Incom. Pan Div/SOD/Gastroparisis

[Guest guest]

I am looking for someone who has Incomplete Pancreas Divisum, SOD,

Gastroparisis, Diabetes and CP. If you have all of these,(in one body)

Please email me at katseye1969@.... If you have only Incomplete

Pancreas Div., I still REALLY would love to hear from you. Thank you-

Kathleen

[Guest guest]

I have seen some drs here recently that have said mine is

misshaped...I have dealt with these problems for quite sometime but

very new to the group. If you would like to chat, just let me know.

> I am looking for someone who has Incomplete Pancreas Divisum, SOD,

> Gastroparisis, Diabetes and CP. If you have all of these,(in one

body)

> Please email me at katseye1969@y... If you have only Incomplete

> Pancreas Div., I still REALLY would love to hear from you. Thank you-

> Kathleen

[Guest guest]

Dear Kathleen,

I have pancreas divism, SOD and had gastroparesis for years. I was

extremely sick as well. Throwing up was a regular part of my day. I lived on

liquids and on better days I could upgrade to mashed potatoes, pudding,

applesauce and instant breakfast. My understanding through all this is that due

to the divism, the fluids are not draining properly, therefore pain. They kept

opening my outlets and stenting and it would give me relief. But it always came

back. I finally had the trans-duodenal spincteroplasty (surgery to open the

pancreas outlet bigger) and that finally stopped the madness where I could eat

normally again. This is when my gastroparesis stopped. Then the pain started

again, (but not a severe) and after progressive stenting, I am back to being

pain free and eating everything again. My gastoparesis is still not back. The

opening from the surgery was still great when he got back inside. But my duct

was very narrowed, inside, and he stretched it open so it could drain

better again.

I did some research on the difference between incomplete divism and classic

divism, I was curious. I read that in cases of classic pancreas divism the small

ventral duct, (or duct of Wirsung), drains via the major papilla and the large

dorsal duct, (or duct of Santorini), drains via the minor papilla. Cases of

incomplete pancreas divism are the same as classic divism, except a small branch

connects the ventral and dorsal pancreas. From what I have read, treatment seems

to be similar in both cases of divism. There are also other abnormalities with

pancreas divism like reversed panc divism (The small dorsal duct drains via

minor papilla and the large ventral duct drains via major ampulla) or pancreas

divisum with nonpatent major papilla (the entire pancreatic ductal system drains

via minor papilla). So divism can have many faces it seems, but treatment seems

to be very similar. Getting the small ducts to drain better is the key.

I hope this information was helpful and my thoughts and prayers are with

you that your MD can come up with a plan to give you significant relief. I know

how frustrating it can be. Hang in there and know we are hear for you. If I can

answer any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Talk to you soon.

Love,

w

Wisconsin

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear , Thank you for responding. You lost me on all of those names. I do

not have that duct work. I have one pancreatic duct that both pancreases share.

I have one pancreas that has not function. It has tones of little tiny ducts

that do not connect. The other pancreas, Has a duct that stops. It does not

connect to wherever it is suposed to dump into ( I think the small intestine but

I am not sure on that). My biliary also self destructs. Does your do that too? I

will look up the plasty thing you mentioned. Maybe that will be an option for me

one day. Doc says I have lots of scar tissue and we need to leave things alone

for a while. I am in agreement. Thanks again for responding! Take Care-Kathleen

W wrote:

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

you can vent to me anytime you want to. I am so sorry., I too am almost in tears

and very angry after reading your post. It's really important to have one doc if

you can. Are you going to large hospital, like a University Hospital? Where do

you live if you don't mind me asking. Seems like we have a lot of the same

issues. It's madening. Today I could not get my pants on. URGGGGG!!!!! and they

have 2 way stretch! LOL Those " pain blockers' seem like a scam to me. Nothing

about that seems like fun. I have never heard one good thing about them...or

the patch thing you mentioned. I feel really bad for you. Nothing is more

maddening and frusterating than docs not communicating with you or other docs.

