too

It's quite challenging but with my wife and I went are getting there.

I am trying to gain weight as I have little appetite but consultant says the insulin should help soon

Hope he is right.

Many thanks again very helpful

 

[granada]

Yes I am taking creon

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hope you are able to get a little clarity around your diagnosis @granada

Type 3c is a relatively rare classification, and not all non-specialist medics have heard of it. One of our T3cs @eggyg had a heck of a job getting her clinic to recognise her type 3c.

If your drops to 4 are confirmed by fingerstick checks, it might be that your evening insulin dose might need adjusting - unfortunately mixed insulin is a little inflexible and you can’t alter your ‘background’ (night time) insulin without adjusting your evening meal dose.

Have you considered having a late night snack eg 10-15g of slow-acting carbohydrates to help keep your levels up overnight?

 

[Wendal]

Hi there
Thank you it's chronic pancreatitis so ongoing unfortunately but has brought on diabetes 2

Thanks worthwhile raising the prospect of whether it may be Type 3c rather than Type 2 as medication is often different as one is insulin resistance and the other a deficiency.
With your chronic pancreatitis it is possible that some of your endocrine cells ( which produce insulin ) may have been destroyed ( Beta cells) and possibly some of your glucagon producing ones which can effect the rate your BG comes down.

 

[Standup]

I'd agree with the type 3c comments and also the lack of knowledge about it. I had a long chat with my GP about transferring from hospital clinic to the GP Surgery and she was very much against it. The practice has no other type 3C patients or experience of it and she didn't think it was fair on the nurse either as nearly all the patients she see's are type 2 and she wouldn't be able to support me. It was a useful conversation as it turns out as well as Type 3c I'm also the only pancreatic cancer patient they have still alive after 12 months and I appreciated their being upfront about the complexities of my case. It also means the conversations are very much them asking 'how can we help you?'.

I do think its worth challenging your diagnosis even if its just asking are they aware of type 3c?

 

[saffron15]

I noticed you have posted a separate brief post confirming you are on creon. Coincidentally I had just posted a link to Guts UK in another post and noticed there was an article about difficulties obtaining creon

How to deal with Creon, Nutrizym or Pancrex supply issues - Guts UK

How to deal with Creon, Nutrizym or Pancrex supply issues - Download printable version (491.5KB pdf) Overview Issue date: 14th April 2025 (Version 6). Please ensure you are reading the most up to date version.

gutscharity.org.uk

 

[stackingcups]

I was diagnosed with type 2 after 2 years of acute pancreatitis by my GP and passed to the diabetes nurse at the GP. I had to tell her about type 3c and she looked it up and called the DSN team at the hospital to ask about it and they reclassified me and advised the diabetes nurse at the GP on how best to treat me. Definitely worth raising with them.

 

[granada]

Hope you are able to get a little clarity around your diagnosis @granada

Type 3c is a relatively rare classification, and not all non-specialist medics have heard of it. One of our T3cs @eggyg had a heck of a job getting her clinic to recognise her type 3c.

If your drops to 4 are confirmed by fingerstick checks, it might be that your evening insulin dose might need adjusting - unfortunately mixed insulin is a little inflexible and you can’t alter your ‘background’ (night time) insulin without adjusting your evening meal dose.

Have you considered having a late night snack eg 10-15g of slow-acting carbohydrates to help keep your levels up overnight?

Thank you so much

I will take on board all your comments and will have a snack before bedtime. I just need to get my appetite back. Just hoping in next few months if not before I can feel better again.

Been feeling pretty awful tbh

SO pleased to be on this forum you are all so helpful

Big Thank you

 

[granada]

I was diagnosed with type 2 after 2 years of acute pancreatitis by my GP and passed to the diabetes nurse at the GP. I had to tell her about type 3c and she looked it up and called the DSN team at the hospital to ask about it and they reclassified me and advised the diabetes nurse at the GP on how best to treat me. Definitely worth raising with them.

Thank you so much

I have had no trouble in obtaining Creon thank goodness

 

[granada]

I'd agree with the type 3c comments and also the lack of knowledge about it. I had a long chat with my GP about transferring from hospital clinic to the GP Surgery and she was very much against it. The practice has no other type 3C patients or experience of it and she didn't think it was fair on the nurse either as nearly all the patients she see's are type 2 and she wouldn't be able to support me. It was a useful conversation as it turns out as well as Type 3c I'm also the only pancreatic cancer patient they have still alive after 12 months and I appreciated their being upfront about the complexities of my case. It also means the conversations are very much them asking 'how can we help you?'.

I do think its worth challenging your diagnosis even if its just asking are they aware of type 3c?

So pleased to hear you are doing well keep going and best wishes

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Yes I am taking creon

Hi Granada

I hope it’s OK, but it felt like this post belonged to the conversation in this thread - so I’ve merged it in here