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Ways to control hypoglycemia caused by insulinoma in pancreas?
Neuroendocrine Tumors (NETs) | Last Active: Jan 5 6:02am | Replies (42)Comment receiving replies
Thank you. I guess I'm frustrated. When mentioning desensitization or anything about hypoglycemia my oncologist was like your endocrinologist is the expert at that, which I understand, but I don't see her for another month, this is the most pressing issue to me. I dont even have time to deal with cancer part, because the hypoglycemia is making me so unstable. I real mention the desensitization. What does that involve if you don't mind me asking. I greatly truly appreciate your time and effort in answering. Thank you,will pray your treatment and condition improves.
Replies to "Thank you. I guess I'm frustrated. When mentioning desensitization or anything about hypoglycemia my oncologist was..."
I don’t mind you asking at all :). The allergy desensitization involved an admission to ICU with 1:1 monitoring during the procedure. They started an IV and had 5 IV bags in increasing dosages of the octreotide. Each bag of octreotide was infused over 30 minutes and with any allergic reaction, they would treat accordingly. My experience went like this:
Benadryl prior to start
Bag #1: @ about 10 minutes heart rate went from 60 to 168, infusion stopped, Benadryl and Pepcid given and then restarted
Bag # 2: no issues
Bag #3: respiratory issues - Benadryl, pepcid again - at that point the MD contemplated stopping the desensitization but they decided to wait for an hour and then restarted with more Benadryl and other medications to treat allergic reaction. Things get a little fuzzy from here from a memory perspective due to all of the benadryl
Bag #4: no issues
Bag #5: rash, mild chest pain but made it through the entire bag with more Benadryl
(I slept very well that night :))
They next day, with pretreatment, they gave me a subcutaneous dose of octreotide and I was able to tolerate so they discharged me with a prescription to start the short acting injections 3 times a day and after a little over a month, I was able to convert to the monthly injection. I still have to take anti-allergy meds daily and have mild allergic reaction symptoms such as rash/hives but am able to tolerate the medication. The octreotide helps a great deal with my hypoglycemia. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have additional questions. Always happy to help.
Hello @pontiac,
I see that you are frustrated about not seeing your endocrinologist for another month. If you use the patient portal you can always send a message regarding the problems you are having and your oncologist's suggestion that you make contact.
Most doctors have a nurse who monitors their patient portal and when a patient is having a problem, they will gladly address it prior to the next appointment.
Have you used the patient portal to send messages to your medical team?
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It is easy to understand your frustration. Try your best to stay the course. We can only do our best to do our part.