That's just crazy and how mistakes can happen. I hate that you going through

that. Ithappened to me in the beginning. I appointed a 'ring leader' She was a

PA but I trusted her completely. When they finally sent me to Baylor, I actually

called her and asked her if that was ok! LOL and she

works in a really small hospital, but trust is everything. If you trust them,

they will not give up on you and they will find you the right medical care.

That's how she was, she knew she could nothelp me and she had no ised who could,

but she pressed on with referals and following up. You gotts find someone you

trust. dang. I really hate this for you. I am so so sorry. -kathleen

assistant2pgd wrote:>

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> " Life's Your Cup, Drink it Up " ...3 Doors Down

> Kathleen

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

It's ok Teal. I am so mad over your post, I barely know my own name

assistant2pgd wrote:> > http://mail.yahoo.com

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[Guest guest]

thank you very much...I am very glad you can understand exactly

where I am coming from, however, I wish we would've met on better

situations. I live in Madison County, Indiana, which is just

slightly north of Indianapolis, the panc surgeon and the GI were

both at IU Hospital. I wore the biggest pants I have today b/c I

had the same problem! This patch has actually helped a little in

the fact that I do not have to take as much painkillers orally right

now. I am sure I will tonight after being soooo upset today, my

pain worsens when I am as upset as I am today, does yours? I trust

my GP but he is out of the loop b/c they made him that way...until

now when they want to send him that letter. Thank you for such a

quick response it made me feel like I was not stewing & complaining

to myself.

Teal

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> > " Life's Your Cup, Drink it Up " ...3 Doors Down

> > Kathleen

> > __________________________________________________

> >

[Guest guest]

Teal, nah! you're cool with me! no worries! I heard IU was a good facility. I

go to Baylor. I think it's awesome. I feel really lucky that's local for me. I

get the SAME WAY you do! In way, not being rude, but I am glad I am not alone.

Dang, I was wondering! Kathleen

assistant2pgd wrote:thank you very much...I am very

glad you can understand exactly

where I am coming from, however, I wish we would've met on better

situations. I live in Madison County, Indiana, which is just

slightly north of Indianapolis, the panc surgeon and the GI were

both at IU Hospital. I wore the biggest pants I have today b/c I

had the same problem! This patch has actually helped a little in

the fact that I do not have to take as much painkillers orally right

now. I am sure I will tonight after being soooo upset today, my

pain worsens when I am as upset as I am today, does yours? I trust

my GP but he is out of the loop b/c they made him that way...until

now when they want to send him that letter. Thank you for such a

quick response it made me feel like I was not stewing & complaining

to myself.

Teal

>

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> " Life's Your Cup, Drink it Up " ...3 Doors Down

> Kathleen

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

W, I forgot to ask if you are diabetic? I hae not found a good way to

stablized that with the gastroparisis . Do you have a pacemaker in your tummy?

Does ANYTHING help it at all?? Tahnks for the input, sorry to be a pain

W wrote:

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear Kathleen,

No I am not diabetic, must be hard to stabilize with the gastroparesis. My

gastoparesis was so severe I was sent to Kansas University Medical Center to be

evaluated for the gastric pacemaker. My Chicago MD knew the MD who did this

procedure. It was this hospital visit where I got alot of my answers as to why I

was so sick. I found out you had to be sick for one year to be a candidate for

the pacemaker. My gastroparesis was diagnosed in September and this was January.

So this option was not available to me at that time. I was told it sends

electrical impulses to the stomach so it contracts. I was in the hospital there

for 10 days and I am the type of patient who paces the hallways. While doing

this, I met several people who had the gastric pacemaker. One women told me when

hers was implanted it had been 2 years since she had been able to eat regular

food. She had hers for over a year. She said it saved her life. Then I met a

man who just recently had it implanted and he was

just starting up on food. He was so happy, had been years since he could eat a

meal. . I was very impressed by what I saw and heard about it. But one thing

that the MD there told me was that he liked to know why the gastoparesis was

active before getting one. Because if they could correct the problem the

gastroparesis would stop. They found out it was my SOD and pancreas that was

causing my gastoparesis. I was sent to a pancreas specialist and once my ducts

were opened, my gastoparesis stopped. My stomach woke back up. I could eat

again. I was told that when your pancreas isn't draining that it sends signals

to you stomach to stop sending food. We keep eating. Then the gastroparesis

kicks in to slow things down so the pancreas doesn't have to work so hard. But

we have to eat, so when we continue to do so, so vomiting and pain happens. This

is how several MDS explained it to me.

