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Chronic Pancreatitis?

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tomjohn
tomjohn

Hi guys, Im in a bit of a rut..

So since 09 I have had incidents where I get pain in my upper abdomen. Usually its shortly after a meal, but sometimes it does creep up on me a few hours post meal. It varies in severity and duration. In the beginning I only had it once/twice a year, but the pain was excruciating for 4-7 hours. Fast forward to 2011 I started having these incidents like every 4 months, but with less pain. In 2014 I had an incident every month, but pain again was less. Here in 2015, it seems to be going backwards. I have incidents every 2,5 months now and the pain is far from what it was in 09, but its still painful (its a dull squeezing kind of pain). Sometimes it will go away if I drink a smoothie containing ginger,lemon, beetroot and stuff like that. Other times I need to go for a walk. But then there are times when nothing but time helps. The only pattern I have been able to identify is, that if I am very hungry and eat some junk, then I MIGHT get it. Other than that, I have not been able to find any pattern to when I get them.

I fear it might be Chronic Pancreatitis. This worries me a great deal.

Stools have also been acting weird. Switching between brown/yellowish-brown in color and consistency is mainly normal, but also range between somewhat loose/normal/hard

My stomach is also somewhat tender to touch in the upper rightside/middle. Feels sorta like how a black eye would. Nothing too painful at all, but still something I notice here and there, since I can sometimes feel it when I walk around. 

Two months ago I had my stomach looked at by a doctor performing a gastroscopy. He didn't find anything there. No ulcers. He also did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and appeareantly also my pancreas (Only thing he said was it looked good and that I had no gallstones).

Sigh.. This is terrible. Anyone who has any thoughts on this? 

Thanks in advance guys.

0 likes, 25 replies

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  • Poptop
    Poptop tomjohn

    Posted

    Tomjohn:  I'm lucky, I have pancreatitis and IBS, having the IBS for over 25 years now, pancreatitis for about 2 months.  Keeping to a healthy diet has helped the IBS but sometimes it will hit.  The pain is similar to childbirth when it's bad and bloating.  GI put me on Levsin which does not stop the attack but lessens the cramping and greatly shortens the attack.  I've been on a fat free diet since the pancreatitis diagnosis and can't wait to get back to the GI doc next week to ask questions.  It has been getting better but don't know if that is true or just the diet working 

    You could also have gallbladder sludge or very small gallbladder stones which pass on their own.  Do have blood work done, amalyse and lipase.  That will help with the diagnosis of pancreatitis.  However, those two values are only out of wack during an attack. 

    I've had ultrasound, CT, MRI, and gastroscopy with biopsies.  All have been negative except the ultrasound showed a dilated duct during one attack and a couple of calcifcations on the MRI. 

    Stools changing color could be pancreatitis or gallbladder problems. 

    • tomjohn
      tomjohn Poptop

      Posted

      My GP is sure it isn't pancreatitis. He says that after two negative ultrasounds by two different specialists, that is an indication of no dangerous disease. Considering this has been going on for almost 7 years, things would have shown.

      99% Of the time, I can eat whatever I want. Incl. fatty foods. Then 1% of the time I will get an attack. Sometimes the meal had a lot of fats, sometimes it didn't. It doesn't seem to happen mainly because of fats.

      Stools are weird as well. Sometimes they are perfectly normal, but a lot of times they are hard/lose at the same time, yellowish/brownish/darkish in color. I also have a lot of bowel sounds quite often (no pain though). 

      I am scheduled to have bloodwork taken tomorrow (incl Amyase) and then a colonoscopy in a few weeks. 

      If this comes back clear I think it will be very hard to convince my GP to refer me so I can get a MRCP done. I might ask the gastroenterologist (who will be performing the colonoscopy) what he thinks. He might refer me.

  • Poptop
    Poptop tomjohn

    Posted

    You could be just suffering from IBS.  It's tricky to pin down as there is no particular test for it.  It's diagnosed by symptoms and history. 

    Yep, one day I can eat something, no problem.  The next, whammo.  Sometimes a single M&M candy would set it off.  If it is IBS, go on a basic bland diet, take a fiber product and drink lots of water.  Get off sodas and as much coffee as possible.  If it is IBS and not pancreatitis, feel lucky.  IBS is much more manageable than pancreatitis. 

    • tomjohn
      tomjohn Poptop

      Posted

      How do you feel on a daily basis when you dont have an attack?

      I of course hope its "just" IBS, since I know it is way more manageable and does not indicate a serious condition.

  • Poptop
    Poptop tomjohn

    Posted

    Once I got the IBS settled down, I feel absolutely normal.  Attacks used to be a weekly thing, now I go months and months without a problem.  You'll learn how to know when an attack is coming on.  GI doc prescribed Levsin sublinguil which was an amazing help.  It does not stop the attack but greatly eases the cramps, you "go" and it's over with.  From a few days after, I am extremely careful of what I eat.  The attacks seem to come in clusters.  I'm now on a generic Levsin, not sublinguil, but since I am aware of the symptoms, it works just fine.  Thing is, when an attack starts, take the med.  If it does not ease up within a half hour, another can be taken. 

    I find life very liveable with IBS.  Change in eating habits, much more healthy but certainly not restrictive, is so easy to follow and becomes a life style.

    • tomjohn
      tomjohn Poptop

      Posted

      I think youre the first one I've heard of who is hardly bothered by the Chronic Pancreatitis? I guess that is something to be thankful for! 

      Well my GP doesn't believe I have any disease other than a case of IBS. The tests I've had seem to agree with that. I couldn't convince him to refer me to have an MRCP done, since nothing indicated anything. Colonoscopy will most likely be normal as well, so I will look into dealing with the IBS. 

  • tomjohn
    tomjohn

    Posted

    Im really not sure what my next move is.. I cant seem to get refered to get an MRI since my GP doesn't believe it to be anything harmful, but I am still left with this unsatisfied feeling. Maybe thats because I know the limitations of an ultrasound, and the fact that I still have bouts of symptoms once a month or every two months. I would just really like to get the MRI to either confirm or get on with my life. 

    If I had Chronic Pancreatitis, would I feel pain when I consumed alcohol? Because I dont. Even if I drink heavily. (which I rarely do, but just did recently).

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