Chronic pancreatitis

I have been to ER twice in the last three weeks with acute pain from my mid stomach to my back.  I've They ran all tests--nothing. Blood work--enzymes elevated a hair otherwise normal. The ER Dr. diagnosed it as acute pancreatitis, the on-call gastro as gastroparesis which i do have. But this was different. I was dehydrated so they gave me fluids and morphine for 2 days clear liquids for one. I was starting to feel a little better then they fed me lunch of chicken and carrots and discharged me. They let me out too soon and never should have given me solid food. Well, by the next day I was right back in the same shape. After several days when I couldn't stand the pain any longer I went to the ER again. They gave me fluids and morphine, kept me over night and discharged me. I am so frustrated. I see my gastro today and I am going to have a serious conversation. Supposed to have the HIDDA test on Thurs. Have been living on Ensure, almond milk and protein powder for over 2 weeks. Something's got to give!

Kenneth, 

I hope you've gotten some responses that have been helpful. I know just about exactly how you feel, I've been in your condition, just a little longer. 

The bad news, you already know most of it. This is a disease with little or no reason,  and that's just all there is. You didn't get it, ( even if they told this) from drinking alcohol. Seriously, if alcohol causes chronic pancreatitis, then there'd be a HELL of a lot more cases. There's millions of alcoholics, and maybe thousands of CP patients. 

Second, there's not very much treatment, but there is some. First, and worst, painkillers. You've got to minimize your use, they actually cause as much pain as they help. The more you take, the more it will take to get relief. The trick (actually closer to a miracle) is to find what works, and figure out the lowest constant dose that you can live with. Despite what you might hear in the news, fentanyl is about the best thing out there, and the Mylan patches (NOT gel type) work best. They're going to want to give you something for "breakthrough" pain, and again you've GOT to keep it to a minimum. The more you take, the worse it works. There's no happy medium, there's just the minimum you can live with. Don't let the opiates take over, and they absolutely will take over. 

Second, get active. It should be things you're interested in, but activity is the best pain reliever. If it's interesting it works better. Don't overdo it, here you WILL find there is a happy medium. Too much activity and it can cause more pain. It also helps digestion, and you'll need some help with that. 

Third, the enzymes...... creon is something they've used for years, though with actually little success. There's other newer types of digestive enzymes, and everyone has different levels of success. There's one that I've found works well, and it's a combination, called ZenPep. It's worked very well for me when the others had almost no effect. I have to take it every day for it to work, and it doesn't matter very much when I take it for it to be of help, though the doc will say you have to take it with meals. Just take it when they want, since it doesn't really matter. 

I've also started taking amatriptyline about 6 months ago, and it also helps with digestion and some pain, but I've found that very small dosage works as well as bigger dose, with less side effects. I take 1/2 of a 25mg pill every other day. 

Don't know about lansoprazole, and Senna (laxative?) is not good to take every day, it quits workin and if you stop it can cause worse constipation. Try and limit the painkillers to the point it doesn't cause constipation. 

Lastly,  pay attention to what you eat. If it causes pain, quit eating it! It doesn't matter if your not getting healthy food, just eat what you want as long as it doesn't cause more pain. The hell with them if they think you need to eat something that hurts! Every nutritionist I've spoken to tells me to AT LEAST  I need to drink Ensure or some other thing like it. These contain fat (I can't digest) protein (again, I can't digest) and tons of sugar ( I'm diabetic) . They are idiots. Eat what you want, as long as it doesn't increase your pain. And you should know that some things you eat don't cause pain until much later. Up to 12 hours later. Try to pay close attention even the next day.