alcohol

[Guest guest]

Hi there (bob),

It sounds to me like you have a good plan there. I would suggest an honest

dialog with your GI is needed and if you try that and it doesn't work out, then

maybe it's time to consider changing GI's.

BTW I think it's hard to test for alcohol consumption if it's been 24 hours

after the last used, maybe this is your GI's problem. Lack of physical

evidence to support their conclusion.

Another aspect, generally doctors assume that alcoholic patients lie about

their consumption, and generally they are correct in that assumption. maybe that

is where your GI is at in their diagnosis.

Anyway, good luck with your confrountation with your GI.

Best wishes, Poncho - GA

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I have a problem with my GI doc. I know what has caused my

pancreatitis. It has been a 35 year history of beer drinking. It is

said that at least 70% of pancreatitis is caused by alcohol. I admitt

that and accept that. Now I know what I need to do to save what

pancreas Ihave left. The problem is that everytime I visit my doctor,

he is always harping on my drinking. I keep telling him that I have

stopped but I think he doesn't believe me. Its like he wants me to

tell him yes I am so he can yell at me. It is realy irritating the

heck out of me and don't know what to tell him. I think the next time

he does this I am just going to flat come out and tell him how I feel.

I don't appreciate him doing this each time I visit. The fact is

that, I know what caused it, he knows what caused it, so now lets just

move on and continue with the course of my treatment. I feel like I am

being treated for alcoholism, instead of pancreatitis. Please help

with some imput on this subject. Muchly appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Well, you could volunteer to take Antibuse? That would surely

convince him. Although, a clear and frank relationship with your doc

is the best way to go.

Alcohol played a part in my pancreatitis, but even moreso were high

triglycerides from too rich of a diet (personal chef here) and then

the alcohol just exponentently magnifies the triglycerides. Have you

been informed of your lipid panel test results? Triglicerides and

cholesterol (LDL's and HDL's).

Diet change, exercise, and medications are probabally the way to go.

That's what I am doing. Oh yea, and abstain from consuming alcohol.

Dick

>

> Hello,

> I have a problem with my GI doc. I know what has caused my

> pancreatitis. It has been a 35 year history of beer drinking. It

is

> said that at least 70% of pancreatitis is caused by alcohol. I

admitt

> that and accept that. Now I know what I need to do to save what

> pancreas Ihave left. The problem is that everytime I visit my

doctor,

> he is always harping on my drinking. I keep telling him that I

have

> stopped but I think he doesn't believe me. Its like he wants me to

> tell him yes I am so he can yell at me. It is realy irritating the

> heck out of me and don't know what to tell him. I think the next

time

> he does this I am just going to flat come out and tell him how I

feel.

> I don't appreciate him doing this each time I visit. The fact is

> that, I know what caused it, he knows what caused it, so now lets

just

> move on and continue with the course of my treatment. I feel like

I am

> being treated for alcoholism, instead of pancreatitis. Please help

> with some imput on this subject. Muchly appreciated.

>

[Guest guest]

My triglicerides have come down quite a bit since taking fish oil

with Omega 3 fatty acids daily, eating tuna 4X+ a week (not the

canned stuff, but from the fish monger), and limiting the fried food

thing. I guess, lucky for me sweets were never really my thing.

If you just have to saute something; try using grapeseed oil. Also,

I switched from bland tasting lunchmeat like boiled ham to Italian

Parma ham/proscuitto as it is so flavorful a little goes a long

ways. I also load the sandwich up with veggies and instead of mayo I

use a roasted garlic mustard (Stonewall Kitchen) and olive oil with

some red wine vinegar. It's been keeping me happy.

Dick

>

> he he he! I have high cholosterol and my trigs are high also. I

know they are the sugary parts of the blood. (phlebotomist here, and

25 years in med field) I know what it is I need to do. It is easier

said than done, but I know I have to do it. I just don't like being

harped on especially by a physician. I let one doc go because he was

rude and not nice to me or my wife. and I will do it again, but he

has brought me pretty far this far. I guess I just need to deal with

him

> thanks for the response

> robert

>

[Guest guest]

I have been using canola or olive oil when cooking. Don't eat much fried foods,

and now have discovered that beef is off my list. I have alway had a hard time

digesting beef. And I love it. Been sticking mainly to salads, and veggies.

Been starting to eat oatmeal and cream of wheat in the morning. limiting the

coffee; and drinking ice water mostly. trying to keep my system flushed out

hacke1979 wrote:

My triglicerides have come down quite a bit since taking fish oil

with Omega 3 fatty acids daily, eating tuna 4X+ a week (not the

canned stuff, but from the fish monger), and limiting the fried food

thing. I guess, lucky for me sweets were never really my thing.

