It does get better! Acute Pancreatitis

My son had acute pancreatitis. Started suddenly may 30th. Spent 8 weeks in hospital. 2 weeks in induced coma on life support. He is now home. Only just turned 17 . Has to take creon to eat . Has only the tail of pancreas left working. Stil has pegj in and couple of stents. Has not been sick since leaving hospital.i inject him with clexane and flush drains daily. Not sure wot the future has in store but been on hell of a journey. And still going. Attitude is such an imortant thing with coping.

Three years ago, I went home from work feeling sick to my stomach and throwing up.  I had pain in my stomach and it went through  to my back.  After suffering for 3 days I told my husband to either shoot me or take me to the hospital. After taking some blood and running a test, they came out demanding to know how much alcohol I drink!  I told them I didn't drink not even caffeine.  They told me I had one of the worse cases of pancreatitis a person can get, it could kill me!

  I was put in the hospital, they started  treatment, then told me I'd be there at least a month!  After the 3rd day, they put a pick line in, and told me that my gallbladder was attacking   my pancreatitis and I had several pseudo cysts growing in my stomach!  Did I mention I'm an overachiever? Lol

I was in the hospital 3 weeks the 1st time, then 3 more times in the next 3 months.  I had no appetite, lost 80 pounds, had 3 surgeries, and no insurance.

 I keep feeling sick and was wondering how ofte this comes back.

I'm glad you are feeling better. Can you share with me the changes you made in your diet and ideas ofwhat your meals consist of. I am new and appreciate the info. Continue feeling better ??????????

I am so sorry to hear everything you've been through did they help you with your diet and tell you not to eat fat do they recommend any vitamins or enzymes to be taking what kind of advice did they give you my whole diet used to consist of fats healthy fats none-the-less fats mostly meat nuts eggs now I'm trying to relearn how to eat without all of the fat so I'm going slow everything right now is fat-free white fish lean meats no beef no pork nothing greasy fatty I watch fat content and everything although I hate anything that's fat-free cuz it's usually full of sugar so it's a battle for me too basically I'm a plant-based diet now with healthy low carbs and low fat I believe living on a high-fat low-carb diet for so many years of my life is what contributed to my situation and again I think maybe it's just a little hereditary factor in there also

Hi.. My mom has been diagnosed with acute pancreatitis 5days ago.. At present she is at hospital but able to take fluids like water and coconut water since yesterday.. She is not alcoholic, no gall stones,no obstruction in the common bile duct and pancreatic duct,.will she be 5n

I find your post AMAZING!  It took me three years to follow some of the things you have mentioned and I still follow these types of habits in eating.  It isn't like I don't want a piece of greasy pizza these days - but it's like my body just automatically knows.  I was misdiagnosed for years of extreme pain, to the point I died for about 3 minutes.  (luckily my son and fiancé where there to revive me and call 911).  I ultimately had to have over half of my pancreas removed as well as my spleen staying in ICU for a month.  Now - I have to be extra careful.  One thing I would like to add to you post (your food suggestions are on point!) But if I even get a notch of pain - I fast for 3 days (water/tea) then introduce the foods above slowly.   Also, vitamins b-12, C, etc.  Then I am back up and running!

Hello, All

I came across this thread and wanted to share my experience with acute pancreatitis. I am a 53 year old female who went to the ER on Friday, September 16, 2016, with severe abdominal pain. After having blood work drawn and CT Scan, I was told that I have pancreatitis and would be admitted to the hospital. During this conversation, I was told that I would probably be released from the hospital after 2-3 days. I was in the hospital for 9 days. While I was in the hospital, I felt like some of the medical professionals were accusing me of being an alcoholic. I told them each time they questioned me about my alcohol intake, that I don’t drink a lot of alcohol. About 2 weeks prior to my admission to the hospital, I had drank 1 glass of red wine with a steak dinner. I used to drink alcohol in larger amounts in my younger days, but not now. The doctors didn’t seem to believe me, but did continue to try and find a cause for my pancreatitis. I am and have been taking for a long while, several prescription medicines. At the time of my admission to the hospital for the pancreatitis, 2 of the medications that I was taking were “water pills” prescribed to me to try and reduce swelling in my hands, legs, and feet. The 2 meds, Hydrochloride and Furosemide, each have a possible side effect of pancreatitis. There was another medicine prescribed to me for arthritis type pain, Meloxicam, also has a possible side effect of pancreatitis. I was not given these medications during my hospital stay. I do take a couple of blood pressure meds daily and another blood pressure med, Clonidine, for emergency when my blood pressure rises above 180/100., which does happen fairly often. During my stay in the hospital, I was given an additional med for blood pressure, Nifedipine, because they had trouble controlling my blood pressure while I was there. Eventually, my husband and I did seem to convince the doctors that I do not drink much alcohol and they determined that the 3 meds referenced above caused my pancreatitis.  I no longer take those meds. Also, when you are watching tv and one of those commercials for prescription meds comes on? Pay close attention to how many of those meds can cause pancreatitis. 

