Lipase still elevated

[Guest guest]

This is very odd to me. I saw my family doctor on Thursday and

she had results from blood work that the GI doctor in

Calgary had ordered the first of the week. Apparently my lipase

level is at 625, which means that it has not lowered much since

last Dec when it was over 700.. She said she was very

surprised but didn't elaborate. I suppose I will hear from the GI

sooner or later. In the meantime I was put on Viokase 16 by the

GI last Monday hoping it will ease the mild pain I get each day.

He is sure I have idiopathic pancreatitis---MRCP, CT scans, etc.

all came back normal, as well I have no history of other causes

He thinks the pain I have now is residual from the AP attack I had

in Nov. ..(maybe not being treated for a long enough period). Will

the enzymes help my lipase level come down and has anyone

else had this problem? All other tests (liver, kidney) are normal.

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy. I'm not sure about the enzymes, but I have a fairly

similar situation to you. I had a bad pancreatic attack in Oct and

have had quite a few more since then. Everthing is showing normal,

but my lipase is always elevated and I feel pain everyday. It's

been up around 980 for the last month. All tests and scans show

that my pancreas is normal, but that I have pancreas divisum. I'm

going to get stents put in in about a month in Toronto and hopefully

it'll stop the pain. They are almost assuming I have chronic

pancreatitis, but they won't say for sure. Sorry I couldn't be of

much more help. Jen

[Guest guest]

Judy wrote:

Apparently my lipase level is at 625, which means that it has not lowered

much since last Dec when it was over 700..

I was put on Viokase 16 by the GI last Monday hoping it will ease the mild

pain I get each day.

Will the enzymes help my lipase level come down

Dear Judy,

When I had my first acute attack three years ago, my lipase shot up to 1800

initially. WIthin a few days it came down, but was still about 75 points higher

than the " normal " level for our labs, and it continued to remain 50-75 points

higher than normal for the following two years. My GI always explained that

the rise in lipase was caused by my pseudocysts.

When my pancreas burned out in March 2003, both my amylase and lipase

levels dropped down to below normal levels, and have remained below

normal since then, even through an acute attack.

I'm not a doctor, but have spoken to two other gastroenterologists about the

raised lipase levels, and it's been explained to me that the reason the lipase

level is elevated is because " there was something else going on in my

pancreas " , in my case, it was the pseudocysts. I realize you don't have

pseudocysts, and that all tests now come back normal for you, but I feel that

that may mean there's something else going on there that hasn't been

discovered yet.

It's doubful that your lipase level will be effected by the pancreatic enzymes.

They are to help your pancreas with it's digestive insufficiencies, but they

should not have any effect on enzyme levels released into the bloodstream.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI

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

should not be substituted for professional medical consultation.