Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by janet fallows on July 29, 2009 at 8:17am

hi..my son george has diabetes type 1 as well as chronic pancreatitis..the docters said he will have the condition 4 ever and has to take creon with every meal he has..everything is under control now..and george his doing fine..take care..janet xx

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Permalink Reply by Janet Ballone on July 29, 2009 at 9:58pm

I'm new to this forum and I back to you a different way... not sure if you received it but if not I just said I used to take creon but no longer. Seems I didn't need it any more but regardless, it's just a pill before each meal, could be worse. Best of luck to you and your son. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Na'Themba on August 1, 2009 at 7:23am

Hi, Janet!

I thought I was alone with this experience. I was diagnosed with diabetes and pancreatitis simultaneously in 2000. A pseudocyst formed on my pancreas that kept growing larger, threatening my life. The surgery to drain the cyst was also life-threatening. Doctors had some nasty email exchanges over the correct course of action. (They would CC me.)

Terrible experience? Yes. Do I count my blessings every day? Yes. Like you, I know that every day counts. I test five or six times a day to try to get a handle on bg levels and I am more than happy to do so. I am not perfect, but things are getting better all the time.

Please continue to take care of yourself, and I hope the pump makes life even better for you!

Na'Themba

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Permalink Reply by Janet Ballone on August 4, 2009 at 4:57am

Thanks for the good wishes. It's a shame we both had this experience but it's also nice to know you're not alone. I'm glad you healed and are doing well. I'm very excited about the pump. I go next Tuesday for my last training at which time I'll be using insulin in the pump. I know it will take a couple of weeks to get it completely right but I've been practicing with the water and I love how easy it is to use.

Are you using a pump?

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Permalink Reply by Na'Themba on September 16, 2009 at 6:37am

Janet, it's been a while since I've been in the forums. How are you doing with your pump now? I don't pump, but I've thought about it. Since my bg readings don't stay in the ridiculous range anymore, my doctor no longer advises for me to use one: it has taken so long for me to gain some type of control that she doesn't want me to change a single thing.

I read the posts from others and regret that anyone has to go through the experience of pancreatitis. they all seem to be terrifying, life-threatening trials, and some people do not fully recover. My thoughts and prayers are with all. . .

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Permalink Reply by Janet Ballone on September 16, 2009 at 10:33pm

Hi Na'Themba,
I haven't been here in a while either. I've been using the pump now over a month and I really do love it. There are some problems but overall it's working out very well. I'm glad you've stablized and you & your doctors are right... if it's not broke, don't fix it. Keep doing what you're doing if it works.

All my best to you!

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Permalink Reply by laugesen on April 5, 2012 at 6:21am

My story is somewhat a strange one. Just over 6 years ago I was diagnosed with Auto-Immune Pancreatitis (AIP). For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is a relatively rare auto-immune condition where ones own body attacks the pancreas. After misdiagnoses of pancreatic cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, doctors finally figured it out and following a course of steroid treatment, the 'disease' went away. It may come back at any time, or it may never resurface.

Prior to the AIP, my blood sugar was always relatively low, in the 3-4 range. Now, post AIP, my blood sugar has always hovered in and around the 6 range (high 5's, low 6's).

Just to be clear, AIP and LADA are not the same thing. I have done the research on this. In AIP, the pancreas becomes so inflamed that it typically constricts the bile duct, causing the patient to exhibit pancreatic cancer symptoms, such as jaundice, etc. AIP can be controlled by a short course of prednisone (steroid) or other immune suppressants, whereas my understanding is LADA cannot.

Doctors and specialists cannot seem to tell me whether the AIP is the reason, but to me it seems logical (the AIP probably damaged my pancreas as my body 'attacked' itself) and thus my pancreas may not function properly anymore. I have done the glucose challenge test, and it was fine (i.e., my blood sugar levels went down).

So, I guess what I am wondering is if anyone has either had a similar experience with AIP, or knows someone who has? I would love to talk with them to understand if they have had a similar experience, or what their doctors are telling them?

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Permalink Reply by Timothy on April 14, 2012 at 4:20am

I had mild pancreatitis when I was first diagnosed. I figured an autoimmune response would cause some inflamation, I never had it recur. I still produce decent levels of Amylase and Lipase, but I make virtually no Insulin.

Do you need to take Amylin or some other Amylase replacement?

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Permalink Reply by laugesen on April 16, 2012 at 1:01pm

No, my amylase is fine (44, within the reference range of 27-110). My lipase is low (4 with a reference range of 13-80). However, my Lipase was 17 in 2009. I had an insulin test a few years ago and it was fine as well. So, all the more perplexing why my recent HbA1c is 0.062, and my fasting BGL is 6.1 (this was 6.3 in 2009).

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Permalink Reply by Timothy on April 16, 2012 at 4:49pm

Well then it looks like your pancreas is still producing those 2 hormones and it is islet cell destruction that is the main trouble, just like most of us. I know many Diabetics that have their Amyl and Lipase decrease over time.
Mine are totally normal too, but when you have a bout of pancreatitis, those are the first things to show increase. At diagnosis my Amylase was 300 and my lipase was 500. They told me that it was not terribly high, but I felt awful. I don't know if it was DKA or pancreatitis, I had both at diagnosis.
Mine cleared up quickly and both were at normal levels within a month. Also my C- peptide was just about zero.
25 years later and I'm nearly exactly the same as I was, as far as pancreas hormones that is.

I got wrinkles and grey hair starting though, I'm not sure if that is a diabetic complication though.

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