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Type 3 C diabetes and Driving

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sberry67

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Type 3c
Hello

I am a newly diagnosed Type 3c Diabetic after my recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. I have had to inform the DVLA of my diabetes but all the information they have supplied is linked only to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They only mention Hypoglycemia and my symptoms cause Hyperglycemia. Does this still affect my driving?
 
Hi and welcome

Sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis. Hope you are getting timely treatment in these difficult times.

Can you tell us what if any medication you are on for your diabetes as that makes a difference as to whether you need to inform DVLA, not the diabetes diagnosis itself. If you are not on medication which can cause a hypo then there is no requirement to inform them as being hyper is surprisingly not considered a problem as regards driving.
 
rebrascora said:
Hi and welcome

Sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis. Hope you are getting timely treatment in these difficult times.

Can you tell us what if any medication you are on for your diabetes as that makes a difference as to whether you need to inform DVLA, not the diabetes diagnosis itself. If you are not on medication which can cause a hypo then there is no requirement to inform them as being hyper is surprisingly not considered a problem as regards driving.
Click to expand...
Hi Barbara

Thank you for your reply,

Humulin 1 for slow release insulin twice a day and Nova Rapid for high carb intake at meal times. Just started Chemo and most of it is fed through glucose which affects my levels even more. Never get below 5, my levels are usually between 8 and 12 on a good day. I take Creons with meals which help me digest food due to my pancreas not functioning.
 
OK so, you need to inform DVLA because you are using insulin which can cause hypos. Just because your levels haven't dropped below 5 yet doesn't mean it couldn't happen at any time so you do need to be aware of that and carry hypo treatment with you at all times and test before you drive to make sure you are above 5 and every 2 hours you continue to drive. I believe you are the equivalent of a Type 1 diabetic. @eggyg is also Type 3c so can perhaps advise on that.
It may be that your Health Care Professionals increase your insulin to bring your levels down a bit more because longer term those higher levels are not ideal but it is important to bring things down slowly to prevent damage to fine blood vessels in the eyes etc and with your chemo adding to the problem it is probably even more important to be conservative with doses.

I assume you haven't been authorised to use the NovoRapid to do corrections yet? (ie inject extra units of insulin between meals to reduce high readings? That will likely be the next step once they get an idea of your basal needs and you get more confident/experienced with using the insulin.

I am surprised you are on Humulin I rather than a modern basal insulin but that may be changed at some point in the future. I wonder if you were started on just that and then the NR insulin added to cover meals afterwards?
 
I was prescribed the nova rapid a week after being diagnosed which was at the end of March. This was specifically for meals to adjust levels to the amount of carbs that I eat. Now I'm on Chemo I've also got to use the NR to bring down my levels due to steroids and Chemo which is fed through glucose. The Diabetic nurse at the hospital told me that I needed to use it to make corrections so for every 1 it brings it down by 3.

Only ever been given HUmulin 1 so I'm assuming that they will keep monitoring me and change things when needed. Thank you for your advice I will contact the DVLA.
 
Good to hear that you are already using the NR for corrections to counteract the steroid and chemo effect. Sounds like you have a pretty good grasp of things for only being recently started on insulin. I hope you are getting good support from the diabetes nurse/clinic.
 
It's Humulin I - so a capital 'i' , which insulin had used to be prescribed for Type 1 diabetes patients (along with Humulin S as a mealtime insulin) 30-ish years ago but they no longer are, having been replaced with more suitable alternatives for both purposes since then. It's early days for you as you're still undergoing chemo - but please be warned - after a while using it - I had some really really sudden hypos whilst driving whereas 20 minutes previously before I set off down the M42 I'd tested my BG and was sitting comfortably around the mid 7's.

Clearly I'm not you and vice versa. Probably best not to drive very far on your own at the moment.
 
Welcome to the forum @sberry67 , and I am sorry to hear of your cancer diagnosis which has resulted in you Type 3c diagnosis. Types 3c does get lumped in with Type 1 as, like us you are no longer producing insulin. It takes a bit of time to get used to counting the carbs and injecting but you seem to have got your head round that already, as well as managing the impact of your other meds. So Well Done.

I was put on Humalin I at the very beginning 13 years ago but soon changed to one of the more modern options for a basal insulin once things had settled down. You are already doing corrections which will help to keep the levels in check from the increase due to steroids.

pas others have said you need to inform the DVLA now that you are using insulin. Once things have settled enough for you to drive, you apply for a new licence every three years, and providing you have avoided severe hypos the licence is renewed.

@eggyg is our resident expert on Type 3c, juggling all that T1s do as well as managing changes in dietary requirements. Do have a read around the forum and come back with any questions that you have.
 
Also
I have just picked up this link from @everydayupsanddowns posted in another thread for someone newly diagnosed with 3c. It might be if some help to you too.

What is type 3c diabetes?

You may have heard of the more common types of diabetes like type 1, type 2 and gestational. But there are actually many other types of diabetes that aren't as well known. Type 3c diabetes develops because of the damage to the pancreas, which can happen for a few different reasons. And although...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
Welcome to the forum @sberry67

This page has lots of details about driving and diabetes, including what to do if you take insulin. I believe you will have to swap your license for a 3-year one so that your fitness to drive can be refularly reviewed.

Driving and diabetes

For most people with diabetes, driving isn’t a problem, and they can hold a driving licence and carry on driving. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about diabetes and driving. "As someone with diabetes, it's really important that I'm aware of the rules around driving in the UK" - Mim...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

Hopefully with only starting on and Intermediate acting insulin to gently support your blood glucose management, you should be able to minimise your risks of hypoglycaemia and continue to drive with confidence. But you will need to follow the regulations about BG monitoring.

I expect your Dr will have a conversation with you about this at some point, to check you know the regulations
 
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