Hello,

Sorry if this is a bit long but this has been an ordeal. Let me start by saying I am not an alcoholic. I am in my mid fifties, overweight, stressed, and did not take very good care of myself. One Year ago early November, I came home late from a Business Trip. About 9:00 a.m. the next morning I was having sharp, terrible burning pain in my mid section on the right side, just below the ribcage. I had a fever of 103, and I began vomiting. My wife rushed me to the ER, they saw me right away. The Doctor gave me Morphine, something for Nausea, felt around my stomach, took blood samples, and a CT Scan. I was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. DR. said they could admit me but they would only manage my pain, give me fluids, and NO FOOD, or that I could go home and do the treatment myself. I went home. A few days later, I began having fever, chills, pain, no energy, and my color was off.  I could not eat, just the thought of food made me ill. I started having the most bizarre Hiccups. They were so intense that I could not catch my breath. It was so bad late one night, I rushed to the ER. I was given an IV and Thorazine. That stuff is wicked, but it made the hiccups go away.

About a week later, I was to have a follow up CT scan. As they did the scan, they called a Doctor to the Radiology Dept. I was told I needed emergency surgery, possibly a Transfusion, and was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit. My Pancreatitus had become Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis. I had a Psudocyst and a Fistula. I lost a part of the "Tail" of my Pancreas, also some possible nerve damage. I spent 4 days in the Hospital. They put a stent in via twilight surgery through an artery in my leg. That was a bizarre experience! I spent another 2 days after the surgery. Fortunately, I had no infection. A few weeks later I had a follow up Endoscopy to see that the inflamation was going down, the pseudocyst was going away, and the state of the Necrotic tissue. The Stent was doing its job, things were going as well as to be expected at that time. Thankfully, no surgery would be needed to remove the dead tissue but I had to have follow up CT scans every 4 weeks.

I had Gallstones but due to the Pancreatitis, removal had to wait. I had my Gallbladder removed in June. It had stones, crystallization, and sludge. Per the Surgeon, my whole area of the Gallbladder was a "Hot, gooey, sticky mess" and took twice as long to remove. This was the cause of my Pancreatitis. One stone had escaped so they tried to remove it endoscopicly but could not get it due to swelling and not wanting to risk damage to the duct. 6 weeks later I had an ERCP performed, it further irritated my Pancreatitis but they got the escaped Gallstone. My last CT Scan showed I have some air bubbles in my Pancreas from the Necrotizing but those should clear up.

I am currently diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis. I am seeing a specialist at Borland Groover Clinic. I will have CT Scans performed every 5-6 months to monitor. This past year I lost 70 lbs. My Blood Pressure is normal, no diabetes, Cholesterol levels have come down to acceptable range, fatty liver is much better. I try to eat a Low Fat Diet, drink lots of water, and I take Pancreaze with everything I eat. No alcohol. My next CT scan is in April. 

I offer the following advice based on my experience: If you go to the ER for pain, ask for Dilaudid, no painful head rush as with Morphine, lasts longer than Morphine, takes a bit longer to kick in but it worked well for me. My Doctor prescribed Percocet to keep on hand in case I have any pain. Eat right, No Alcohol! Follow all of your Doctor's instructions. Typically, after the first Pancreatitis attack, any damage may not show up for a week or two so pay close attention to what your body tells you and have a follow up CT Scan.  Good luck!