Pancreatitis and Biliary Disease

[Guest guest]

Kara,

You wrote, " I went to see a new dr on Tues, He asked about my gall bladder.

I said I wasn't sure, but remembered that one of the test results mentioned

sludge in my gall bladder. He announced that my gall bladder needed to come

out. He offered to send me to a local

surgeon. My pancreatitis could be secondary to my gall bladder problems.

So, if anyone has any spare positive thoughts to spare, please send a few my

way. "

That is highly likely that your gallbladder could be the cause of your

pancreatitis. It is also as likely that the gallbladder problems are actually

secondary to the pancreattiis. Either way, with the chronic pancreatitis

present,

the likelihood that the sludge in the gallbladder resolving on its own is

poor. Statistics state that pancreatitis due to biliary disease is one of the

top two causes of pancreatitis.

In my own story, I had continued pain following gallbladder surgery. My

surgeon told me I had no gallbladder so there was no way I could still be having

pain. I dismissed it after much confrontation about drug seeking, etc., and

had pain for the next ten years, until I had that huge attack taking me into

the ER. By that time, the disease had progressed to where I no longer had

elevated enzymes and required a distal pancreatectomy two weeks later. Early

diagnosis and intervention would have resulted in a better outcome.

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

_www.pancassociation.org_ (http://www.pancassociation.org/)