Re: To Adam

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Thanks Fliss..I appreciate your taking the time to respond so

quickly. Yes, you are right it is early to worry about chronic

pancreatitis. I know I don't have the acute symptoms or test

results. You're right, the " not eating " leading up to surgery is

what is worrying me the most.

I think it is just that I know that if the pancreas is damaged there

is no going back and undoing it, so I don't want to be eating with a

problem with the pancreas and making it worse. If I knew it wasn't

my pancreas that was causing the pain, then I would just go ahead and

eat and tolerate the pain until the surgery.

I have a call in to the doctor and am waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks very much,

Adam

> Hi Adam,

> I'm sorry you're having problems just now. I'm afraid I can't help

> from personal experience as my history is somewhat different.

>

> It is certainly true that chronic pancreatitis can be difficult to

> diagnose and docs can get it wrong. Tests do not always reveal the

> truth about CP. For example, an ERCP or CT scan may be negative if

> the disease hasn't yet progressed to the point of showing actual

> physical damage to the pancreas. That can happen even if the

patient

> is pretty ill. I had that experience myself in 1988 and went on to

> be diagnosed with CP only last year. By then, there was very

> extensive damage and it did show up in the imaging tests.

>

> Diagnosis may depend on the results of several different types of

> test together with careful consideration of the symptoms by an

> experienced gastroenterologist or pancreatologist. The tests would

> include imaging tests but also tests for malabsorption. Symptoms

> might include pain, diarrhoea/steatorrhoea, nausea etc.

>

> However, none of this means that YOU have CP! Hopefully, your

> doctors are correct and you don't have it. As I say, I haven't got

> personal experience of your type of symptoms but it sounds to me

> like early days for you to worry about CP. You are obviously

worried

> about not being able to eat. As you have another six weeks to wait

> for surgery, I should try to see your GP quickly and explain the

> food problem. Do different types of food affect you differently? Is

> the pain the same no matter what you eat? You definitely need to

> sort this one out. Maybe you could see the specialist again soon,

in

> plenty of time before the op?

>

> Adam, someone else with more directly relevant experience might

post

> an answer now, but I do wish you well with this problem. Hopefully

> the docs will sort it out quickly.

> With good wishes,

> Fliss (UK)