If you just have to saute something; try using grapeseed oil. Also,

I switched from bland tasting lunchmeat like boiled ham to Italian

Parma ham/proscuitto as it is so flavorful a little goes a long

ways. I also load the sandwich up with veggies and instead of mayo I

use a roasted garlic mustard (Stonewall Kitchen) and olive oil with

some red wine vinegar. It's been keeping me happy.

Dick

>

> he he he! I have high cholosterol and my trigs are high also. I

know they are the sugary parts of the blood. (phlebotomist here, and

25 years in med field) I know what it is I need to do. It is easier

said than done, but I know I have to do it. I just don't like being

harped on especially by a physician. I let one doc go because he was

rude and not nice to me or my wife. and I will do it again, but he

has brought me pretty far this far. I guess I just need to deal with

him

> thanks for the response

> robert

>

[Guest guest]

Yep, my first bout with pancreatitis was the morning after I made a

BIG pot of beef short rib stew. Heck, I only drank 1 beer that night

too! I miss beef too! Fish, chicken, and sometimes lamb are my

current meats. The proscuitto too.

It's been downhill since (hospitalized for 10-15 days 3x in a year).

Been ok for the last few months though. I hope I have turned the

corner.

Dick

> >

> > he he he! I have high cholosterol and my trigs are high also.

I

> know they are the sugary parts of the blood. (phlebotomist here,

and

> 25 years in med field) I know what it is I need to do. It is

easier

> said than done, but I know I have to do it. I just don't like

being

> harped on especially by a physician. I let one doc go because he

was

> rude and not nice to me or my wife. and I will do it again, but

he

> has brought me pretty far this far. I guess I just need to deal

with

> him

> > thanks for the response

> > robert

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

was diagnosed in Feb this year. The latter part of April spent the last 2 weeks

in the hospital.. during the last week had a stent placed in the pancreatic

duct. was in place for about 7 weeks. then taken out and had a couple of bouts

since. This week was my most recent one. spent 2 days in the hospital. I was

out of work 2 months the first hospital visit and now facing spleen surgery and

will be out 1 month this time. 3 months plus bits here and there total loss

this year so far. I am not one to compalin about aches and pain, but in Feb

the pain just would not go away and got worse. Could not sit, stand, laydown or

get in any comfortable position. So off to the ER and my lipase was 1100+ The

doc asked about previous side ache pains and I told him they were minor and

nothing to be concerned about. Well between the blood test, xrays, and cat

scan, he said I had pancreatitis and was probably chronic. That is when I

found this group

hacke1979 wrote:Yep, my first bout with pancreatitis was

the morning after I made a

BIG pot of beef short rib stew. Heck, I only drank 1 beer that night

too! I miss beef too! Fish, chicken, and sometimes lamb are my

current meats. The proscuitto too.

It's been downhill since (hospitalized for 10-15 days 3x in a year).

Been ok for the last few months though. I hope I have turned the

corner.

Dick

> >

> > he he he! I have high cholosterol and my trigs are high also.

I

> know they are the sugary parts of the blood. (phlebotomist here,

and

> 25 years in med field) I know what it is I need to do. It is

easier

> said than done, but I know I have to do it. I just don't like

being

> harped on especially by a physician. I let one doc go because he

was

> rude and not nice to me or my wife. and I will do it again, but

he

> has brought me pretty far this far. I guess I just need to deal

with

> him

> > thanks for the response

> > robert

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Poncho,

Thats exactly what i am going to do. Gonna wait until he sees me again and if

he brings it up, then i will confron him. I just want to get on with treatment

and get on with life. I feel we are all adults here and why keep bringing up

the past. I know where he is coming from and understand, but it gets old after

a while. Thanks for writing,

poncho9191@... wrote:

Hi there (bob),

It sounds to me like you have a good plan there. I would suggest an honest

dialog with your GI is needed and if you try that and it doesn't work out, then

maybe it's time to consider changing GI's.

BTW I think it's hard to test for alcohol consumption if it's been 24 hours

after the last used, maybe this is your GI's problem. Lack of physical

evidence to support their conclusion.

Another aspect, generally doctors assume that alcoholic patients lie about

their consumption, and generally they are correct in that assumption. maybe that

is where your GI is at in their diagnosis.

Anyway, good luck with your confrountation with your GI.

Best wishes, Poncho - GA

[Guest guest]

--

,

My CP was caused by alcohol also,I believe.After I was

diagnosed with CP,every time I went to the doc he would ask me if I

was drinking.Every time I told him if I drank alcohol,I would have a

full blown - pain 9-10 - attack that would last for days.I asked him

if he had some drinks and knew he would have pain and agony like

that,would you drink.That pretty much settled it.He believed me and

stopped asking.

