For Singh

[Guest guest]

Hello Singh,

I am so sorry to hear that your wife is ill. Of course, I have no

medical qualifications but this sounds like an attack of acute

pancreatitis. Your wife might have been prescribed dilaudid? I am

sure the docs are correct about the reason for the increased pulse

rate, as Crystal says.

With regard to the the future, it is difficult to say. You will

obviously have to go by what the specialists say. Only they know the

details of your wife's case. It is certainly possible to have an

attack of AP and then not have further problems. It would be wise to

follow a sensible low-fat diet and not take any alcohol as this can

damage the pancreas over time even if the effects are not felt

immediately. The cause of the original attack of pancreatitis should

also be treated. I'm sure the specialist will address this one.

My main advice would be to make sure that you are happy that you are

dealing with a really good, experienced gastroenterologist or,

preferably, a pancreas specialist. The disease is rare so most docs

see very few cases, especially of chronic pancreatitis. I do hope

your wife has no further attacks. You will need to follow all advice

on avoiding future AP attacks. Repeated attacks of AP can lead to

CP. which you obviously want to avoid if you can.

It DOES take time to get over an attack of AP. If your wife has

another attack or if anyone voices a suspicion of damage likely to

lead to CP, I'd tackle the matter of getting an exparienced

pancreatologist if poss.

BTW, it can be very difficult, even with modern tests, to gauge

accurately the level of actual damage to a pancreas. That's where

the experience of the doc comes in again, although there is always

an element of unpredictability with the pancreas.

I wish your wife very well in the immediate and longer term future.

Hopefully there will not be a repetition.

With good wishes,

Fliss