sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction leading to chronic pancreatitis

[Guest guest]

Hello to everyone, I am new here and newly diagnosed with chronic

pancreatitis. After 6 years of mind numbing horrific pain on a

daily basis following my gallbladder surgery the docs finally found

the culprit.....the bile duct sphincter. I was diagnosed at the

Mayo Clinic following an endoscopic ultrasound that showed that

several areas of my pancreas has already been damaged. The docs say

that I am not a candidate for the sphincterotomy surgery because I

am " type 3 " which only means that my labs are normal and I have the

pain only syndrome of Oddi dysfunction. I am on a calcium channel

blocker to reduce the pressure in the bile duct and so far it has

helped somewhat. In a couple of months my gastro at Mayo wants to

try enzymes and a low fat diet as well but I am not on enzymes at

this point. What they haven't explained yet is whether the panceras

will continue to be damaged by the bile duct pressure. Has anyone

had any experience with this????

It has been hard to determine which pain I experience between the

sphinicter pressure build up or a pancreatic attack. Most times the

pancreatic attacks cause nausea and vomiting and I know for a fact

that after I took some cough med with codiene in it that I had the

worst pain ever......sent me to the ER begging for someone to help!!

Any input on any of this would be helpful. I am trying to learn

what to do and definately what NOT to do. Thanks in advance for any

information.

Zoie