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...
First, I apologize for the length of this question, but I don't know where to turn.
I have a 29 year old daughter who was diagnosed with CP about a year ago. She's suffered with anorexia/bulimia for several years and started drinking heavily 6 years ago. After many ER visits and tests, it was determined she had CP. She's been hospitalized 27 times over the last 15 months due to pancreatic attacks. Many of those were caused by her drinking .. others just due to the chronic nature of the disease. All the docs could do is put her on NPO for 5-6 days and give her dilaudid for pain control.
This spring discovered she had a pseudo cyst on her pancreas and couldn't do surgery because of it's location. They tried to drain it several times, and put several stents in it, but to no avail. She finally had surgery in August where they opened the cyst and sewed it open so it couldn't fill again. Since that surgery .. she hasn't had another attack and the only time she's been to the hospital is for a doctor's appointment!
She's been living with me the last year and a half, and is in a very controlled environment as far as alcohol is concerned. I'm a recovering alcoholic myself and have been in recovery for 19 years. As they say, you cant BS a BS'er. One requirement I have in order for her to continue to live w/me is I insist she take antabuse. After 2 drunk driving tickets (almost killing herself and a family in the other car), and many, many nights of her calling me, not knowing where she was and wanting me to come pick her up .. I can't live like that any longer and am insisting she take antabuse.
As recent as a month ago, she was fine with taking antabuse. We agreed that once she was healthy enough to get a job again and start moving on w/her life, she would start. We're now at that point. I noticed over the last several weeks thoughshe wasn't go gun-ho about taking antabuse, I believe this is a sub-conscience set up on her part. Although I don't think she plans on drinking, I think she sub-consciencely wants to keep that option available ... I did the same thing in my early recovery.
We went to her doc (Internist) today and he was fine w/writing the script for antabuse, as her liver enzymes are fine. But my daughter piped up and said the surgeon told her he didn't think it was a good idea she take it. Now .. I've talked to her surgeon several times about antabuse and he said as long as her liver enzymes are fine .. she can take it. The pros far outweigh the cons. Even one drink could kill her at this point.
Her internist was clueless about the disease of alcoholism as he said they don't prescribe antabuse to people who are out and about, doing things with their lives (WHAT?!?!) That's right .. they prescribe it when she's in a controlled environment and has NO access to alcohol, but once she's out in the "real world" .. they don't prescribe it?!?!?! Anyway .. he didn't write the script .. he wanted to talk to her surgeon first.
Although my daughter had signed a medical information release form and I've been able to talk to her doctors freely, she put a stop to that today.
Don't get me wrong, my daughter is not a bad person, just one of millions who suffer from alcoholism. I've been around long enough to see she is setting herself up to drink. She just started working this week, in the same town/area where she would bar hop and drink. While she was taking the narcotics, (dilaudid AND morphine), she really didn't have any cravings, because the narcotics satisfy the same area of the brain that alcohol does. Now that she's off narcotics, and is out and about in her old "stomping grounds", I'm afraid she'll relapse, which could kill her.
I will not enable her any longer, and she's dependent on me for everything; money, driving her to/from work, doctor's appts., food, shelter,clothing .. I insist she's on antabuse if she wants to continue to live w/me.
Is there anyone out there w/CP who takes antabuse? If so, how are you doing with it? Any bad side effects ie. triggering pancreatic attacks? (assuming there's no alcohol involved?)
Again .. sorry for the length .. but I need some advice :)
I have a 29 year old daughter who was diagnosed with CP about a year ago. She's suffered with anorexia/bulimia for several years and started drinking heavily 6 years ago. After many ER visits and tests, it was determined she had CP. She's been hospitalized 27 times over the last 15 months due to pancreatic attacks. Many of those were caused by her drinking .. others just due to the chronic nature of the disease. All the docs could do is put her on NPO for 5-6 days and give her dilaudid for pain control.
This spring discovered she had a pseudo cyst on her pancreas and couldn't do surgery because of it's location. They tried to drain it several times, and put several stents in it, but to no avail. She finally had surgery in August where they opened the cyst and sewed it open so it couldn't fill again. Since that surgery .. she hasn't had another attack and the only time she's been to the hospital is for a doctor's appointment!
She's been living with me the last year and a half, and is in a very controlled environment as far as alcohol is concerned. I'm a recovering alcoholic myself and have been in recovery for 19 years. As they say, you cant BS a BS'er. One requirement I have in order for her to continue to live w/me is I insist she take antabuse. After 2 drunk driving tickets (almost killing herself and a family in the other car), and many, many nights of her calling me, not knowing where she was and wanting me to come pick her up .. I can't live like that any longer and am insisting she take antabuse.
As recent as a month ago, she was fine with taking antabuse. We agreed that once she was healthy enough to get a job again and start moving on w/her life, she would start. We're now at that point. I noticed over the last several weeks thoughshe wasn't go gun-ho about taking antabuse, I believe this is a sub-conscience set up on her part. Although I don't think she plans on drinking, I think she sub-consciencely wants to keep that option available ... I did the same thing in my early recovery.
We went to her doc (Internist) today and he was fine w/writing the script for antabuse, as her liver enzymes are fine. But my daughter piped up and said the surgeon told her he didn't think it was a good idea she take it. Now .. I've talked to her surgeon several times about antabuse and he said as long as her liver enzymes are fine .. she can take it. The pros far outweigh the cons. Even one drink could kill her at this point.
Her internist was clueless about the disease of alcoholism as he said they don't prescribe antabuse to people who are out and about, doing things with their lives (WHAT?!?!) That's right .. they prescribe it when she's in a controlled environment and has NO access to alcohol, but once she's out in the "real world" .. they don't prescribe it?!?!?! Anyway .. he didn't write the script .. he wanted to talk to her surgeon first.
Although my daughter had signed a medical information release form and I've been able to talk to her doctors freely, she put a stop to that today.
Don't get me wrong, my daughter is not a bad person, just one of millions who suffer from alcoholism. I've been around long enough to see she is setting herself up to drink. She just started working this week, in the same town/area where she would bar hop and drink. While she was taking the narcotics, (dilaudid AND morphine), she really didn't have any cravings, because the narcotics satisfy the same area of the brain that alcohol does. Now that she's off narcotics, and is out and about in her old "stomping grounds", I'm afraid she'll relapse, which could kill her.
I will not enable her any longer, and she's dependent on me for everything; money, driving her to/from work, doctor's appts., food, shelter,clothing .. I insist she's on antabuse if she wants to continue to live w/me.
Is there anyone out there w/CP who takes antabuse? If so, how are you doing with it? Any bad side effects ie. triggering pancreatic attacks? (assuming there's no alcohol involved?)
Again .. sorry for the length .. but I need some advice :)
The bottom line is you cannot force someone with an addiction to get sober. That is out of your hands. If you can't tolerate her behavior, then all you can do is cut her out of your life, either partially or completely. Anything else is up to her.