I haven't drank in two years now.I still have full blown

attacks but they are caused by either foods,stress or me stupidly

overdoing things.I learn as I go along what my limits are.If I knew

you can get pancreatitis from alcohol,I really believe I never would

touch the stuff.I always kind of thought of the panc like the

appendix or something.If it went bad,just have it taken out!No

problem.I don't even like the smell of beer or booze anymore.

Basically,my said I have two choices - drink or live.Not a

hard decision.I hope this helps some.Hope you have good day!

Pete(Fla)

- In pancreatitis , " " <butterflybob2005@y...>

wrote:

>

> Hello,

> I have a problem with my GI doc. I know what has caused my

> pancreatitis. It has been a 35 year history of beer drinking. It

is

> said that at least 70% of pancreatitis is caused by alcohol. I

admitt

> that and accept that. Now I know what I need to do to save what

> pancreas Ihave left. The problem is that everytime I visit my

doctor,

> he is always harping on my drinking. I keep telling him that I

have

> stopped but I think he doesn't believe me. Its like he wants me to

> tell him yes I am so he can yell at me. It is realy irritating the

> heck out of me and don't know what to tell him. I think the next

time

> he does this I am just going to flat come out and tell him how I

feel.

> I don't appreciate him doing this each time I visit. The fact is

> that, I know what caused it, he knows what caused it, so now lets

just

> move on and continue with the course of my treatment. I feel like

I am

> being treated for alcoholism, instead of pancreatitis. Please help

> with some imput on this subject. Muchly appreciated.

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/29/2005 11:00:28 PM Eastern Standard Time,

hacke1979@... writes:

We disagree again. Why would someone lie to their doctor about their

alcohol consumption

Hi Dick and Alan,

I'd never attack a dog, way too dangerous,

Doctors see the effects of alcohol abuse from internship on throughout their

careers. And, generally by the time a doctor sees the physical signs of

alcohol abuse it has likely been a chronic problem for quite some time.

It's like the Cop who arrests a driver for a traffic infraction, the driver

appears intoxicated but insists they only had a couple of beers, and then they

blow a 0.3 on the breathalizer. The Dr. queries the patient as to alcohol

consumption and is told about an occational social drink, but not daily and only

occationally and always in moderation. And the Dr. is also looking at a liver

that would make a useful doorstop. My point is that a Dr. sees a lot more

alcohol abuse than pancreatitis and since the alcohol abuser generallly deceives

everyone, including theirselves, about alcohol consumption, I think it's natural

for a Dr. to develop a conditioned reaction to anything involving alcohol

related disease. Most Dr.'s were taught that pancreatitis is an alcohol induced

disease. While this is proving to not be true, one can expect the average

doctor or GI to conduct theirselves as they were trained. That's also just one

of

the reasons that a pancreatitis patient hopefully can be working with a good up

to date doctor, that they can have open communication about their disease and

development of treatment.

As an aside, recent medical news has it that stomach ulcers, in particular

peptic ulcers are caused by either bacteria or a virus rather than stress.

Doctors were trained as and practiced as they were taught for over 70 years that

ulcers were stress related, and while they may be, the main cause is now known

to be an invasive pathogen. Maybe medicine research will someday find the same

thing about pancreatitus. I personally think there is a major environmental

cause to pancreatitus that just has not been discovered yet.

Anyway,

Best wishes - Poncho - GA

[Guest guest]

Pete wrote:

>I don't even like the smell of beer or booze anymore.

> Basically,my said I have two choices - drink or live.Not a

> hard decision.

Pete,

It's funny, but I CAN'T STAND the smell of it now, either, not even

what I used to drink! My doctor said almost the same thing, " if you

drink you'll die " , while I was still recovering from an acute attack.

That's all he had to say. The pain in that attack was something I

NEVER wanted to experience again and I was still in really rough

shape. That was 4-1/2 years ago, and I've never had another drink.

Unfortunately, there have been some other attacks of that same

intensity, but at least I've known that it wasn't because of something

I drank....somehow knowing that makes it harder to deal with because

you're working against something you can't control.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

SC State & SE Regional Rep.

PAI

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional assistance.

[Guest guest]

Ok, who has bragging rights? Who has had he highest Amalyase or

Lypase levels when admitted to the hospital?

My highest was 1100 like you. I can't remember which one was

higher. I only remmber it took around 50 mg's of morphine to get me

to sit still. Even then I was completly lucid. They (ER staff) were

amazed.

Anyone else wanna participate?

Rob, just please do the diet, exercise (walks), and medication thing

(along with NO alcohol) and you will hopefuly be OK. If you are

going to go off the wagon (in pancreatitis terms), best to do it with

diet than alcohol. It takes more bad (or tasty) food to trigger a

pancreatitis attack than it does with alcohol. Alcohol is many times

more probable to light the fuse.

For me at my current state, I would rather risk having a steak with a

green peppercorn cream sauce than two martinis. But, that's me.

