I have been dealing with pancreatitis for about 4 years. I have had great doctors and felt really good at times, but I worry about the things you have mentioned. I am still working, but worry about my future with this. I am still active, but have days where I am not able to do anything. Most of all...I have lost my social life. Although I still have some great friends, I do not have the social life I once had and miss it like crazy. And though I have a great boyfriend it has changed our relationship too. I am 28 and wonder if I continue to deal with pancreatitis how it will affect my future. It is always a scary thought to me. Anyone else???

It's a good question! I've only had this for about 1 year, and haven't had to face a lot of the challenges that many of you have had to face yet. Like Sara, I worry an awful lot about the future and how much worse it will get!

To this point I'd say that I have lost the basic ability to be "normal". I have lost enjoyment, lost the fun in life. I took enjoyment and fun for granted -- now they seem like they were tremendous gifts.

Life now is a daily battle to consume enough calories to maintain weight without causing a flare up and increasing pain. Life now is never knowing how I'll feel from one day to the next, let alone one hour to the next. Life now is watching with envy as my husband and friends tuck into a gooey pizza and down a couple of beers.

I know that likely sounds trivial, but life has a funny way of being "relative". I try to be grateful every day for what I DO have, rather than focus on what I DON'T have! That helps me get through each day.

Chronic illness of any sort brings these same issues. My chronic pancreatitis dx is still up in the air, but degenerative disc disease over the long haul has caused my marriage to fail and to lose jobs that were very lucrative because of pain. Sometimes spouses can handle the stress, sometimes they can't. And if you're not able to successfully complete your work at a job, you eventually lose it, no matter what your capabilities are. i'm looking at disability but having a hard time bringing myself to fill out the forms. i wish i had more positive to say...

I have lost myself, I was always very active, not anymore. I had a best friend who I thought would always be there. Instead she was there for my husband. I now realize as time goes by don't let the illness control you.Take control and be an advocate for yourself. Make sure your always positive even during your worst pain. When I go to the hospital now, the nurses fight over who gets me. They are terrific, I make sure I'm always smiling even though I'm in pain. Be happy with yourself and embrace everyday. Good luck and hope to hear from you soon.

Oh boy that's a loaded question! I've lost my home (living with parents now), my job, had to drop out of school, and have almost lost my husband through some very very hard times. I've lost contact with everyone I though were friends, which actually is a good thing- I've found who my true friends are. I almost lost myself but am too determined to completely lose me.

I'm 23 and have suffered since I was 19- but this past year it became chronic very quickly and had progressed even faster. I started my oxycontin in October and use dilaudid for breakthrough pain, no one before my pain doctor had been prescribing on a reg. basis.

Since this October I have TRIPLED my dose of Oxy and my blood sugar gets too low to go anywhere bigger than the pharmacy.

What I still have is my loving husband and family, and I can see a glimmer of who I was and who I want to be returning in sight. I know I'll never be the same person I was and that's ok. It's made me grow up a lot faster, straighten out my priorities and figure out what I want.

My husband and I are living with my mom and dad, if they hadn't taken us in we'd have had nowhere to go. I love my family more each day! My marriage has suffered so much from this illness, I have been a mess since we got married 2 years ago. Our anniversary is Dec. 30, just 5 days before my surgery. I am hopeful now that things will get better.

I'm having a Total pancreatectomy w/ Auto Islet Cell Transplant on January 4th at the University of Minnesota and I am nervous, scared, and excited to start a new life with my husband!

P.S. Didn't mean to write an autobiography lol. I have decided to keep a kind of notebook/journal throughout my surgery and recovery to share with others considering the procedure, so it will be online the end of January into February most likely when I am out of the hospital.

Hi there. I'm new to the support group. I was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis in June of this year. I'm 38 and have 1 child, a 15 year old son. I haven't lost anything yet.. my biggest fears are for my son. We lost his father when he was 9 and now it's 50/50 as to whether or not I will be alive to see him graduate from college. We're the only family that eachother has and I don't know where to begin in preparing him for his life without me. I cry when I think about all of the wonderful things that I will miss, but I cry mostly for him.

Desi-

Why is it a 50/50 chance you won't make it to his college graduation?? CP does not by itself reduce life expectancy and although it can increase risk of pancreatic cancer, they do not go hand in hand. Do you have other problems as well? This disease is serious, but not terminal!

~Jolene

I'm going by what I've read in studies of mortality rates in relation to where I am with the disease as well as family history. Also, I suffered from acute attacks for nearly 10 years.. being diagnosed with everything irritable bowel syndrome to anxiety until it became chronic and was finally diagnosed properly.