What is normal fasting glucose after Whipple Surgery ?

Leo63

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
I am new to this forum. I had Whipple surgery 2 years ago for tumor in the head of the pancreas. Really tough surgery and took a long time to recover from. I have never been formally classed as diabetic or pre-diabetic. But I do measure my blood glucose levels. Up until about 3 months ago, my average fasting level was around 5.5, but recently this has been creeping up and is now around 6.5.

Any advice on what is "normal" for someone following pancreas head removal. I am seeing my GP soon, but would be interested in hearing other people's experience or views before I see her. I follow a fairly low glycemic diet already, but I am not on any medication for blood sugar. Am I damaging my body with these highish levels of blood sugar and should I be talking to my GP about medication ?
 
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Struma

Well-Known Member
Messages
536
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Other
Morning and welcome to the forum.
@daisy1 will send you some info which includes blood sugar levels. Basically, the levels you've posted are quite normal, so monitoring is the way forward.
There are no specific blood sugar levels that correlate with your surgery, your result is either high, normal or low.
It is, most literally keeping an eye on it, such as BG test twice weekly. Maybe alternate weeks twice in one day.
For 2 years post-op you're doing very well blood sugar wise.
Very big and serious surgery you've had, sounds as if you've got over it well.
 
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Leo63

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Thank you so much for this reply. That does help to reassure me. It was the recent increase in BS levels that has started to concern me. It may just be that I am eating more. After the surgery, I lost about 20% of my body weight and I have always been slim - so I was down to 52kg (for a mature adult male, 5ft 10in tall this is very low). I am now able to eat fairly normally with the help of Creon with every meal and up to 63kg.

I always thought that around 4.5 fasting was "normal" for a totally healthy person and was not too concerned with 5.5 considering I only have half a pancreas. Have done lots of googling and 6.5 is often referred to as "pre-diabetic", so my trend up to these levels is what has concerned me.

Anyway, thank you again for the reply and the promise of some more info on the levels I should expect.
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Leo63

Hello Leo and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope this will be helpful to you and gives you the type of advice that you need. Ask more questions if you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
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Starburst02

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Insulin
I am new to this forum. I had Whipple surgery 2 years ago for tumor in the head of the pancreas. Really tough surgery and took a long time to recover from. I have never been formally classed as diabetic or pre-diabetic. But I do measure my blood glucose levels. Up until about 3 months ago, my average fasting level was around 5.5, but recently this has been creeping up and is now around 6.5.

Any advice on what is "normal" for someone following pancreas head removal. I am seeing my GP soon, but would be interested in hearing other people's experience or views before I see her. I follow a fairly low glycemic diet already, but I am not on any medication for blood sugar. Am I damaging my body with these highish levels of blood sugar and should I be talking to my GP about medication ?
Hi Leo63,
I had Whipple surgery 15 years ago for tumor in the head of the pancreas. I was not diabetic before surgery. Diagnosed diabetic a little over a year after surgery. My blood sugars started creeping up as I was able to consume more food. I had lost weight after surgery similar to you. My blood sugars went much higher as I adjusted (increased) the amount of Creon I took to have normal digestion. I was able to control my blood sugar with diet and exercise, staying in A1C range from 5.5 to 6.5 (USA measure) until last year when my numbers started increasing regardless of action on my part, and I have started insulin injections this year after my A1C went to 7.5. My doctors have always encouraged me to do what I could to keep my A1C as "normal" as possible, but also told me it usually takes decades of poor control for damage associated with diabetes to develop and I shouldn't worry too much about that. So, considering you are missing part of your pancreas, I would not worry too much about the slightly higher glucose damaging your body. (You should however discuss any concerns you may have with you doctor.) As mentioned, I have been diabetic for over a decade, with until recently only slightly elevated blood sugar, I see my PCP every six months, and other specialists yearly. So far, even being diabetic, I am in good health overall. I agree with advice to continue testing and watch for any upward trends. I have seen research on Whipple surgery and post surgical diabetes which indicated that persons who develop diabetes after surgery typically had problems with blood sugar control before the surgery. So, hopefully if you had no problems before surgery, all will be OK now.
 

Leo63

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Thank you this is helpful.

Unfortunately I was admitted to hospital on Saturday night with severe stomach pain - all too reminiscent of my post surgery pain. It turns out my remaining pancreas portion has developed acute pancreatitis. The cause is still being investigated but one theory from the surgeon is that the reconnected main duct has become blocked at the resection site. It will be a couple of weeks for the pancreas to settle down before they can do a special MRI to confirm this.

Worst case is the remaining pancreas will need to be removed but I am hoping for a less drastic outcome.
 

Pammy_50

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I am new to this forum. I had Whipple surgery 2 years ago for tumor in the head of the pancreas. Really tough surgery and took a long time to recover from. I have never been formally classed as diabetic or pre-diabetic. But I do measure my blood glucose levels. Up until about 3 months ago, my average fasting level was around 5.5, but recently this has been creeping up and is now around 6.5.

Any advice on what is "normal" for someone following pancreas head removal. I am seeing my GP soon, but would be interested in hearing other people's experience or views before I see her. I follow a fairly low glycemic diet already, but I am not on any medication for blood sugar. Am I damaging my body with these highish levels of blood sugar and should I be talking to my GP about medication ?
Hi Leo63
Welcome to the forum I to 10 mnts ago underwent whipple surgery taking away whole of the pancreas spleen Dudeonal gland and part of the stomach plus gallbladder tumour was large.
I have now some 4mnts ago diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes type 1 I struggle on a daily basis to maintain glucose levels ranging from lows 2.4 rising to 11.4 at times.
Has you are aware major weight loss with pancreatic tumour but I am now feeling so low as major weight gain due to the insulin.
I initially was not receiving any support with diabetes just diagnosed given meds etc shown how to inject and sent on my way it was the most frightening thing ever.
Thankfully my macmillian nurse from the hospital got me support and I now have a little more knowledge but this forum is my support network and great full for the support.
I take Creon 12 tablets before each meal.
I am great full for every single day seek support from your GP.
sorry to see you have been back in hospital hope your scan comes through quickly I still suffer from a leaking pancreas site.
Wishing you good luck for the future Leo63 hopefully you will receive the support needed x
 
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