Pancreatitis Support Group
Chronic pancreatitis can present as episodes of acute inflammation in a previously injured pancreas, or as chronic damage with persistent pain or malabsorption. Patients with chronic pancreatitis can present with persistent abdominal pain or steatorrhea, as well as severe nausea. Some patients with chronic pancreatitis often look very sick, while others don't appear to be...
Hey so I am a huge believer in alternative medicine and I am a very open minded person, just to put that out there. I have been considering surgery to implant a pain pump or spinal stimulator because my pain is so bad! I unfortunately cannot handle the side effects of most painkillers as I will be trying to finish vet school and I need every part of my brain working! So, I thought, acupuncture is harmless, and much easier on me than going through surgery! Not necessarily...
So I started going to a very reputable acupuncture/eastern medicine specialist. We will call him T. So I went through two treatments with T and noticed no pain relief, but actually had attacks both evenings after the treatments. The last time I went to see T, he put me on an herb that he was really excited for me to try: Corydalis. He just said that he had done some research and that it could really help me. So I took it as directed and the next day, lets just say I lost a fair amount of fluid through my digestive tract. I had horrible intestinal spasms. I stopped taking it immediately and started doing some research on my own. As it turns out, Corydalis can be used as an anti-anxiety medicine and can cause lowered BP and fatigue,and can have a sedative effect which explains why I almost passed out at work! I was upset because YOU DONT GIVE SOMEONE A DRUG WITH SEDATIVE EFFECTS WITHOUT TELLING THEM. Like many people on here, I am on plenty of drugs that make me sleepy, and actually weakness/fatigue are serious daily issues for me. What's even worse, the next day after stopping the herb, I developed severe panky pain like someone had stabbed me in the back. It has gone on now for a week. I know it is the herb, bc I ate nothing but rice and yogurt that day.
I ended up calling T and telling him that I will not be coming back in as scheduled. I am sure my reaction to this drug is not very common but still, I am upset at how much this set me back. I am not trying to demonize a profession or anything but I just wanted to pass this on. I know there are plenty of folks on here looking for some relief and the acupuncture seems great in that it should be risk free. However, the drugs, even "herbs" could still pose a risk or threat. Please question anyone who tells you to take something just because they think it will help. From now on, I am not takng anything unless someone can tell me what it is used for, what are side effects, and what they think it will do for my illness! If they try to sugar coat it, I'll say PASS!
So I started going to a very reputable acupuncture/eastern medicine specialist. We will call him T. So I went through two treatments with T and noticed no pain relief, but actually had attacks both evenings after the treatments. The last time I went to see T, he put me on an herb that he was really excited for me to try: Corydalis. He just said that he had done some research and that it could really help me. So I took it as directed and the next day, lets just say I lost a fair amount of fluid through my digestive tract. I had horrible intestinal spasms. I stopped taking it immediately and started doing some research on my own. As it turns out, Corydalis can be used as an anti-anxiety medicine and can cause lowered BP and fatigue,and can have a sedative effect which explains why I almost passed out at work! I was upset because YOU DONT GIVE SOMEONE A DRUG WITH SEDATIVE EFFECTS WITHOUT TELLING THEM. Like many people on here, I am on plenty of drugs that make me sleepy, and actually weakness/fatigue are serious daily issues for me. What's even worse, the next day after stopping the herb, I developed severe panky pain like someone had stabbed me in the back. It has gone on now for a week. I know it is the herb, bc I ate nothing but rice and yogurt that day.
I ended up calling T and telling him that I will not be coming back in as scheduled. I am sure my reaction to this drug is not very common but still, I am upset at how much this set me back. I am not trying to demonize a profession or anything but I just wanted to pass this on. I know there are plenty of folks on here looking for some relief and the acupuncture seems great in that it should be risk free. However, the drugs, even "herbs" could still pose a risk or threat. Please question anyone who tells you to take something just because they think it will help. From now on, I am not takng anything unless someone can tell me what it is used for, what are side effects, and what they think it will do for my illness! If they try to sugar coat it, I'll say PASS!
I think what upsets me most about this is someone looking at me and my troubles and deciding that the best way to help me is to lower my anxiety and basically put me on an herbal anti-depressant! I feel like he didn't listen to me, and its just like a doctor patting me on the head and telling me to get more sleep and don't stress so much! He said Western doctors don't listen to the patient, but my GI and pain specialist listen much better than he did!
Thank you!! That sums up EXACTLY what I have been going through. Truth is, my aunt and uncle came up for Christmas and basically read both my parents and myself the riot act for not wanting to try acupuncture before having something implanted. They even tried to scare me, stating the risks and possible ill results of a surgery to implant a stimulator or pump! I have had others as well, that just cannot accept that I'm in so much pain that I would let them put hardware in me! They started telling me all the things I may never do again! I told them I am not doing most of those things now!
As you said, they don't know what it is like to be laying in a hospital bed in such bad pain you cannot even think, or worse still, to be confined to the couch for months on end while life passes you by...I put on a happy face because that is my personality...but its frustrating when people see me not rolling around in pain and assume I am not that sick...
I'm still in pain from that damn herb!
Just an FYI if you are looking for herbs to take. Its very well regarded.
Good luck!
I definitely appreciate the sentiment. This whole year has been so hard on my familial and friend relationships what with the whole official diagnosis, and taking a year off from vet school and everything. People have looked at me like I have lost my damn mind!!! All this and I can honestly say my family is pretty darn understanding compared to others out there! I mean, I have a mom who will often make me a special dinner option!!! who else can say that?!?! But people who are not around me all the time to see my ups and downs either think I am fine, or like my aunt and uncle, they think I am somehow lazy and not doing enough. They don't realize that with my particular health issues, I have to see a hemotologist, gynocologist, gastroenterologist, and pain management specialist and not just once every 6 months either. I feel like I live at the Dr office! My aunt and uncle on CHRISTMAS DAY stood in my kitchen and argued with me about why on earth I wouldn't want a second opinion, even if it is just the same as the first! They harp on how I need to go to the mayo clinic! First of all, I love my doctor and he is one of the leading researchers of cp in the entire country if not the top one! I have been told this by other medical professionals but some have a hard time with that because he happens to be at a local university hospital...point is I really like my GI doc and don't need more opinions in my life right now, nor do I have the urge to put my family through the trouble and expense of going to Mayo unless it is absolutely necessary!
One thing I did not expect when I was diagnosed with this disease was all of the difficult decisions I have had to make. I have had to decide who gets to remain in my life friend-wise and I have had to make the decision to undergo potentially risky surgery on more than one occasion just for the chance that it might work or help! I constantly feel like my whole future is hanging in the balance and I would give anything for some kind of certainty, even knowing what the next year will bring would be amazing!
At first I was very skeptical about support groups such as this, but the fact is, if I could not communicate with other people who can relate to all of this, I would lose my mind! So thanks for the kind responses everyone!