Re: Mother's pain, weight loss, need help.

[Guest guest]

Dear Satish,

With your mother's surgery being so recent, it's difficult to determine whether

this return to the hospital with pain is caused by the sugery or by another

chronic pancreatitis attack. Once the physician's have had a chance to revew

her symptoms, blood work and any other tests they may feel necessary to do,

I'm sure that they will be able to give you an accurate account of what has

caused this pain.

Even though her surgery was over a month ago, you need to understand that

eating solid food again can be challenging for those of us who have had so

many problems with eating. We associate eating with pain, and it's often very

difficult to convince our minds that the food isn't going to cause that horrible

pain once again. Most of us follow liquid diets for many days, with a very

gradual increase to more substancial foods. Many people start with baby

food, fruits and vegetables that are mashed or pureed, before starting adult

food. Even then, most people resume eating soft foods only, like mashed

potatoes, oatmeal, applesauce, jello, mashed vegetables, and similar soft

foods. Ice cream is also appealing. It's important to start very slowly, with

soft,

low fat foods that are mild and not heavily spiced so that they won't cause any

digestional irritationn.

I know you want your mother to regain her health and her energy, but you

need to be prepared to accept that it may take a long time for her to gain

confidence in eating again. You should ask the doctors if they can

recommend any nutritional supplemental beverages to help fortify her diet.

Here in the US we have many nutritional beverages that contain multiple

additional vitamins and minerals that are designed specifically for people who

are having a hard time gaining and maintaining weight. I feel confident that

you could get similar products there if you asked your mother's doctors for

help.

Have the doctors recommended any enzyme supplements for your mother to

take when she eats? These are pills that are taken before meals that will

supplement the amylase and lipase enzymes that the pancreas produces.

When the pancreas is damaged and can't produce these enzymes on it's own,

the enzyme supplements that a patient takes before eating will take the place

of those made by our body. These supplements are very helpful for most

chronic pancreatitis patients.

Have the doctors given your mother any medication to help her with her pain?

If she had appropriate pain medication, it would help her to feel less pain and

be more encouraged to eat without worry.

These are only a few suggestions that I can think of at this time. Please talk

with your mother's doctors and see if they can give her any assistance with

these things once she is dismissed from the hospital again. Please also

update us as soon as it's convenient, and let us know how she is doing.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina Rep.

Southeastern Reg. Rep., PAI

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or opinion,

and should not be substituted for professional medical consultation.