They treated my gastroparesis with Reglan (which I had to stop taking

because it made me severely depressed, crying at the drop of a hat) I also was

taking propulsid and domperidone. They both worked for me. It got my stomach

moving to where I could hold down liquids and very soft food (pudding, mashed

potatoes, applesauce etc..) I found that foods that didn't need to be broken

apart by the stomach were best. Ones that just slid thru like the potatoes,

pudding etc...

Are you on any meds for your gastroparesis? How long have you had

gastroparesis? You are not being a pain, you can ask any questions you want.

Sometimes it may take me a bit to answer as I am on Hepatitis C treatment and I

have many down days. But when energy permits, I try to post.

Talk to you soon

Love,

w

Wisconsin

Kathleen Cowart wrote:

---------------------------------

Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page

[Guest guest]

The " Glycemic Index " concept was originally developed a team of scientists

lead by Dr. at the University of Toronto in 1981; it is now

gaining widespread acceptance as part of a dietary strategy.

It was written about back in 1989 in Michel Montignac's book, " Dine Out and

Lose Weight " , and has since spawned several variants ( " Sugar Busters " , " The

G.I. Factor " , " The New Glucose Revolution " , " The G-Index Diet " ... the list

goes on).

The Glycemic Index of a food is the measure of the rise in the level of

glucose that occurs in your bloodstream, after that food is ingested.

When you eat foods with a high glycemic index, your blood sugar levels shoot

through the roof.

This causes your pancreas to secrete insulin, which is your body's way of

getting your blood sugar level back to normal.

However, the secretion of this insulin:

a.. causes our bodies to store excess sugar as fat,

b.. inhibits the " burning " of previously stored fat, and

c.. signals our liver to make cholesterol!

Furthermore, as foods with a low glycemic index ( " G.I. " ) are absorbed more

slowly, the calories from the food you eat are more likely to be burned

throughout the day as energy, rather than stored as fat.

In fact, studies have shown that even when calorie intake is the same, you

can lose more weight eating low G.I. foods rather than high G.I. foods.

The Glycemic Index of a food is derived by comparing the rate of digestion

to that that food, with the rate of digestion of pure glucose. Glucose* is

assigned a Glycemic Index of 100, and the tested food is charted against

this standard.

* glucose if the most widely accepted reference food, however some other

systems use white bread instead.

Foods with a high Glycemic Index (70 and above) are those that break down

quickly and cause a spike in blood sugar levels.

Foods with a low Glycemic Index (55 and below) break down more slowly and

steadily, resulting a more sustained supply of energy.

Popular notions regarding the rates of absorption of " simple " and

" complex " carbohydrates (as was thought to be the case in the 1970's) are

refuted by a glance at the Glycemic Index tables.

Foods high in sugar - such as chocolate, candy and ice cream was

classed as " simple carbohydrates " .

For years, we thought these foods were quickly digested, leading to a

rapid rise in blood sugar.

Similarly, it was believed that starchier foods like bread and

potatoes ( " complex carbohydrates " ) broke down more slowly, providing steady,

long-term energy.

However, in 1981, Dr. found this was not necessarily

true. Dr. , a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto,

set out to establish the type of foods that were best for people suffering

from diabetes.

found that foods such as potatoes - traditionally defined as a

complex carbohydrate - actually led to a rapid rise in blood sugar. Some

foods high in simple carbohydrates appeared to digest more slowly, leading

to a gradual elevation in blood sugar.

This led researchers to classify foods according to their glycemic

index. The glycemic index refers to the immediate rise in blood sugar that

occurs after you eat a food high in carbohydrate.

. Foods that digest rapidly lead to a fast release of glucose into

your blood stream. These are known as high glycemic index foods.

. Foods that digest more slowly release glucose into your blood

gradually, and are known as low glycemic index foods.

