Guest guest Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Dear Pat, What advice did your doctor give? Did he/she tell you what your blood sugar level was? Is this doctor a gastroenterology specialist? There is every possibility that it could be your chronic pancreatitis has begun to affect your endocrine functions. If your doctor is a GI, I am disappointed that he/she did not go into more detail about what a higher blood glucose could mean for a CP patient. If he/she is a general practioner, perhaps they just didn't know, but you should have been referred to a professional that can help you. Either way, it is a travesty for a practioner to tell you this and not follow through. While there could be other reasons for a high BG reading, your background with CP is suspicious, and an HbA1c blood test would defintely be in order. This test shows what BG levels a person has had for the previous 2-3 months, and is the gold standard for diagnosing diabetes. I would like to be more encouraging, yet my previous personal experience with high blood sugar and chronic pancreatitis led to Diabetic Ketoacidosis and the diagnosis of type 1 brittle diabetes within a very short time frame, so it is hard for me to consider anything else. I personally feel you should go to a doctor who will follow up on this, and follow through with appropriate advice and treatment. An endocrinologist would be a great start, yet even an experienced GI or internist could head you in the right direction. Let us know what you think. Chronic Pancreatitis is a continuingly progressive disease, and it hits some harder and quicker than others. I have known the shock, pity, anger and resolve that you speak of, I think most of us here have traveled that same road. Yet, as you travel down that pathway of obstacles, you need to take the right turn and learn to be proactive about your health. You need to insist upon finding out more about this new problem, and what to do about it. Please let us know how we can help you. With hope and prayers, Heidi Heidi H. Griffeth South Carolina SC & SE Regional Rep PAI, Intl. http://www.pancassociation.org/ourstories/#Heidi Note: All comments or advice is personal opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional medical consultation. > Today my doc after blood tests said that my blood sugar level was slightly elevated. Do you think that this could mean that the CP is now affecting that part of the pancreatitis? Pat in Baltimore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 Pat, it is possible that the pancreatitis has caused problems and is leading to diabetes. This does happen to some people who have repeated cases of acute pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis. Sometimes the damage hits the islet cells. The best thing you can do is to have your doctortest you for diabetes periodically. Sorry I couldn't have better news. Kimber -- Kimber Vallejo, CA hominid2@... Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed physician or health care professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 > Dear Pat, > > What advice did your doctor give? Did he/she tell you what your > blood sugar level was? Is this doctor a gastroenterology > specialist? > Hi Heidi, Since my level is only slightly elevated (114), he said he will be keeping a close watch on it and that I should continue to lose weight. It has never been elevated before. This was my internist and he tends to be very cautious. I see him and my gi every 3 months. They work as a team and have been wonderfully supportive and caring. Even though it is only slightly elevated, I can't help but think that the CP is causing an elevation. Yesterday wasn't a good day, so I don't know if I didn't ask because I didn't want to know or if I was just fuzzy headed. Normally, I am very assertive and am taking an active role in the disease. I will be following up with my gi in about a month and will question him also. It will also be interesting to see in a month if it is elevated or if this was a fluke. I think I might just monitor the sugar level with a glucometer. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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