Re: More Mystery than Science

[Guest guest]

--- maybemom55@... wrote:

> Hello, I found this list trying to learn

> something/anything about

> Pancreatititis. One of my very dearest friends has

> been in the . Margie Lemons

>

>

Hi Margie, my name is , and I've been fighting

with pancreatitis all my life, I'm 27 and up until

this past April, they never knew i was born with a

deformity in my bile duct, and have narrowing in my

pancreatic duct, I too was blamed for being an

alchoholic, it's usually the first thing they ask at

the E.R. during an acute attack,I was 21 when I first

went to the ER for an attack, so they just assumed I

was a drinker, it's very insulting. sometimes they

can;t find a cause for an attack and it's very

frusterating. Some people have one attack and then

never have another,it all depends on the cause.I hope

this helped some, there are alot of people on this

board who are very helpful and can give you alot of

info. I hope your friend gets better soon and they

find out what has caused it.keep us informed,

:}

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Margie,

I wanted to welcome you to our group and I'm so sorry your friend has

this.

Some people get it and only have one case and other get it and end up

with chronic. The doctors don't fully understand what makes the

difference, but they always hope it's a one time thing.

As for the alcohol, yes, most of us have come to the conclusion that

alcohol is too frequently listed as the culprit, even when the

individual knows they have drank anything. It's an assumption on the

doctor's part. Technically, the doctors list alcohol as 75-80% of the

cause, but we all know that that may not be true and may be

significantly lower.

One thing you friend does need to do to avoid having another case is

abstain from alcohol. Even if that's not the cause, once you have had

pancreatitis, you become more sensitized to all the causes. That means

she quite a bit more likely to have another attack if she doesn't give

up even those few drinks on special occasions.

The treatment your friend was given to stop the attack is pretty much

the only thing doctors have found to stop an acute attack. Pain and

Nausea medication, plus no food until the enzyme levels have gone down.

If you want to research more about this, a really good website that

explains acute pancreatitis and the differences between it and chronic

pancreatitis, it's the Hopkins GI website:

http://hopkins-gi.org/subspecialties/acutepancreas/ and

http://hopkins-gi.org/subspecialties/chronic

Please feel free to ask any more questions you have.

--

Kimber

hominid2@...

California State Chapter Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International