Guest guest Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 , You wrote, " I think, and this is just my opinion; that a vast majority of the health care practitioners out there still believe that Pancreatitis is a disease of drunks! " One reason that most physicians assume a person's Pancreatitis is caused by alcohol is because all of the medical documentation states this as the number one cause. We know, from the poll done on this board regarding presumed causes, that second to idiopathic at 17%, alcohol comes in 2nd at 13%. Of course, that is only a bit more than a tenth of the poll. Pancreatitis is one of the leading disease associated with alcoholism. It is actually the second cause of death in alcoholics. Chirrosis of the liver is the first. I commend the people who came forth and shared honestly that alcohol played a factor in their disease. It isn't their fault that the documentation states alcohol is the leading cause. They should not be the brunt of our bashing or treated like the enemy. This is a similar situation as persons who develop AIDS. That was initially, primarily a disease associated with homosexuality. As a nurse, I saw several people who developed AIDS from needle sticks that were very much heterosexual. Change came after much education, however, most of the literature probably states that AIDS is a disease of homosexuals. They should not be the brunt of our bashing or treated like the enemy. Neither should the doctors, and particularly not by name. That serves no purpose. For every bad experience, there is a good one to match. The purpose of the PAI is not to slam dunk and bash the healthcare profession. There are other organizations that are established to take that information and act on it. Our goal is to provide education, support, and advocacy for persons with pancreatitis. We want to be treated with respect and dignity, and we have to treat others that way to. If we can't, we have to turn the other way and focus our energies on those things that will help us enact change, those things that will bring us together in a common goal of improving the quality of life for persons with pancreatitis, not isolate us as antagonistic to the system. It is said that, " If I am not the problem, then there is no solution. " That is a hard truth to swallow, but can be very empowering as well. It is important to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Verbal assault, character assassination, or retaliating with anger only add fuel to the fire. We need to get involved with local and federal congressional hearings & policy changes, make our voice hear on radio and in the paper. We have an amazing forum here that gives us an opportunity to collect research data and generate papers to support changing the facts documented in medical books. Contact your local medical school and volunteer to talk to the students. Invite medical students to join the board and share their stories. Together, listening to each other, we will see change.. Here are the results from the current poll: 17.35% 34 Idiopathic 13.27% 26 Alcohol 10.20% 20 SOD 09.69% 19 Pancreas Divisum 09.18% 18 Biliary or Previous GB Surgery 07.65% 15 Obstructive Pancreatitis 06.12% 12 Metabolic / High Trig / Calcium 06.12% 12 Hereditary 05.61% 11 Trauma 09.18% 09 No Confirmed Diagnosis 03.06% 06 Drug / Medication Reaction 01.02% 02 Cystic Fibrosis 00.51% 01 Hyperparathyroidism 00.51% 01 SPINK1 or PSTI Gene Mutations 0% 0 Tropical Pancreatitis Keeping you in thought & prayer, Karyn E. , RN, Exec. Director PAI / 1- KarynWms@... http://www.pancassociation.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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