Re: home from the hospital again/

September 1, 2002

Hi, .

I always feel like I've been beaten with a bat after my ERCP's. I evidentally

fight them pretty hard, as they seem not to understand that my tolerance for

pain meds, etc. is much higher than the average Joe. It always takes my doctor

telling them that they have to give me more, as I wake up and the whole nine

yards. Nothing like feeling a water hose down your throat. That's why my doc

is putting me totally under for my next ERCP in October. I talked to him the

other day, and I told him that I would not have it any other way.

I don't care what they say, these procedures are horrible on us! The last one I

had, I could barely swallow for three days. My back hurt, of course, but it

wasn't that pancreatitis pain. It was just as if someone had hit me with a bat

unmercifully! That pain took over a week to go away. My actual first

documented case of pancreatitis came after my second ERCP - they thought it was

just sphincter of oddi. When he went in, he actually had to make a bile duct

for me (mine was almost completely closed shut), and my pancreatic duct was

almost the same. I came out of that procedure with four stents, and a week stay

in the hospital - three of which were in critical care. It seems that my

pancreas was quite infected, and my counts were astronomical! I only woke up to

puke for three days. After that, they moved me to a regular floor, and I was in

and out for the rest of the week. I remember coming home and being in the worst

pain I had ever felt. I was used to having gall bladder-like attacks, which

were debilitating themselves. The back pain that was so unbearable, I had never

felt. I didn't know that pain was called pancreatitis. No one had diagnosed

that yet. I kept it for three weeks, all the while trying to go back to work.

I finally gave up after a week of going in to work and leaving an hour later,

and I stayed in bed for the next week. That was in November, 2000. Finally, I

was diagnosed (although I had already figured it out a long time before) with

CP. Mine is ductal in nature. Isn't it amazing that you can go all of your

life - all 28 years of mine, and be fine - and then BOOM! Your life is

completely and horribly different.

I've had this bad boy for four years in February. I must admit, there has been

some good come from this - I stopped drinking (I was still young and in college,

and I played around - never too much), my marriage got stronger, I found God

again and I have so much strength. I had my second baby almost eight months

ago, and, by having CP, I had a much easier time dealing with the pain.

I hope you get to feeling better. I used icy hot and a heating pad. It worked

pretty good for me. I'll be praying for you!

in KY

Weston wrote:Louie,

I am slowly doing better. I am still having pain but it seems different. I am

hving no problem with food right now. My pain almost feels like a heaviness

under my right rib. The kind of heaviness you have after surgery when you

muscles have been cut. I don't know why having an ERCP would make me have that

kind of pain, but it does seem to be getting better eahc day.

home from the hospital again

Well guys - I went to the hospital on Wednesday to have another ERCP. The

GI was going to cut the bile duct to help with the sphincter of oddi

malfunctioning. Because I've had a gastric bypass, the GI can't get to the bile

duct that way he would with a normal stomach. My sweet and wonderful surgeon

even drew me pictures showing how the GI would have to go in my newly routed

intestines. I was supposed to go home Wed after the procedure.

Well, I ended up throwing up and having dry heaves for hours after the ERCP.

I was also having a tremendous amount of pain. However, the pain was not really

the same as with an attack. Even though the pain was in the same area, it was

different. It's kind of hard to explain but it felt more like surgery type pain

- someone's messed around with my insides pain. They ended up keeping me in the

hospital. I was pretty miserable til the middle of the night.

The GI said he was not able to safely cut the bile duct because of having to

get to it a different way. He put a stent in the duct. He said the stent will

last maybe two months. He said if I don't have any more episodes, we'll know

that the sphincter of oddi is the problem. The GI said he'll have to have the

surgeon go in surgically and cut the bile duct. He said if the stent does not

stop the episodes, he'll still need the surgeon to do a laparotomy and look at

the pancreas and pancreatic duct (since the GI can't get to them through ERCP).

It now seems that the GI is in agreement that my pain, elevated liver enzymes,

and sometimes elevated panc enzymes are definitely being caused by the panc

and/or sphincter of oddi.

The GI sent me home with more pain meds and instructions to call him

immediately if I have any of the severe episodes.

So, anyway, it looks like I will be having surgery in a month or two. I'll

probably have a two for one deal. I discovered that I have a hernia a few weeks

ago. It has gotten bigger jus in the few weeks since I discovered it. The

surgeon told me that I will have to have surgery to repair the hernia within the

next two months. He had already told me he could repair the hernia at the same

time he goes in to look at the pancreas and/or cut the bile duct.

Thankfully, my GI has now acknowledged my pain and is very willing to work

with my surgeon to get me well (or at least better).

September 1, 2002

,

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who felt beat up after teh ERCP. I've had 4

before this one and never felt like this. The 4th one did cause some general

achiness but not like this one. They put me totally under with this. I woke up

during the 4th one and it was awful.

I am just praying I will be able to go back to work on Tuesday. I have

exhausted every bit of my leave through this.

home from the hospital again

Well guys - I went to the hospital on Wednesday to have another ERCP. The

GI was going to cut the bile duct to help with the sphincter of oddi

malfunctioning. Because I've had a gastric bypass, the GI can't get to the bile

duct that way he would with a normal stomach. My sweet and wonderful surgeon

even drew me pictures showing how the GI would have to go in my newly routed

intestines. I was supposed to go home Wed after the procedure.

Well, I ended up throwing up and having dry heaves for hours after the

ERCP. I was also having a tremendous amount of pain. However, the pain was not

really the same as with an attack. Even though the pain was in the same area,

it was different. It's kind of hard to explain but it felt more like surgery

type pain - someone's messed around with my insides pain. They ended up keeping

me in the hospital. I was pretty miserable til the middle of the night.

The GI said he was not able to safely cut the bile duct because of having

to get to it a different way. He put a stent in the duct. He said the stent

will last maybe two months. He said if I don't have any more episodes, we'll

know that the sphincter of oddi is the problem. The GI said he'll have to have

the surgeon go in surgically and cut the bile duct. He said if the stent does

not stop the episodes, he'll still need the surgeon to do a laparotomy and look

at the pancreas and pancreatic duct (since the GI can't get to them through

ERCP). It now seems that the GI is in agreement that my pain, elevated liver

enzymes, and sometimes elevated panc enzymes are definitely being caused by the

panc and/or sphincter of oddi.

The GI sent me home with more pain meds and instructions to call him

immediately if I have any of the severe episodes.

So, anyway, it looks like I will be having surgery in a month or two.

I'll probably have a two for one deal. I discovered that I have a hernia a few

weeks ago. It has gotten bigger jus in the few weeks since I discovered it.

The surgeon told me that I will have to have surgery to repair the hernia within

the next two months. He had already told me he could repair the hernia at the

same time he goes in to look at the pancreas and/or cut the bile duct.

Thankfully, my GI has now acknowledged my pain and is very willing to work

with my surgeon to get me well (or at least better).

September 1, 2002