Re: Pain is changing to Zoie

[Guest guest]

Zoie,

During the progression of my CP, I did find different patterns in the

way the pain behaved. You probably have already read or heard that

my particular journey with CP, from initial diagnosis to total burnout

and diabetes, was unusually rapid, it all happened in less than two

years! This, of course, isn't the normal progression time frame for

99% of the people who have chronic pancreatitis.....I just happened

to be a rare case.

Yet, if you were to slow down my time table, it would start with the

inital episodes of mild abdominal discomfort, infrequent vomiting and

nausea, and weight loss. Then come two severe acute attacks, each 6

weeks apart, the second one so severe that I end up in the hospital,

and two pseudocysts are found. The date was April 30, 2001, and at

that time I was officially diagnosed. The first full year I was only

having " episodes " about once every three weeks, and 30 Percocet would

last me three months. I'd be in pain for 1-2 days, and feeling well

in between.

In the second year things progressed very rapidly, the pain began to

show up in my back, as well as abdominally, and the episodes of

severity began to happen weekly, lasting 3-5 days each time.

By the second half of the second year, I was in daily, continuous

pain, Percocet was changed for a 25 mcg. Duragesic Patch, and by that

time the pain pattern included severe abdominal pain, a band of

squeezing pain around my lower rib cage, (the bra line), and radiating

pain into by back that was along the bra line, up into the shoulder

blade area and into the upper shoulder toward the neck.

Then in the third quarter of the second year I had DKA and was

hospitalized on March 11, 2003 with DKA, pancreas burn out and type 1

brittle diabetes.

After my attack in April, 2001, I never had any problems with nausea

or vomiting unless I had an acute attack, so I've never had a script

for either complaint. This is very uncommon, though, and not what

most other people have experienced.

I would hazard a guess that you may now be showing more active signs

of progression of the disease, and that your daily abdominal pain

and problems with the acute back and shoulder pain are indicators of

this progression. So in that sense, what you're experiencing now is

" normal " for the natural progression of CP.

I'm sorry that it's becoming so much more of a problem for you, and

I know how miserable that back and shoulder pain can make you feel.

I found that regular visits to my chiropractor were invaluable during

those days, and the heating pad works just as well for those areas as

it does on the abdomen. My chiro suggested 15 minutes of heat

alternated with 15 minutes with a cold pack. I did that, as well as

used the tens unit for my shoulder pain, too.

I hope this gives you some help, and please let me know if there's

anything else I can do.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Bluffton, SC

SC State & SE Regional Rep., PAI

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should

not be substituted for professional medical consultation.