Following is two other explaniations of Glycemic index:

1. The extent to which a carbohydrate increases blood glucose, and therefore

insulin, in the bloodstream can be quantified by a number called the

Glycemic Index. A higher glycemic index translates to a faster and more

dramatic response. A lower glycemic index indicates a more gradual response.

For example, the ingestion of glucose (glycemic index=100) quickly invokes

the dramatic chain of reactions described above. On the other hand, the

ingestion of fructose (glycemic index=23) results in a more prolonged

response because its glycemic index is much lower. During exercise, high

glycemic index carbohydrates help maintain blood sugar levels, while low

glycemic index carbohydrates do not because the response is not dramatic

enough. Prior to exercise, high glycemic index carbohydrates have the

potential to induce a poorly timed state of hypoglycemia, while low glycemic

index carbohydrates do not. Hence the importance of timing.

2. Quick biochemistry lesson: The glycemic index is a system whereby all

carbohydrate-containing foods are ranked by number. The higher the number,

the faster the food empties from the stomach into the small intestine, where

it's broken down to blood sugar, or glucose. And thus, the greater the surge

of sugar from the intestine into the bloodstream. Some scientists believe

this " surge " can lead to a number of health problems:

2a.Overweight: When blood sugar spikes dramatically in the bloodstream,

there's a matching spike in the hormone insulin to remove that sugar from

the blood. That means glucose empties from the bloodstream relatively

quickly, which, the theory goes, causes hunger to return more quickly and

more calories to be eaten over the course of the day than if glucose left

the bloodstream more gradually.

2b. Diabetes: Insulin is made in the pancreas, and the thinking is that if

the pancreas is overworked to keep secreting large insulin loads, it

eventually will give out, or at least lose efficiency in its insulin

delivery. And the bloodstream, in turn, will chronically have more sugar in

it than it should-the hallmark of diabetes.

2c. Heart disease: Studies have indicated that secreting a lot of insulin is

associated with higher levels of blood fats called triglycerides and lower

levels of " good " HDL-cholesterol, which helps keep arteries unclogged.

2d. Consistent with that line of research, findings from Harvard's Nurses'

Health Study have found that among some 75,000 women, those who followed

diets with the lowest glycemic load (the glycemic index of a food multiplied

by the number of carbohydrate grams it contains) were less likely to develop

heart disease over a 10-year period than their high-glycemic-load

counterparts

Source for Glycemic index chart taken from

http://www.southbeachdietguide.com/gi-charts.html

A complete table containing Glycemic Index values for thousands of foods can

be viewed at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition website.

Please note that page at the above link is HUGE, so be prepared for a

potentially long download time.

The complete article, " International table of glycemic index and

glycemic load values: 2002 " (including all the Glycemic Index values) may

also be downloaded in PDF form from here.

For you convenience, a table of common foods appears below:

