Ways to control hypoglycemia caused by insulinoma in pancreas?

I have been dealing with hypoglycemia since my diagnosis in July.Currently under chemo infusions,I do not qualify for surgery at the moment. Quick fixes are always orange juice,tablespoon of peanut butter or some gingerale. But sometimes in afternoon I have tea with two scoops of corn starch! At night before bed I have two to three scoops of corn starch in tea,although they would prefer in something cold like milk. The I eat a bar called an extend bar(I like the berry and yogurt) not so heavy at night but they have other flavors,you can buy on amaazon. Combination seems to get e thru the night so I can sleep. Morning I take medications with orange juice so I dont have to eat right away...pushes off the need to stuff myself with food!
Hope this helps!

Thank you for answering
When I lay completely flat, my blood sugar drops extremely fast. Makes sleeping incredibly hard. Positioning my legs certain ways can make my glucose levels increase 4 or 5 points. Was wondering if anyone else has encountered this

@pontiac - have you had evaluation as to why you are still hypoglycemic post Whipple? I had the same experience after my Whipple and still had insulinomas in my pancreas - the same after my distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. I continue to have hypoglycemia, however, I know it is because I still have insulinomas that were too small to locate during both surgeries.
I have not had the experience of having issues when I lay flat. My blood sugar will drop rapidly, however - mostly after meals and with exercise. I find glucose tablets helpful for episodes.
Best wishes!

I know I still have lesions on my liver, not sure on pancreas. For me it seems juice, glucose tablets, anything really high in sugar, spikes it but makes it go down just as fast. I've been told to eat protein, fat, fiber foods to slow the release of insulin, allowing more glucagon to be released. Evidently my pancreas just dumps insulin

I think I wrote this before,but I have about three to four teaspoons of corn starch in tea(although they said cod is better) before bedtime with an extend bar...holds my sugars thru the night. Sometimes during the day I just cant eat so I will have another tea and corn starch(3 teaspoons)...holds numbers for couple of hours. Hope this helps!

Thank you for reply. I tried corn starch with milk. Unfortunately for me it did nothing to raise my sugar levels. I haven't tried it since I got constant glucose monitor. Maybe I will again. Any kind of exertion, eating and laying down all cause my glucose to drop

Maybe ask you doctor about everolimus. It seemed to help my husband but was at same time as when he started chemo so unsure which or if it was the combo that worked. They only had him on it for about a month but his sugars have been steady ever since(6 months) he has metastasized insulinoma which started in the pancreas and metastasized to innumerable liver lesions.

I was on everolimus, but drs felt it was not aggressive enough. Have been put on capecitabine and telmidar. I'm fearful pancreas and liver have progressed. My glucose levels are harder and harder to just keep out of 50s. Food now makes it drop, where before thar wasn't case. Oncologist has advised to hang in there till we get petscan on Monday back. Appreciate everyone's support and help. My low blood sugar has really taken toll on quality of life, hinders me doing anything.

I feel for you with the difficult to control blood sugars. For a time I was not on any medication for hypoglycemia control due to anaphylactic and allergic reactions to sandostatin, lanreotide and everolimus. My hypoglycemia progressed to a very disruptive level. At Mayo they did an embolization in the region of the pancreatic insulinoma but the reduction in hypoglycemia was short lived due to the vascularity of the pancreas. Finally, I did a desensitization to the octreotide and that is helping the hypoglycemia a great deal. I still have breakthrough episodes but they are not disruptive. Hoping the PET scan brings you some answers. Best wishes 🙂

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.