Half a Pancreas, Lots of Thoughts

(This post was generated by AI Patchino, my Diabetes AI Agent) 💙 You Just Got Diagnosed. Take a Deep Breath. If you were just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, you're probably feeling a lot of things right now. Scared, overwhelmed, confused, maybe even a little angry. That's completely normal. Your life just changed in a way you didn't expect, and your brain is working overtime trying to process what this means. Here's the good news: Type 1 diabetes is manageable. Thousands of people live full, healthy, amazing lives with Type 1. You're not alone, and you don't have to figure this out by yourself. This post is here to help you understand what's happening in your body and give you some practical things to focus on during your first week. 🧠 What Is Type 1 Diabetes, Actually? Let's start with the basics. Your pancreas normally makes a hormone called insulin. Insulin acts like a key that unlocks your cells so they can use the sugar (glucose) from the food yo...

(This post was generated by AI Patchino, my Diabetes AI Agent) So you've been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Maybe it was unexpected. Maybe you've been feeling awful and finally have answers. Either way, if you're feeling overwhelmed right now, that's completely normal. The good news? Type 1 Diabetes is manageable, and thousands of people are living full, active lives with it every single day. 💙 Let's Start With the Basics Type 1 Diabetes means your pancreas has stopped making insulin, a hormone that acts like a key. That key unlocks your cells so blood sugar (glucose) can enter and give you energy. Without insulin, your body can't use the glucose from food, so it builds up in your bloodstream. Your job now is to provide that insulin your body can't make anymore. Here's what's important to know right now: Type 1 Diabetes is not about eating too much sugar. It's not your fault. It's an autoimmune condition—your immune system attacked insul...

(This post was generated by AI Patchino, my Diabetes AI Agent) Understanding Your Blood Sugar: A Beginner's Guide to Type 1 Diabetes Management Welcome to Your Diabetes Journey If you've just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you might feel overwhelmed. That's completely normal. The good news? You're not alone. Millions of people around the world manage type 1 diabetes successfully every single day, and with the right knowledge and support, you can too. Remember : "Your diagnosis is simply the first step. There are ways you can manage your diabetes—through diet, exercise, medical support and emotional help."[1] The Three-Step Foundation of Type 1 Diabetes Management Managing type 1 diabetes involves three main priorities:[2] 1.        Checking your blood sugar regularly (using a glucose meter or continuous glucose monitor) 2.       Taking insulin to help your body use glucose properly 3.     ...

🙌🏻 Jesus, Take The Wheel Blessings and "Hey, you suddenly have T1D" might not be what you'd expect in the same story. But blessings have been abundant throughout this journey. I think God nudged me to buy a Hospital Indemnity plan during my open enrollment in 2024 (to be effective in 2025). I had never bought one before, but my daughter (who was 25 at the time and still on my insurance) was pregnant with twinz due in January 2025. The plan paid a nice little chunk of change when you get admitted to the hospital and some for every day you are in the hospital for up to 15 days. I figured, it was a very cheap plan and my daughter and her husband could use the payout if the twinz arrived in January (they were born January 1. Coincidence? Nope. God knew). I got to benefit from this plan as well. I had been on unemployment since May and was struggling to find a new job. I hadn't had to look for a job for over 16 years and the whole job hunting landscape has changed sign...

My PCP likes to torture me. He makes me get a blood test about a week before almost every visit, so I got that done on December 29, 2025 . 📅 Timing matters (insurance edition) I had my follow-up CT scan on January 8, 2026 . I could have done it in December and paid nothing, since the events earlier in the year had already maxed out my deductible. But since it was the end of the year, it made more sense to do it in January so it would start chipping away at my 2026 deductible instead. 🩺 The appointment I went in to see my PCP on January 13 . He said the CT scan looked “absolutely awesome”. Then he said, “But let’s talk about your blood 🩸.” 📊 Numbers that change everything My A1C was 10.8 . My glucose was 335 . They slapped a Freestyle Libre 3 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) on my arm, helped me install the app on my phone, and said: “Come back in two weeks.” 🧬 The official diagnosis My half a pancreas isn’t making enough insulin. Which means I g...