Jeesh, that sounds good. Maybe a small steak with only a tablespoon

of the sauce? See! It's a slippery slope. Be careful.

Dick

& Alan

>

> was diagnosed in Feb this year. The latter part of April spent the

last 2 weeks in the hospital.. during the last week had a stent

placed in the pancreatic duct. was in place for about 7 weeks. then

taken out and had a couple of bouts since. This week was my most

recent one. spent 2 days in the hospital. I was out of work 2

months the first hospital visit and now facing spleen surgery and

will be out 1 month this time. 3 months plus bits here and there

total loss this year so far. I am not one to compalin about aches

and pain, but in Feb the pain just would not go away and got worse.

Could not sit, stand, laydown or get in any comfortable position. So

off to the ER and my lipase was 1100+ The doc asked about previous

side ache pains and I told him they were minor and nothing to be

concerned about. Well between the blood test, xrays, and cat scan,

he said I had pancreatitis and was probably chronic. That is when I

found this group

>

[Guest guest]

Poncho;

We disagree again. Why would someone lie to their doctor about their

alcohol consumption in relation to pancreatitis?

I mean, your doctor is there for the sole purpose to care for you, to

mend you. I never lie to my doctor about anything. If I had a

priest or attorney the case would be the same: no lies.

Why would someone lie to someone who was only there for the purpose

of helping them?

Lying to one's doctor about your alcohol consumption whilst in the

the middle of a pancreatitis attack would be self defeating and just

dumb.

Dick

& Alan

Pick on me, attack me, but leave Alan my service dog out of it. ;-)

>

> Hi there (bob),

> It sounds to me like you have a good plan there. I would suggest an

honest

> dialog with your GI is needed and if you try that and it doesn't

work out, then

> maybe it's time to consider changing GI's.

> BTW I think it's hard to test for alcohol consumption if it's been

24 hours

> after the last used, maybe this is your GI's problem. Lack of

physical

> evidence to support their conclusion.

> Another aspect, generally doctors assume that alcoholic patients

lie about

> their consumption, and generally they are correct in that

assumption. maybe that

> is where your GI is at in their diagnosis.

> Anyway, good luck with your confrountation with your GI.

> Best wishes, Poncho - GA

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Pete;

" Drink or Live. Not a hard decision "

Succinctly put; and very well spoke.

Dick

& Alan

> >

> > Hello,

> > I have a problem with my GI doc. I know what has caused my

> > pancreatitis. It has been a 35 year history of beer drinking.

It

> is

> > said that at least 70% of pancreatitis is caused by alcohol. I

> admitt

> > that and accept that. Now I know what I need to do to save what

> > pancreas Ihave left. The problem is that everytime I visit my

> doctor,

> > he is always harping on my drinking. I keep telling him that I

> have

> > stopped but I think he doesn't believe me. Its like he wants me

to

> > tell him yes I am so he can yell at me. It is realy irritating

the

> > heck out of me and don't know what to tell him. I think the next

> time

> > he does this I am just going to flat come out and tell him how I

> feel.

> > I don't appreciate him doing this each time I visit. The fact is

> > that, I know what caused it, he knows what caused it, so now

lets

> just

> > move on and continue with the course of my treatment. I feel

like

> I am

> > being treated for alcoholism, instead of pancreatitis. Please

help

> > with some imput on this subject. Muchly appreciated.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Bob, I have experienced the same thing, only to a harsher extent. I

went thru the questions about drinking and finally told them when they

take my blood to check it for alcohol if you don't believe me. I have

had CP for 5 years and acute cases for 5 years before that, I have had

so many IV's that they have trouble finding a vein and ask if I

" still " use IV drugs. I never used IV drugs and really got angry at

the insinuation. The Dr explained that they see many people who

continue to drink and due drugs and lie about it, so from a safety

standpoint, they doubt everyone. Hang in there.....Jim

[Guest guest]

Hi Pete and Heidi, I also got CP from drinking. My drink of choice was

Tequila or Seagram's VO and 7-up. Like someone else said..If I could

reach I would kick my butt. I had alcohol induced pancreatitis in 1994

and the pain was enough for me to quit. Pain is a great motivator. My

Dr also said I could drink or live..I chose live. My acute

pancreatitis turned chronic 7 years after I stopped drinking. I hope

you feel better...Jim

[Guest guest]

Ok, I know the answer to this question is a simple one, but what

is " CP " ?

Dick

& Alan

>

> Hi Pete and Heidi, I also got CP from drinking. My drink of choice

was

[Guest guest]

I believe " CP " in the context we use most frequently around here means,

" Chronic Pancreatitis " . It can also mean " Civil People " or " Crazy Pukes " .

Take your pick.

Jerry/NC

**************************************************

>

> Ok, I know the answer to this question is a simple one, but what

> is " CP " ?

>

> Dick

> & Alan

>