Burn-out

[Guest guest]

Hi Jim,

I'm not sure how useful my answer will be but I can tell you what I

have been told!

I have a hereditary form of pancreatitis and have had attacks since

I was a little girl. (Now 59!) My gastroenterologist and one of the

two Profs I see have suggested that I may well be reaching burn-

out.....or even already at that stage. The other Prof, the main

pancreatologist to whom I was originally referred by the gastro,

says it is difficult to be sure about this although he certainly

accepted that the burn-out phenomenon does occur.

I get the impression that medical views on burn-out differ. I am not

yet diabetic, for example, which means my pancreatic endocrine

function is still active, if very slightly impaired. On the other

hand, the exocrine (digestive) function has practically gone and I

take large doses of Creon to replace my own digestive enzymes.

It is true that I experience less pain now than was the case a

couple of years ago, BUT :

(a) I still do have painful days. (I've just had a bad couple of

days.)

( There have been other stretches of my life when the pain was

less frequent and I seemed perfctly healthy in-between attacks.

© I am now taking Creon and following an alcohol-free and low-fat

diet. These may well be the most important factors in my pain

reduction rather than burn-out; difficult to be sure.

Generally, burn-out is said to take a long time, years rather than

months. However, there are exceptions and I expect others will share

their experience.

Take care and good luck!

Fliss (UK)