Beans

Food Glycemic Index Food Glycemic Index

Baby lima 32 Baked Bean 43

Black Bean 30 Brown Bean 38

Butter Bean 31 Chickpeas 33

Kidney Bean 27 Navy Bean 38

Pinto Bean 42 Red Lentils 27

Split Peas 32 Soy Beans 18

Breads

Bagel 72 Kaiser roll 73

Pita 57 Pumpernickel 49

Rye 64 Rye, whole 50

White 72 Whole wheat 72

Waffles 76

Cereals

All Bran 44 Bran Chex 58

Cheerios 74 Corn Bran 75

Corn Chex 83 Cream of Wheat 66

Crispix 87 Grapenuts 67

Grapenuts Flakes 80 Life 66

Mueslix 60 NutriGrain 66

Oatmeal 53 Oatmeal 1minute 66

Puffed Wheat 74 Puffed Rice 90

Rice Bran 19 Rice Chex 89

Rice Krispies 82

Cookies

Oatmeal 55 Shortbread 64

Vanilla Wafers 77

Crackers

Rye crackers 63 Saltine crackers 72

Desserts

Angel food cake 67 Bran muffin 60

Danish 59 Fruit bread 47

Pound Cake 54 Sponge Cake 46

Fruit

Apple 38 Apricot, canned 64

Apricot, dried 30 Banana 62

Banana, unripe 30 Cherries 22

Fruit cocktail 55 Grapefruit 25

Grapes 43 Kiwi 52

Mango 55 Orange 43

Pear 36 Pineapple 66

Plum 24 Raisins 64

Strawberries 32 Watermelon 72

Grains

Barley 22 Brown rice 59

Buckwheat 54 Bulgar 47

Chickpeas 36 Cornmeal 68

Hominy 40 Millet 75

Rice, instant 91 Rice, parboiled 47

Rye 34 Sweet corn 55

Wheat, whole 41 Rice, white HIGH

Amylose 59

Juices

Apple 41 Grapefruit 48

Orange 55 Pineapple 46

Milk Products

Chocolate milk 34 Ice cream 50

Milk 34 Yogurt 38

Pasta

Brown rice pasta 92 Linguine, durham 50

Macaroni 46 Macaroni & cheese 64

Spaghetti 40 Spaghetti, protein enriched 28

Vermicelli 35

Click here to go to Diet and Well Being

Re: Re: Incom. Pan Div/SOD/Gastroparisis

> W, I forgot to ask if you are diabetic? I hae not found a good way

> to stablized that with the gastroparisis . Do you have a pacemaker in your

> tummy? Does ANYTHING help it at all?? Tahnks for the input, sorry to be a

> pain

>

> W wrote:

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

W, Thank you SO much for your awesome post! I have had it all my life, it

just severe now. I take eryothomicin (sp?) It owrks good for a while and then

Ihave to stop. I refuse Reglan because it takes a toll of the liver. I am not

going to damage one thing while helping another. I'll find another way. you know

what I mean! Sorry about yout Hep C. I work with a lady who has it. Nasty stuff

there. My pops had a liver transplant. Where are you at on your treatment? Love

ya! Kathleen

W wrote:

Kathleen Cowart wrote:

---------------------------------

Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page

[Guest guest]

Kathleen,

I had surgery on my pancreas to correct my pancreas divisum (they opened

up the blocked section and then widened the ducts), While I only had 4

years of relief, it was at least 4 years without attacks. I think that

if I hadn;t been chronic already (but only diagnosed with reoccurent

acute), it wouln't have come back. The point of the surgery was to

prevent my becomming chronic. Unfortunately we weren't quick enough.

Kimber

--

Kimber

Vallejo, CA

hominid2@...

Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed

physician or health care professional.

[Guest guest]

I have pancreas divisium, but I don't know if it is classic or not.

basically, I have two parallel ducts that do not connect. They are also

smaller than normal and are too close together. One was blocked (I don't

know which one). So whenever the enzymes in the blocked duct backed up,

the swelling would close off the unblocked duct, causing acute

pancreatitis. I did have surgery to corrwect this, but I was already

chronic, though neither I or my doctor knew this at the time.

Kimber

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Kimber

Vallejo, CA

hominid2@...

Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed

physician or health care professional.

[Guest guest]

Kimber, What kind of surgery? Though I do not believe in surgery for me

personally, I am always curious to hear about what other's have experienced.

Thanks , Kathleen

Kimber wrote:Kathleen,

I had surgery on my pancreas to correct my pancreas divisum (they opened

up the blocked section and then widened the ducts), While I only had 4

years of relief, it was at least 4 years without attacks. I think that

if I hadn;t been chronic already (but only diagnosed with reoccurent

acute), it wouln't have come back. The point of the surgery was to

prevent my becomming chronic. Unfortunately we weren't quick enough.

Kimber

--

Kimber

Vallejo, CA

hominid2@...

Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed

physician or health care professional.

[Guest guest]

I'm not sure what the surgery was called, but what they did is opened up

the blocked duct an then widened the ducts by slitting them diagonally

and then sewing them together parallel to make the ducts wider. Hard to

describe. It worked for about 4 years, but because I was already

chronic, the pancreatittis came back. This was in 1993. At that time,

the surgery was still somewhat experimental as only 150 had been

performed in the US.

Kimber

--

Kimber

Vallejo, CA

hominid2@...

Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed

physician or health care professional.