Type 3 Pancreatic Cancer

[Mikevictoria76]

morning! My wife had a Whipple procedure 8 years ago due to a tumour and had part of the pancreas removed. Last Dec she was diagnosed as Diabetic type 3 insulin dependant.
Last night whilst out with friends she collapsed and lost consciousness, her sugar levels were fine 5.7, (she had had 2 glasses of wine) I decided to get her home rather than wait for an ambulance, only 5 mins away. She was in and out of consciousness. She came round checked her blood again and she had a snack and after an hour or so felt better. Is this alcohol that has caused this or something else? She said this morning it felt like she had a stroke as had no feelings or control of her body, but seems fine this morning. She has drank previously not excessive and has been fine????? Drs always seem a little unsure of post surgery diabetes. Any advice or others with similar complications? Thank you

 

[KK123]

It could have bee

morning! My wife had a Whipple procedure 8 years ago due to a tumour and had part of the pancreas removed. Last Dec she was diagnosed as Diabetic type 3 insulin dependant.
Last night whilst out with friends she collapsed and lost consciousness, her sugar levels were fine 5.7, (she had had 2 glasses of wine) I decided to get her home rather than wait for an ambulance, only 5 mins away. She was in and out of consciousness. She came round checked her blood again and she had a snack and after an hour or so felt better. Is this alcohol that has caused this or something else? She said this morning it felt like she had a stroke as had no feelings or control of her body, but seems fine this morning. She has drank previously not excessive and has been fine????? Drs always seem a little unsure of post surgery diabetes. Any advice or others with similar complications? Thank you

Hi Mike, glad to hear your wife is feeling better but there is NO way anyone on here can offer anything other than a complete guess as to what this was, especially given her glucose levels were at 5.7. I am sure you are doing this anyway but I would say she really needs to discuss it with a Doctor. It could have been anything. I do hope you get some answers. x

 

[Rachox]

I agree with KK123 this is something your wife needs to get checked with a dr, even if she feels better now, as she needs to establish what happened in case it’s something that might happen again if not treated.

 

[Tophat1900]

That's a scary situation, glad to hear she is feeling better. Out of curiosity, did she receive any medical attention?

If it were to happen again, I think medical attention would be really important and may well shed some light onto what is going on. Paramedics or emergency room staff may well be able to conduct tests that could provide some answers. Doesn't mean you would get answers, but it would improve the chances of finding out what was happening if this was to happen in the future.

 

[Mikevictoria76]

Thank you, I guess I’m really asking if there are any others with similar conditions, Dr’s and Diabetic nurses always seem a little surprised my wife had the procedure 8 years ago and seem a little unsure of her symptoms and issues she has. We’re off on a cruise next week so will definitely be seeing a Dr before we go!! We have managed her insulin levels ourselves as she was having a hypo most days. Still early for us I guess but then something like this happens and we lose confidence in managing the diabetes. Thank you for your comments.

 

[Mikevictoria76]

That's a scary situation, glad to hear she is feeling better. Out of curiosity, did she receive any medical attention?

If it were to happen again, I think medical attention would be really important and may well shed some light onto what is going on. Paramedics or emergency room staff may well be able to conduct tests that could provide some answers. Doesn't mean you would get answers, but it would improve the chances of finding out what was happening if this was to happen in the future.

Thank you, yes it was scary, I had to make a decision do I call an ambulance and wait 20 mins or get her home in 5 mins so I opted for home right or wrong, my wife was adamant she didn’t want an ambulance when we arrived home, very stubborn and has been in and out of hospital and now has a hate for hospitals. I have convinced her to call Dr’s for her own piece of mind. Her symptoms are just very different to normal diabetes, she is still very sensitive to insulin, she is very petit so it’s been hard to manage and we think sometimes what is left of the pancreas fires up and still produces which makes things even harder! We will get there!

 

[Tophat1900]

Thank you, yes it was scary, I had to make a decision do I call an ambulance and wait 20 mins or get her home in 5 mins so I opted for home right or wrong, my wife was adamant she didn’t want an ambulance when we arrived home, very stubborn and has been in and out of hospital and now has a hate for hospitals. I have convinced her to call Dr’s for her own piece of mind. Her symptoms are just very different to normal diabetes, she is still very sensitive to insulin, she is very petit so it’s been hard to manage and we think sometimes what is left of the pancreas fires up and still produces which makes things even harder! We will get there!

