Re: New and in need of advice -

[Guest guest]

,

There could be many explanations for your husband's enlarged spleen. I

don't have enough knowledge to even guess as to what has caused it to

enlarge. My only experience with enlarged spleens is when it is caused by

mononucleosis, which my daughter had at 16. She was required to limit her

physical activities for 6 months until the mono was long gone, for the same

reason that your husband's doctor's are urging caution now - the threat of

rupture.

I do have experience with pseudocysts, since I've had two for over 3 1/2

years now. Since your husband hasn't experienced any unusual pain for all

the months after his hospital release until just recently, it is probably true

that

the pseudocyst has been there since shortly after his acute attack. It

normally takes a few weeks for a pseudocyst to develop in the pancreas after

an acute attack. I'm not sure when all the imaging studies were done on your

husband the first time, but it may even be that they were done so soon after

his attack that the pseudocyst hadn't even formed yet.

The increase of pain in his left abdomen could be due to increased activity or

enlargement of this pseudocyst. My pancreas burned out almost two years

ago, and the continual chronic pancreatitis pain that I had been experiencing

before the pancreas burned out stopped. I went for close to six weeks

without ANY pain at all, until the pseudocysts became irritated again and

started to enlarge. The cycle that I've experienced is that when the

pseudocysts are reducing in size, they cause mild to moderate pain. When

they become irritated and increase in size, the pain they cause can be quite

significant, enough so that I require strong doses of pain medication. No one

knows what triggers them to increase in size, since my diet is controlled, I use

enzyme supplements when I eat, and I don't consume alcohol. All we know is

that when they are irritated and getting bigger, the pain in my mid and left

abdomen is much more pronounced and debilitating.

One of my pseudocysts is now smaller, at about 2 cm., and the other in the

tail has increased to 6.5 x 6.5 cm. Only when a pseudocyst is 6 cm. or larger

do the doctor's start talking about the threat of rupture. Since mine has been

this large at least half the time over the past 3 1/2 years, that concern does

influence my activities to the point that I am very careful with my activities

and

I don't do anything that I think would put me into the position where it could

be

poked, pushed or jabbed. It doesn't restrict me from normal day to day

activity, but would, naturally, restrict a person from all contact sports and

some other athletics . One has to learn to put aside that inner fear of feeling

like a walking time bomb, it doesn't change the situation, and only causes

unrelievable stress.

You didn't mention what size the pseudocyst was that your husband has, but I

am presuming that because there was the mention of rupture that it is over 6

cm. Quite often pseudocysts of this size, especially those that have already

matured and formed a wall as your husband's has, are good candidates for

surgical removal or drainage procedures. Have his doctor's mentioned

anything like this?

His elevated bun levels might well be the gallbadder, or indication that

something is causing blockage in the bile ducts. Stones or other gallbladder

problems could account for this. Is his doctor a gastroenterologist or any kind

of a specialist? Under the circumstances, I would suggest that you arrange

an appointment with a gastroenterologist, since there seems to be a lot going

on right now and these things could very well be all inter-related. A gastro

who specialiszed in pancreas problems would be ideal.

Hopefully someone else will write in with some more help for you concerning

your spleen questions. I'm afraid that I wasn't very helpful about that, but I

did want to try to reassure you so you wouldn't worry too much about the

pseudocyst. There are options about what to do about it, too, and if it were

me, I would be asking the doctor about those options. When the pseudocysts

are new and unformed, (without the wall encasing them), doctor's usually wait

a few weeks or months to allow them to stop their growth and build a wall.

But it sounds as though this one has already done that. So if it's larger than

6

cm., it wouldn't be premature for you to ask about options now.

Please continue to keep us updated and let us know what's going on. If you

have any more questions, post again. We're here to help, and I hope we can

help you both.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

Bluffton, SC

South Carolina State Rep.

South Eastern Regional Rep., PAI

http://www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Note: All comments or advice are from personal experiences or opinion only,

and should not be a substitute for consultation with your medical professional.