I have an area on my pancreas that has necrotized, which is another word for died, the pancreas does not have the ability to heal itself, strangely the only organ in the body that doesn't, and yes it is something you should be concerned about, and something you will need to keep a close watch on through your doctor. The usual problem immediately noticeable is pain. Most CP folks have ongoing pain.

you become type 1 diabetic when 90% of your pancreas isn't functioning....lucky I am not at that point even tho I just have the head of my pancreas they said I have about 20% working at this point so that is why I have pancreas insufficiency. If the whole pancreas is necrotized you should not have any pain because there is nothing left and then you def will have type 1 diabetes. What has the drs said to you Megwyn?

The Dr has said it is too soon to tell how much of my pancreas is still viable. Time will tell. I am still not recovered from the initial episode and it has been almost 4 months. I will see him in about 2 weeks and will hopefully know more at that time. I have been a T2 diabetic for a long time and take insulin injections several times a day so becoming T1 would not be as drastic a development as it might be for some people. It does make sense that if the entire pancreas was dead there wouldn't be pain. I wonder how much of the pain I currently have is from the pancreas itself and how much from the pseudocyst. So much to learn, so many unknowns with this disease!

Yeah when it comes to diseases this ones a stinker

I was misdiagnosed with acute pancreatitis on Jun 14, 2013, nearly a year ago. I am not yet recovered, mostly because I wasn't treated properly for several weeks. My diabetes is controlled with oral meds now. However, my pancreas is still leaking (they scraped a lot of it away) so I still have one drain (rather than four) and I have a giant hernia because they couldn't close me after multiple surgeries. I was in the hospital for four months, which is actually pretty short for how ill I was.

I have to eat a low fat diet. When I don't feel well, I usually attribute it to a sugar crash. I need to eat small frequent meals and don't always remember in time. The hernia severely limits my lifestyle and the drain is a pain.

On the other hand, I am lucky to be alive and try to maintain a positive attitude while searching for low fat recipes and loose clothing. I really miss cheese.

Biggest piece of advice - make sure your doc knows how to treat this disease. That was a huge problem for me. Finally, I was driven 2 1/2 hours by ambulance to get better medical care at my family's insistence. First hospital, Docs weren't willing to admit they didn't have the expertise for someone with this condition. They were letting me die. Which I did. Long story.

In July of 2010 I got pancreatitis and after 1 month in the hospital they had no idea what more to do with me....it had necrotized and spilled digestive enzymes into my abdomen where it was eating fat tissue and organs....they took me by ambulance to a chicagoland hospital where I had surgery 2 days later for a complete removal of whatever pancreas tissue was left....I became septic developed MRSA, had uti because they didnt change the catheter often enough, kidney failure and dialysis...had a picc line straight to my heart and drainage tubes for 9 months....was in the hospital for 4 months plus 2 nursing homes. At one nursing home my wound blew open from the wound vac and I lost 4 pints of blood and was transferred back to ICU where they began blood transfusions... I didnt eat for almost 5 months, lost 100 lbs...and lost most my hair. Im now a type 1 diabetic on insulin and took me over a year to recover....The wound didnt close properly and have a huge hernia where the surgery took place...but truthfully Im quite grateful to be alive.. The Doctor said I was the worst case he had ever seen and I see him every 6 months now for the last 4 years. Keep your chin up Megwyn.

I too had my pancreas and spleen removed. I have a small part of the head of the pancreas. I am now on insulin 2 times a day and pills too. My pancreas turned on its self from so many attacks. I still have pain everyday and live on pain pills. I wish I could be one of the ones who don't have pain after the removal but I do still have pain. Sometimes its really bad. I am now on 18 different meds and I take 4 Creon tabs. a day to help with my food digestion. I can't eat lettuce and veggie like that an no meat to speak of. Have lost 70lbs and I feel ok some days but you will always have pain even if its totally dead that is what my doctor says.

I posted here several months ago that I was managing on oral meds after acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Since that time, I was put on octreotide (sp?) to try to slow down the leaking from the pancreas (it was debrided multiple times). My glucose numbers went up immediately. I'm no longer on those shots, but I can't get my numbers down again. I've maxed out on oral meds and I am now giving myself Byetta shots. If this doesn't work, next step is insulin.

My doctor is ready to schedule surgery to repair the hernia (bone to bone - I had a wound vac for five or six weeks, but they finally closed the skin.) They expect to do a lot of repair to my intestines because of the damage from my zombie pancreas. I'm waiting for surgery to be scheduled.

The pancreas itself looked okay in my last CT scan. Personally, I feel like I could get a better handle on my glucose numbers if I could exercise more aggressively, which can't happen until the hernia is fixed.

It's been 19 months and I'm still waiting for this to be (sort of) over. I know I'll always have a shriveled, damaged, wonky panky. But I can't drive, I can't pick up my granddaughter, I can't pick up anything weighing more than a couple of pounds. I'm fortunate that my husband is retired and able to do so much for me.

And yet, I am alive and, all things considered, I feel so much better than I did a few months ago.

I hope you're doing better now.

It is critical to find a doctor who understands this disease. It can be deadly. We didn't get appropriate help in time and my husband died. Please be very proactive in your care. Wishing you all the very best.

I WAITED 3 YEARS TO GET TO A SPECIALIST. NOBODY WANTED TO HELP ME WITH ANYTHING IN CASE MORE DAMAGE WOULD HAPPEN FINALLY SAW SPECIALIST, (NOT THE ONE I WANTED) AND AN MRI IS SCHEDULED. I AM ON PANCREATIC ENZYMES AFTER ATTACKS (ABOUT 3HOUR WINDOWS) HAPPENED. SO I AM FEELING SOMEWHAT NERVOUS ABOUT THE NEXT STAGES. iT IS A SHAME A PERSON HAS TO WAIT SO LONG FOR HELP. I BELIEVE THE PANCREAS HAS BEEN COMPROMISED WITH HAVING TO WAIT SO LONG. THE DOCTORS REALLY DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THIS DISEASE. IN CANADA ANYWAY.