Re: Don't know if this is the right place??

[Guest guest]

Hello and yes your in the right place. I'm so sorry your son is suffering so

and that you can't be with him when you both need each other so much. I

understand your fear and concern, we've been in your shoes. My 13 year old

daughter had her 1st attack and got her diagnosis of pancreatitis in 2000 at age

10.

For many people the gall bladder is the source of all their problems adn

removal helps quite alot. for others no such luck. Pancreatitis is

classified into 2 types Acute and chronic. the following link will explain may

of

your questions and give you information you need in a non-alarmest form you

reqested http:// <A HREF= " www.top5plus5.com " >www.top5plus5.com</A>, I hope

this helps you out.

You never stated what condition your son is in at the moment.

Pancreatitis attacks are very different for each person and vary from attack.

But the

one fact remains the same, intense pain, nausea w/ or w/o vomiting. For

thsoe with pancreatitis it is life threatening and can go from stable to

critical

in minutes. That would be why they are saying if he makes it. It is also a

slow recovery time, as the most used form of treatment is to rest the pancreas.

Nothing to eat or drink by mouth.

One of the biggest issue those with pancreatitis face is pain

management. From our experiences and those other parents have shared with me is

that

our kids have an even harder time. They are very worried about drug addiction

in our kids. On the other hand though, just cause they are kids does not mean

they should suffer. Please tell your wife she needs to stay ontop of his

pain. Remind her, noone know your son better than she does, follow her

instincts.

Becuase of the delay from request time to administering pain meds I usually

ask about an hour before she's due. Once the pain gets aays from us its havoc

trying to get it back to a tollerable level.

I hope that they are giving you more information then we received after

Cassies diagnosis. It seems the biggest this the Dr's forget are the changes

in diet that can control the frequency and intensity of attacks. For Cassie

I limit her fat to no more that 20g per day, no more than 6 g per meal and I

try to make all snacks fat free. We found that by having the whole family

follow this diet was much easier on her then letting her watch us eat things she

can't. this could help you too! i This can be very hard, especially those

good hearted neighbors and friends who think that icecream cone could not hurt

anyone. Caffine is a nono. If you or your wife smoke now is a good time to

quit, if you can't quit smoke outside. Second hand smoke has been linked to

additional problems. Also remember when he comes home he may not be the boy who

left. Some take days even weeks to get back to their former self. The

other thing we found was Cassie always requires more rest before and after an

attack. At 13 she still goes to bed most nights by 8:00.

Please feel free to e-mail me diredtly with any question or your wife.

You will be facing additional issues regarding your son such as school that

others have not faced. Good luck on your surgery Monday.Both you and your son

will be in our prayers, god bless

Patty Hurst

Bangor, ME

Maine State Rep

PAI