Re : Autoimmune disease and pancreatitis

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I have coeliac disease which was diagnosed in 1988; this is an

autimmune disease.

I am 59 and have had CP sysmptoms since my first attack at the age

of 5! In childhood and early adulthood, my symptoms were occasional

week-long attacks of VERY severe abdominal pain. There were no other

symptoms and I was fine for 50 weeks of every year! Nothing was

diagnosed.

Malabsorption began in my 30's.

I certainly did see improvements, especially in those dreadful

malabsorption symptoms, when I went on the gluten-free diet

(required for coeliacs) in 1988 but I was never completely cured and

bad abdominal pains returned with increasing severity and frequency

around 1999. Finally, in 2003, chronic pancreatitis, thought to be

hereditary, was diagnosed folowing CT scan. In 1965 my mother died

of an acute attack of pancreatitis after several years of CP and

unsuccessful surgery in 1959.

At my last visit to the clinic a couple of weeks ago, it was

suggested that I MIGHT have autoimmune pancreatitis rather than

classic HP, and that I could have inherited a tendency to autoimmune

diseases from my mother rather than having inherited straight CP.

Anyway, this is only a possibility and blood tests are being done.

I might not know the results for some time as I don't have another

clinic appointment for about three months. I think I'll try to get

the results sent through to my GP in the meantime.

I know very little about autoimmune pancreatitis but the suggestions

I've seen indicate that calcifications and inflammation of the

duodenum are rare with it. I have both! Probably mine will turn out

to be classic HP after all. The pattern of my CP, starting in

childhood, with malabsorption beginning later, does fit in with HP.

It's now a waiting game.

Regards,

Fliss (UK)