So there I was — one day away from being unemployed and uninsured. I had to make a quick decision: do I go on my wife’s insurance (which was not nearly as good as what I had), or do I go on COBRA ? 💳 The insurance math that doesn’t make sense (but does) After talking to the best HR lady ever and running the numbers, we decided it would actually be better to go on COBRA at $900/month than join my wife’s insurance at $126/month . That doesn’t sound right — until you understand how insurance actually works. My plan at the time covered 100% of hospital costs after the deductible was met (remember the ulcer incident?). It also waived the emergency room copay if you were admitted. After $1.17 million in hospital charges for the year, I paid: $2,000 deductible Three months of COBRA premiums Total out of pocket: $4,700 . Had I switched to my wife’s plan instead, we would have had a $4,000 deductible and then the plan would only have paid 20% — leaving us with a bi...

Then came May 6, 2025. I went to my primary care physician (PCP) for a follow-up related to the ulcer event. While I was there, I mentioned that I felt upper respiratory congestion and had been coughing up junk. I assumed it was just my normal seasonal sinus infection that shows up around that time of year. The doctor ordered a chest X-ray . The X-ray showed fluid in my pleural space around my left lung — enough that he said I needed a thoracentesis . That sounded fun. 💉 Two weeks later (and more needles) It took two weeks to get an appointment for the thoracentesis, which finally happened on May 20. Yes, it involved needles. They drained 2.5 liters of fluid. While we were at it, they also ordered a CT scan . 📄 Words you never want to read The CT scan report stated: “There is abnormal soft tissue density in the upper retroperitoneum adjacent to the celiac artery and anterior to the adrenal gland . There is some soft tissue thickening along the diaphragmatic cr...

After I finally got out of the hospital, I talked to the G.I. doctor again. He said that had I been at a “real hospital“ they probably would have taken my gallbladder while I was in there just to rule it out as a cause. They apparently will typically remove the gallbladder if there is no definitive cause of pancreatitis . So we talked to a surgeon and got it set up to remove my gallbladder on December 15, 2023. That surgery went well, but revealed that the gallbladder was not a contributing factor to the pancreatitis. The G.I. doc ordered an MRI . This time I could actually breathe so we were able to get it done on December 28, however this is one of the IV from hell stories. They did the MRI with and without contrast . When they do contrast, they have to put in an IV and then inject the contrast during the scan. The nurse had to use a special machine to find a vein to get the IV in. It took her 2 tries, and she got it in my right arm. But the contrast injection machine was on the le...

On Monday, October 2, 2023, I woke up with pretty intense abdominal pain . I thought maybe it was something I’d eaten or that I was coming down with the flu. But it felt different, so I decided to go to my doctor on October 4. The doctor wasn’t certain what was going on, so of course they ordered a blood test and labs and all that fun stuff. 💉 A necessary warning about needles Let me preface the rest of this post by saying I have trypanophobia . That’s the medical term for fear of needles. Not just “I don’t like needles,” but “I can’t even watch someone get stuck with a needle on a fictional TV show without turning away and squirming.” (Why do they always stick someone in the neck on TV and movies?) This blood test was just the beginning of an un-fun adventure involving a whole lot of needle sticks — injections, blood draws , and IVs from hell . 🧪 The first real clue The blood test came back with highly elevated levels of lipase — 819, where normal is generally 0–160. T...

Hello, internet. Welcome to the blog I never planned to write. 🧬 How I got here I'm Michael, and I’m a member of a very exclusive club I did not apply for. I had a distal pancreatectomy , meaning part of my pancreas was surgically evicted in June 2025 (I’ll tell more about that in the next few posts). Just two days ago (January 13, 2026), I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes . Turns out the pancreas is not a “nice-to-have” organ when it comes to blood sugar management. Who knew? ⚙️ Why this blog exists This blog exists because when your pancreas clocks out early, life gets weird fast. One day you’re recovering from surgery, the next you’re learning a new vocabulary that includes words like basal , bolus , CGM , and why juice boxes are suddenly medical equipment. I went from casually eating food to negotiating with it like it’s a hostile foreign power. 🎯 Why I’m writing it I decided to write this blog for a few reasons: Primarily for my own education, but if it he...