Hi all. I had acute pancreatitis about a month ago now. I went to the hospital for severe abdominal pain. I didn't have the nausea or vomiting that I see from others. I was admitted in the early afternoon, next day had liquid diet. The next day I was eating solids. I still didn't have the nausea or anything. They said it was a mild case and that I needed to quit drinking. I don't really drink that much by any stretch of the word. We'll buy a 24 pack of beers and it takes almost 6 months to be through it. I'll have a drink once every 2-3 weeks, sometimes 3 months in between. It doesn't really interest me as it does others. I smoked for 10 years, but that was almost 5 years ago. My triglycerides were 800 in the ER, then a few days later were 180. Some of the doctors said it was triglycerides, some say it was alcohol. I've sworn off alcohol since and have been on a very low fat diet. I've avoided dairy completely and have mainly fish. Once or twice a week I'll have chicken. I basically went vegan for a while. I started getting constipation and heartburn with nausea. It's started receding more and I'm eating more frequently now. I think I'm putting all this in my head and making it worse. The more I look this stuff up, the more freaked out I get. This is one of the only positive sites I've found on this. I really can't find much of anything about what to do with one acute attack and how to live my life. All I can seem to find is that it COULD go to chronic and how to deal with that. Is there a way to recover the pancreas fully after one mild episode? The doctor in the hospital said I was lucky and it was a very mild attack. (Didn't feel like it in my opinion. I don't mean to play down anyone else's suffering either.) I basically just adopted the diet habits of someone with chronic pancreatitis until I talk with the doctors.

Hey, soooo... I just had my first acute pancreatitis attack. Before I go into it, I want to mention I am only 20 and yes a bit overweight. It happened on 03/24/18 while I was at work and I went to the emergency room because I had no idea what was wrong with me. Sat in the ER for almost 6 hours after getting a CT scan and blood drawn. My triglycerides were 1804 and my pancreas was definitely inflamed. They told me they had to admit me into the hospital which they did after yet another hour of waiting. I had no gallstones, nothing other than bad eating habits to blame for this sudden flare up. Luckily, by this time, they had given me some kind of pain med. The first day there, they put about 3 bags of saline into me and then had me on the IV for a day and a half before deciding that I was okay enough to have a clear liquid dinner. I probably went through 15 bags of saline while there. I had no appetite and overall I was just thirsty, but you know, they won't let you have anything by mouth. They told me I could continue my clear liquid diet into the next day as I had no negative effects. At this point, I had only been on pain meds for about the last day and a half and hadn't asked for more. Next day, I had a clear liquid only breakfast and then they advanced me to a full liquid snack/lunch before allowing a full regular low fat dinner. They kept me one more night to continue monitoring to make sure there was no backlash from eating food again before they let me out just yesterday. I stayed in hospital from 3/24 until 3/27 which seems awfully fast for someone to get out after acute pancreatitis with no pain and no medications to take. The pain was gone and I just had a mild bloated feeling with little to no appetite. Now is when I must mention my mother is in the medical field; she works in a doctors office and has basically always been medically intelligent. Since this all happened, I have done a lot of research, trying to find out if this diet will be a permanent fixture in my life or if eventually, after getting into healthier habits, I will be able to have the foods I love such as pizza, and mocha coffees, all of which my mother has deemed "too risky." I haven't even turned 21 yet so I've never had alcohol, but now I'm fearful I never will. I've never really been into the idea of getting "plastered" but I've wanted to try certain drinks. Does having acute pancreatitis mean I can't drink ever? I think mostly I'm here because while I'm ready to be healthier, I don't want to HAVE to give up on so many things I already love so early in my life if there's a chance I can still have them in moderation. Thanks so much for this forum as it's helped me see some positivity in all this. I appreciate anything you have in response to me. 

Hi All

This is the most vexatious of illnesses. Minimal alcohol, non-smoker and reasonably fit due to a fairly physical job. Had a late nite snack of fish and rice which triggered immediate pain. After about an hour I was throwing up and continued to do so hourly for 12hrs, before finally going to ER because the pain became too intense. Was admitted straight away and put on painkillers, anti-nausea medication and a saline drip. Spent 8 days in hospital. graduated from a liquid-only diet to a light diet without too many complications and everything slowly went back to normal.....supposedly. 

After a number of weeks on painkillers,  was informed by the doctor that my body was saturated with painkillers and that the painkillers were just as likely to create complications/nausea as an incorrect diet/alcohol intake. I promptly gave up the painkillers and went on a low(ish)-fat diet. However, the doctor (and gastro specialist) never directly told me to change my diet, just stay away from alcohol. 

I have had MRI's, CT-scans and ultra sounds, but nothing has indicated why I developed pancreatitis in the first place, so no-one can give me a cure either....

in the last few days, my pain and nausea have increased, so Im not out of the woods yet. Its been 9 weeks and counting...

Take home message? BE positive and proactive. It can be overwhelming, but everything heals with time and a strong desire to improve your situation.

Thoughts from reading all these forums on pancreatitis:

No alcohol (but this may only be relevant to those who's alcohol intake is/was excessive)

Probably a low-fat diet (but there are people on it that still get follow-up attacks and others that eat pizza without a relapse)

Small meals...5 or more a day instead of 3 as this allows the pancreas to rest. (this was obscure, but made sense)

Keep the fluid intake high. Probably water is best, as even juices/sugars seem to be less than ideal.

Taking out the gall-bladder may not solve the problem as the tied-off tube sometimes develops a gallstone regardless.

Get lots of sleep. Min is 7hrs, but 8 or more is better. (this is debatable but again, makes sense)

Be very careful with medications as they might mask or exacerbate the issue. Use minimal and be aware of potential addiction (its very easy, esp if the painkillers are strong).

Every pancreatitis attack  has common elements but is ultimately unique to you. Being well-informed has its drawbacks. Dont take on other people's angsts; no matter how tempting it is to be negative. Sometimes its good to have a (good) doctor to talk to, as that can screen some of the more paranoid ideas surrounding pancreatitis attacks. if you doubt your doctor, go to a different one (if possible). Nothing is more exasperating as getting a "professional" opinion and then finding out they were wrong.....