Re: Should I go to the hospital every time?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/15/03 4:18:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

paintsforu@... writes:

> I hate the hospital. I hate having weeks ripped

> out of my life...yet, I love my life. Is it safe to stay home if

> you are having an attack and can bear the pain? Not every attack is

> the same and some are less severe than others. Thanks for taking

>

Hi Paints,

I think you have answered these first questions yourself

Best wishes, Poncho - GA

[Guest guest]

> Hi! I am new to this group and Have lots of questions, but don't

> want to ask them all at once so I will start with this one. I was

> diagnosed in November, but have had several attacks of Acute

> Pancreatitis since then. I have been hospitalized a couple of

> times, but to be honest, I haven't gone rushing off to the

hospital

> with every attack. I hate the hospital. I hate having weeks

ripped

> out of my life...yet, I love my life. Is it safe to stay home if

> you are having an attack and can bear the pain? Not every

attack is

> the same and some are less severe than others. Thanks for

taking

> the time to read this...Paints

Paints,

This is truly a very individual decision, and several factors should

be considered. We ALL hate the hospital and the time it rips out

of our lives. Some acute attacks can be serious, though, to the

point of life threatening, so that's why you need to exercise

caution when making the decision to stay home or to go. I know

I've stayed home for nearly all of mine, and the last one when I

should have gone I didn't, and my doc didn't see the need, either,

but it was a mistake and I ended up in ER two months later with

some very severe complications.

Here are the guidelines that I generally follow.....if the attack is

severe enough that pain medication won't touch it after two

attempts of dosing, then that IMHO means hospital time. If I

have uncontrolled vomiting or diarrhea that lasts more than a

couple hours along with the pain, it's time to go. If I have a

raised temperature along with the pain, it's time to go. I have

pseudocysts, and because of these I have to be more careful

because any temperature rise could indicate a rupture of the

pseudocysts, and one has to act FAST!

Yet, as I said, this has to be a very individual episode by episode

decision, and it is one you shouldn't take lightly. If the pain is so

severe that you can't control it with reasonable application of your

prescribed pain meds, then go. Sometimes the only way we can

stop an attack from developing into serious complications is to

get in there, get on IV fluids and IV pain medication and nausea

control. If an attack is accompanied by nausea and diarrhea,

most surely there's some severe dehydration going on, even

when you don't know it, and it's crucial to get the pancreas and

the other organs quickly hydrated to avoid further trouble.

And there could be a situation, like mine, where you aren't

capable of making that important decision to go on your own, I

hope it would never happen, but there's always that chance. In

my case I had gone into shock and wasn't able to think clearly on

my own and thought everything was just fine....and that's when

someone else has to step in and make those decisions for you.

You should never let it get that far.

I hope this helps, and I hope someone else will address this

very crucial subject. Everyone has different pain tolerances, too,

and I have found that if you have a high threshold for pain, like I

do, it's better to go to early, than too late.

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

Bluffton, SC

State and Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

Note: All comments are personal opinion only, and should not

be a substitute for professional medical consultation.

[Guest guest]

Paints,

As you said, some attacks are worse than others, and I too ride some

of them out at home. However, be careful to watch temp, nausea,

etc. It doesn't take much to be too much. But as long as the pain

is mild, and you aren't having trouble with nausea or temperature, I

don't blame you for wanitng to stay home. One thing, though, if you

are in pain that frequently, are they sure that you are acute and

not chronic?

Anne