Re: Hi I'm new here!

[Guest guest]

Hey Debbie. I like you do not have a firm chronic pancreatitis. I

have all the symptoms -- severe pain and nausea, diarrhea,

steattorhea, weakness and fatigue. All my bloodwork and tests -- CTs,

MRCP and a ERCP -- are normal. I take enzymes too and they help a lot

with the diarrhea. Hope this helps. Tammy M.

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

Hi, I am fairly new too. I found this message board in Jan-Feb of

this year. I too, don't have a diagnoses of CP but have alot of the

symptoms and have been having attacks for 6 years now. Sometimes

the liver enzymes were elevated and sometimes the pancreatic enzymes

were elevated. It does seem like an awfully long road with this

disease but just try to hang in there. Most people on this board

had to search for years before they had a proper diagnoses too. I

have been diagnosed with SOD (sphincter of oddi dysfunction of the

bile duct and pancreatic sphincter too). I still fight with left

sided pain almost daily. I also have a history of heavy drinking

and that was a great concern to the dr. when I last saw him. I

haven't drank since 1989 but he said that the affects of heavy

drinking can linger for years. Good luck with your journey and let

us know what you find out from your dr visits.

Take care

> I'm really not sure if I have pancreatitis or not. I have been

> having midepigastric pain like spasms off and on for 2 months.

> Sonogram and CT scan and Endoscopy were all normal. The only thing

> abornmal was my lipase was slightly elevated at 68, normal range

is

> 0-57. Two weeks later when I had it checked it was back to normal.

I

> have a history of drinking off and on for about 5 years. I was a

> pretty heavy binge drinker. I have stopped drinking entirely for 2

> months, ever since the pain started. Tomorrow I am going for a

Hida

> Scan, and if that is normal then an MRCP. Has anyone had

experience

> like this? Also, I recently purchased some digestive enzymes and

> they do seem to help. What does that mean? Any advice or direction

> would be greatly appreciated. Also, what type of doctor should I

> see? I am currently seeing a GastroEnterologist.

>

> Thanks,

> Debbie

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

You will find that there are many people on this board who have very

similar problems like you do. I find that I get some great support

here and everyone is very kind. My SOD was discovered at my 2nd

ERCP. My first ERCP was supposedly normal. Anyway, it took me

another 3 years after the first ERCP to find another specialist and

he discovered the SOD with the bile duct. He didn't want to touch

my pancreatic duct at that time. I had about 5 months pain free

from that procedure and then the attacks started again. This past

march I had another ERCP with another specialist in Indiana. He

performed the manometry on the pancreatic sphincter and my pressure

was very high. I had a sphincterotomy on the panc sphincter and he

also extended the previous biliary sphincterotomy and also did a

balloon dilation too, and then put a temporary stent into the

pancreatic duct too. I was miserable for a couple of days following

the procedure (acute pancreatitis). It has been about a month now

and I can get about 4-5 days of pain free and then I have pain

again. I was told that I needed to wait for a couple of months to

see if the procedure will work or if I need further stenting done.

I do always have some degree of pain after I eat. Most of the time

it is about 30 minutes after I've eaten, but sometimes it can be 1-2

hours or later and the pain hits too. I take an anti-spasm med

after every meal and I think it helps with some of the milder pain.

Of course it does nothing for me when the pain gets real bad. Then

the stronger pain meds are needed. I think I noticed your post on

the medhelp website. Was that you (nursedeb)? It sounded like your

story. I go on that site alot and have met some really nice people

and we keep in touch through e-mail. Anyway, I think I am just

rambling now so ...hope your feeling better soon and try not to

worry too much. Just remember to be persistent to the doctors and

you should find some answers soon.

Take care

> > I'm really not sure if I have pancreatitis or not. I have been

> > having midepigastric pain like spasms off and on for 2 months.

> > Sonogram and CT scan and Endoscopy were all normal. The only

thing

> > abornmal was my lipase was slightly elevated at 68, normal

range

> is

> > 0-57. Two weeks later when I had it checked it was back to

normal.

> I

> > have a history of drinking off and on for about 5 years. I was

a

> > pretty heavy binge drinker. I have stopped drinking entirely

for 2

> > months, ever since the pain started. Tomorrow I am going for a

> Hida

> > Scan, and if that is normal then an MRCP. Has anyone had

> experience

> > like this? Also, I recently purchased some digestive enzymes

and

> > they do seem to help. What does that mean? Any advice or

direction

> > would be greatly appreciated. Also, what type of doctor should

I

> > see? I am currently seeing a GastroEnterologist.

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Debbie

>

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