I've been on Creon for awhile and I'm pretty sure it worked fairly quickly. I do know you have to get your dosage correct. I think mine is going to be upped but not sure. When I first started it, It worked great.
Good Luck!
Blessings,
Dawn

David, Did you have a Whipple? The Creon works best on people who did NOT have the Whipple. I was told to take it one before a meal, two opened and spread on my meal, like in apple sauce or something, and then one after the meal. The reason I was told to do this is because the creon takes to long to go through people with a whipple system. Since I have been on Creon, I have losted 20 lbs and my pain has increased. I would ask your doctor to look up what I just said. Because he will then be able to prescribe the right amount of the medication. Wishing you the best. Nancy

Hey David, I have been on Creon for about 8 months and its has helped with weight gain and stools for sure. I think it helps minimize pain due to your pancreas working, but if you are already on a strict low fat diet I am not sure how much pain relief you may receive. Have you asked for fentynal patch or pain meds?

I have NOT had the Whipple or any other surgical procedure. I started Creon this past week, not quite a full week, and seem to have better b,m,'s, but I am still having pain, not quite as bad. It does intensify when I am being more active, which makes me not want to be physical!

Ive lost 31 lbs since this started and since I've started with the Creon I've put back on a whole 1.5 lbs,,,,not sure if its a pemanent gain though.

Thanks for the advice on the Creon, probably have to experiment since were all different!.

I find that many doctors just don't really care and just want to make it through their day and you are just a number to them. I have been taking creon for a while 1.5 years. 24,000. 4 with meals 2 with snacks. It seems to help. Sometimes I take 5 with meals. Always one before and several during and one at end. Hope this helps.

David sorry for your experience - I had to go to 4 different GI's before I found one who was somewhat sympathetic to my issues.
I did drink but only for 11 months - and had been in hospital approx 5 times before I drank and they never tested me for pancreatic enzymes, so the medical community is in fact brainwashed to think this is a drinking man's disease. I was then labeled a "chronic alcoholic" and treated like dirt until I found this last GI dr. Keep looking. The Creon works ok for me, not really great, it's more about low/no fat or grease in my diet. After suffering after a particularly bad panc attack (11 days in hospital) I was given a pain management specialist and put on pain meds. These helped greatly with the diarrhea and pain.
Best Wishes,
Genieanne

David, another thing to consider is that you may not be taking enough Creon. My GI started me on Creon 12000 and only 1 tablet per meal. It did nothing for me. I'm now taking Creon 24000 and take 2 or 3 with each meal and it's working much better. Some people take much more than I, so you need to find what works for you.

I'm sorry about your doctor. I know we've discussed that situation before. I wish I could help.

It is the collective wisdom of friends at this site that I get my primary medical advice from! Yes I listen to the Dr and then I compare his advice against what I read here. WHat I know to be as FACT is that together we are a lot more intelligent thanmost of the over-priced and over-blown folk who call themselves Dr.

What do you call the last persaon that graduates Medical School?
Dr.
Thanking everyone for their advice.

David, you are not alone on the county Dr.'s. The pain is NOT IN YOUR HEAD but your pancreas. Creon does work but you HAVE to take it before you eat anything! It took just 2 days before I noticed a difference. Every BODY is different so for me it's: Creon 24,000 (lipase) and 1 cap. for a snack and 2 caps for a meal. Now, in any given day I can take anywhere from 7 to 12 caps all depending on my food intake (I haven't had a desire for food since my diagnosis 2 yrs ago), I don't force myself to eat, I just make myself eat, but there is someone on this site who said they take up to 30 caps a day. I am a small petite women so maybe that is why my intake of Creon works for me. FIND a Dr. who will LISTEN (it took my dozens of Dr.s) and also ask your Dr. if he/she is willing to work with you re: Chronic pain (most of them don't because of liability issues), if not, ask your Dr. for a referral to one that will! There is no cure for Chronic Pancreatitis, and along as we keep our organ, will do suffer on a daily basis with pain and nausea...that's just the way it is. Once part or all of your pancreas is removed, you will become a type I diabetic....that is a whole new host of health issues to take on! My GI @ UC Davis is trying to save my pancreas as long as possible (not only do I have scar tissue I also have calcification of the pancreas and stones in my main pancreatic duct)..not the outcome I was hoping for but I do still have some part of my pancreas trying to work but eventually it will give out and then there will be no choice. I suffered alone for the last 2 yrs until I stumbled onto this site. Everyone has been so helpful and you will find just how much all of us have in common re: this disease and that when it comes to our Dr.'s, well they don't know anymore about it than what they learn from us, WE NEED TO MAKE THEM LISTEN....I told my Dr....."what, you don't believe me when I tell about what I am experiencing?....then go to this website and read about what other people say they are experiencing regarding their daily concerns and issues when it comes to CHRONIC PANCREATITIS"!!!!!) Good Luck and stay in touch...we all are learning and helping each other and always look forward to good news!! Poppy

The Creon seems to be helping. I found out quickly that if I do not take it before a meal...well we all know the answer to that!

David I have had chronic pancreatitis for five yrs.and now I'am on ultrase i take it before meals I open the capsule and pour the contents on my tongue and wash it down with water,I was told not to eat anything leafy such as lettuce or greens.and yes i was also told that the pain was in my head until i finally found a good Dr. at MUSC.I still have pain but for now I.am copeing.My Dr, wants to remove my pancreas but for now its staying put.They are going to have to prove to me that it's cancer before they remove my pancreas.I hope some of this helps.I had a Doctor ask me why I was holding my upper abdomen where the pain is and I told him I guess it's like a tooth ache where ever your hurting it's a reflex to hold or apply pressure where your hurting I told the doc. I 'am not sure weather me holding the area or not helps but a little pressure on the area makes me feel a little better. hope you feel better.

I do the same thing with my hand! 2 BITS OF GOOD NEWS...THE ENZYMES are HELPING AND I GOT A REAL JOB THAT OFFERS INSURANCE AFTER 90 DAYS !!! Its in a gallery so I wont have to try and walk 17 miles a day, which I did at my last job, and its not high pressure sales so that wont aggrevate my pancreas, my mind or my spirit...I just have to ride it out until Feb. 2011. Since the idiots at the county hospital did not write on my chart pancreatitis...I do not have a pre-existing condition, as far as the insurance. Wish me luck!

Sorry for those frustrations David :(
I dunno what creon is yet but I do know how the doctors will always ask about alcohol. I get so sick of it. I tell them Im not a drinker and never have been but they cant seem to grasp that people who dont drink get chronic pancreatitis.

Im currently studying and using cedar tree berries to help nurish my pancreas. They just became soft enough to eat this past week. I need to drink more dandelion root tea and eat more milk thistle seeds. All of which are safe foods for the pancreas from the research and experineces Ive had,

I need to go research creon.

I woke up this morning to THE 1st PAIN FREE MORNING I HAVE HAD SINCE LAST OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry for the shouting...but I was on the roof-top!

I'm experimenting with the CREON and discovered that popping one or two before I go to bed, and then one when I get up in the morning beofre I eat has had amazing results!!! If the idiots at the county hospital had simply said "Lets at least try this"....I would not have been waiting 9 months for the fix. I think I must be getting my dosage right because THIS IS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO ME since this started!!!!!!!
Thanks to everyone who has responded!!!

Yesterday was an absolutely PAIN FREE DAY!!! My 1st in 12 MONTHS! I woke up today....popped a Creon, had my coffee and still PAIN FREE! May whoever invented CREON join the pantheon of stars in the skies and continue to light our pathway to health!