My turn for a "don't take life for granted" thread...

I hate to even do this, but I need to vent a bit. 

The past few weeks have been tough for my wife and I. While everything marriage-wise is fine, she has some health issues. Two years ago, she got really sick, and they determined that she had severe Pancreatitis due to complications with Type 2 Diabetes. She had no idea she had Diabetes, so this was a shock. Usually, people with Pancreatitis are middle-aged alcoholics; she barely drinks anything, ever. So, the solution was to get her Diabetes under control and everything else would fall into place. She did for the most part, with some lapses here and there where bad habits of eating crap sprouted up. We both love food, and it's hard to get accustomed to not being able to eat whatever you want. Mostly, she had it under control. 

A couple weeks ago, she started feeling sick, and she had the symptoms of the Pancreatitis again. This time, her levels were in check, so she thought that she could ride it out on her own with some fasting and rest. After a week, it got better, but it came back HARD last Friday, so I took her into the hospital. 

The hospital (the one I took her to last time) did not know how to treat her this time around, so they had to transfer her to a better hospital in Boston where they have specialists that can care for her better. They are not 100% sure what's causing the issues, but they are supposed to perform a procedure to help it heal today. They don't know if it's even going to work.

I'm sitting here trying to make sense of it all. Part of me feels like it's my fault for not enforcing a strict diet when she wanted to eat the good stuff, but I don't even know if that has anything to do with it. She's probably going to be mad if she finds out that I wrote this, but writing helps me make sense of things sometimes. 

It's easy to forget sometimes that we are not immortal. Anything can happen at any time that can change the course of your life; whether it's something like I'm dealing with now, or something that happens to yourself, things can change at the snap of a finger. Hug your loved ones, and make sure they know you are there for them. You never know what is going to happen. 

Prayers from my family for yours.

Were here to do whatever we can.

Absolutely, we're here to listen and help.  Best of luck and medical science to you both.

Best of luck and medical science to you. Is it a Whipple they're performing?

You both will be in my thoughts today.

Just got word that the procedure they were supposed to do can't be done for another WEEK. 

This will also add to her recovery time on the back end. This sucks. 

That sucks. Loved ones being sick is a hard thing. Modern medicine is pretty awesome though, take a deep breath and try to relax. 

That sucks.  I hope they get a handle on things quickly.  Don't feel guilty about the diet thing.  She's your wife not your kid.  You can't (or shouldn't) enforce anything she does, particularly diet.

Thank you for the reminder to appreciate the people in your life.

Type 2 is kicking my ass as well.  They put me on Victoza which screwed my digestive system. A week with a tube up my nose and down my throat sucking out my guts is about as miserable as it gets. 

A month later, back to the hospital with Pancreatitis and huge amounts of pain. A week in ICU and they had no clue what it was.

A month after that, same thing. This time went to a real hospital, Uconn.  They did a scope and found major Gall stones causing pancreatitis.  Once I was stabilized, the gall bladder came out.

Things got better, but diabetes was still not managed. Time for a specialist.  Back to Uconn for real Dr's

Tired all the usual and then old pills.

Metformin made everything go thru me.

Extended release metformin cause same issue and huge amounts of anxiety.

then Glimiperide, gave me chest pains and made it hard to breathe.

Invokana, made me pee every 45 min around the clock and caused suicidal thoughts. That was wierd and hard to deal with.

Now we're treating it with Lantus (24 hour insulin) and Humalog (quick acting)  with dinner.

Its been about 4 years and Im finally feeling normal again. 

Yes, definitely sending good thoughts your way. And you know we're here for you. 

Thinking of both of you. Hope she is feeling better soon. 

There are a few diabetes meds that can bring on pancreatitis too.  It took a bit of work with my wife to find out which meds caused which problems. I hope you get everything sorted out quickly.

dzajano@gmail.com

410-303-3604

I'm no doctor but know a thing or 2 about dealing with a crap pancreas that has it out for someone and the recovery and continued battle that they rehash over and over. 

Good vibes to all of you suffering through dibeetus.  You would think we could have kicked this diseases ass by now.  

Tony S ......PRAYERS for you and SWMBO....i just got home three hours ago having been thru the Ms. second neck surgery in less than two weeks...long story ,your thread....peace out 

Thank you all for the positivity and well wishes! It's much appreciated.

It's going to be a tough road ahead, but my wife is the strongest (and most stubborn) person I know, and if she gets something in her head, she will do it. I think she got the hint this time around that she needs to be much more careful. 

I also need to change my lifestyle to basically match hers. Before all of this happened, I went to the doctor recently and had all my stuff checked out. No risk of diabetes on my end, but that kind of diet will help me shed pounds and get myself back in good health. Plus, it will help her to have the support in-house. 

That stubbornness with serve her well through this ordeal. 

Hey Tony, is it at all possible your wife could be Type 1 (and thus need insulin injections) and not Type 2?  Speaking from experience...I went through an experience a lot like cfvwtuner's.  The doc thought I was Type 2, and so did I b/c all the symptoms fit:  late 30s, 50 lbs overweight...waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, must be a duck, right?  Lost 50 lbs, was on metformin and janumet for a while, blood sugar still sky high and felt like crap.  After a couple of years the docs figured out I was Type 1 (aka LADA) and put me on insulin injections and all is well, except that I gained back 40 of the 50 lbs I lost.  Here's hoping your wife's situation turns out as well as mine did.

In reply to bluebarchetta :

She is definitely Type 2. When on the meds (which includes injections), her levels are normal. In fact, throughout the whole ordeal, her levels seemed normal. She missed a dose when I took her in initially and things were a little high but nothing crazy. No one knows yet what exactly caused this.

The plan right now is to stabilize, treat, and then figure that out. So far, so good, but as Tom Petty said, "the waiting is the hardest part". 

Prayers for you both. My sister is a nurse at mass general.  She thinks boston hospitals are the bomb.  May God give you strength and your wife healing asap.

Nothing is more important than your health.  I hope they figure this out promptly. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Sorry it's not going to be an easy fix.  Hoping for the best for you both.

I wanted to give an update to those who offered support, thoughts, prayers, and good vibes. 

My wife made it home after a successful procedure yesterday!

She was there for what seemed to be an eternity, and it was not looking good early on. They kept putting off doing anything, and she seemed to be getting worse and worse. They called for and canceled the procedure twice before they were able to actually do it. This took a toll on her both mentally and physically. After it finally got done, there was an immediate improvement, and she's slowly progressing from there. It's going to be a long road to recovery, but I have every confidence that she will come out of this stronger than before. 

Again, thank you to anyone who offered their support. I really, really appreciate it! 

Great news! I’m glad she’s coming along 

So glad to hear it was successful! Hope she is feeling much better soon!