Oh, I'm not being critical of the decision to go home. I understand the getting home part, far more relaxing place then a hospital. I've been in and out of hospitals all my life, so I avoid the places like the plague when possible and never really go unless it's a last resort. I hope you both get some answers soon and it turns out to not be a problem. Good luck to you both.

 

[Mikevictoria76]

@Mikevictoria76 how was your wife's bg tested?
I ask because Cgm and Libre read about 15 to 20 minutes behind. If her BG was falling fast, they may not spot a hypo.
I would always double check situations like this with a finger prick.

Thank you for that, I used her contour device, finger prick which is usually accurate, she said she felt very different to a hypo, she was very shaky afterwards which she normally is after a hypo. Thanks for the tip

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome @Mikevictoria76

You have had excellent advice above, and I really do encourage you to seek medical advice urgently if it happens again.
In fact, I think I will go so far as to say that if she loses consciousness like that it is the perfect opportunity to call an ambulance! That way, even if she regains consciousness and starts objecting, the ambulance will already be on its way. People really don't make sensible decisions when they are hypoing, or feeling 'off' for any number of other reasons.

My own father experienced major heart issues and collapse, yet it never crossed his mind to call an ambulance. He sat under a tree for a couple of hours and then made his slow way back to the car (half a mile) and drove home. Then he forgot to mention it to my mother, because he didn't want to bother her.
She was a lot more bothered a couple of weeks later when he was in hospital for heart surgery, after a more public collapse.

You mentioned going on a cruise.
Have you been before? Are you familiar with the eating arrangements?

The reason I ask is that with your wife being fairly new to insulin, are you and she comfortable with calculating the carb content of food on a plate, and calculating and timing her insulin doses? Is she on fixed insulin doses (in which case you will need to eat the right amount of carbs to suit the insulin), or is she on two types of insulin (basal and bolus) where she can judge what carbs are on the plate and then inject accordingly?

May I suggest that you get hold of the book Carbs and Cals (of course you may have it already)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=carbs+and+cals+book+for+diabetics+2019&crid=1OKHOA0PBPGF0&sprefix=carbs+and+cals,aps,247&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_14
It is full of pictures which give you an idea of how many g of carbs are found in a portion of food on a plate.
There is also an App, which I understand is also good, but maybe not quite as good...

Can I also suggest that you have a look through the Type 3c section of the forum
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/type-3c-pancreatic-diabetes.73/
Is your wife on any digestive enzymes? Because they get discussed quite a bit by other 3cs

And finally (you can tell that I am still thinking about your cruise! ) I understand that each cruise ship is required to have a doctor on board. Might be a good idea to make sure you check in with them when you arrive on board, and make them aware of the specific nature of your wife's 3c. I would imagine that a cruise doc may see quite a few diabetics, but very few 3cs indeed, and may not appreciate the specific requirements that your wife may have.

Hope your minds are set at rest when you see your doc later in the week, and hope that you have a fab cruise!

 

[JAT1]

morning! My wife had a Whipple procedure 8 years ago due to a tumour and had part of the pancreas removed. Last Dec she was diagnosed as Diabetic type 3 insulin dependant.
Last night whilst out with friends she collapsed and lost consciousness, her sugar levels were fine 5.7, (she had had 2 glasses of wine) I decided to get her home rather than wait for an ambulance, only 5 mins away. She was in and out of consciousness. She came round checked her blood again and she had a snack and after an hour or so felt better. Is this alcohol that has caused this or something else? She said this morning it felt like she had a stroke as had no feelings or control of her body, but seems fine this morning. She has drank previously not excessive and has been fine????? Drs always seem a little unsure of post surgery diabetes. Any advice or others with similar complications? Thank you

I have also had the Whipple and a significant portion of my pancreas was removed. Prior to that I enjoyed alcohol. But right away after the operation I noticed my reaction to alcohol had changed. Then a couple years later, after one sip of wine, I became violently ill. Never touched alcohol since and I have never repeated that awful experience. I think that what was left of my pancreas just could not metabolize alcohol any more and alcohol does enter the blood stream very quickly.