Pancreatitis due to excessive drinking

[Kimberly Reed]

My husband was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday with severe abdominal pain, the diagnosis was Pancreatitis.  He is a drinker so it made since.  Over the past 10 days he has had no food and being given Morphine for pain.  His blood counts (I am not sure what the enzymes are called but there are three of them they test for Pancreatitis), were getting better over the first few days and since then are going up and down around the same level.  The doctor is concerned but doesn't give me much information on why this could be happening.  One of his counts, I think it is called Lipase, was 2500, got down to 1000, now seems to stay around 1400-1200 and it should be 300 or under.  His Amalaise (I think that is what it is called)  stays around 138.  Can you give me any information on this, or a lead on what to look for.  His pain is getting better, even though the numbers are not, they have cut his Morphine intake by 2/3 and that still controls his pain.  When he first came in they gave him 2ml per hour and 2ml every time he pushed the button on his machine.  Now he is down to .75 and doing OK with the pain.  I am very worried and want him to get better and come home.....believe me, he will not be drinking any more.   Thank You very much, Kimberly

[jfax2011]

I have Chronic Pancreatitis that stemmed from Acute Pancreatitis, I have struggled with relapsing off coc and alcohol, cigarettes.  I have had periods of good clean time and then went back.  Each time I went back to any of these especially the drinking and smoking, my CP has gotten much worse.  Now I weigh 108 lbs and I am going to suffer most likely for the rest of my life.  Please advise him to go to AA, as I need to go and stay there myself.  Developing chronic pancreatitis is like or worse than cancer, its 24/7 pain, misery, and malnutrition until they remove the pancreas which you have to go through before they do it.                Jason

[staceyboo0629]

Well I found this site by chance.....Feb 21 2010 My sister, Passed away at the age of 47 because of this....She always said' I drink because I hurt and I hurt because I drink...She knew this was killing her, but had gotten so far into the addiction she could not quit! and it killed her....She had Heart failure due to the potasium from the pancretitis....I know these words are not spelt right but you know what I'm talking about....She had gone threw the addictions of Pain meds...to the extent that it cost her her Beautiful Family...You say this won't happen to you...and it may not....but She had a beautiful life, raised her kids, and now had grandbabies that she loved dearly...but because of the addiction she is not going to be able to watch them grow...they miss her...we all miss her...there are 5 of us, and both our parents are still living...and she is the first of us kids to go...and let me tell  you...IF YOU REALLY DON"T WANT TO PUT YOUR FAMILY THREW HELL...Stop, Stop it now...there are so many programs out there that can help you stop this vicious cycle...I know because I'm a recovering addict myself...My drug of choice was pot...Thank Goodness I never got into drinking other than when I was out and about at the clubs....I seen what I was doing to my self and my family and I wanted out of that...so if you really want out and you WANT TO STAY ALIVE...you better get some help...yes I'm angry Yes I'm hurting...and No Beverly would not have in a MILLION years thought her life would turn out this way....esp in the crazyness of drinking...she was ALWAYS the one who kept us straight or tried too...lol.. anyways  y'all...This is NOT SOMETHING to play with IT CAN AND WILL KILL YOU....so get some help! Or Cause a LIFE LONG EMPTY SPOT IN YOUR FAMILIES LIFE!

Good luck and I'm Praying for anyone who has addiction...It is truly the devils playground! don't give yourself to him~

Stacey in Louisiana

[GoingToMakeIt]

Not drinking is a good choice. You need to find other things or hobbies to occupy your time. There is also an alcohol forum here.

[phear_loathing]

I just today got out of the hospital b/c of this. I am 22 and I am extremely worried about my health. I was only in the hospital for three days and still hurt at bout a 3 out of 5. I think I am more upset that I won't be able to drink again. I have been a pretty heavy drinker for the last3-4 years.

Luckily my gf whom I live with is quiting drinking all together too, she could drink a lot too.

So now what? It seems so boring to just watch t.v. sober at night or not come home and grabbing a beer outa the fridge to cook dinner. UHHHH It is tormenting me. Any suggestions?

[FROM JO TO KIM]

MY EMAIL IS ***@****

[FROM JO TO KIM]

I HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOU FROM MY HEART KIMBERLY... I HAD BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL FOR THE SAME THING..FIVE TIMES..EACH TIME I WOULD SWEAR I WOULD NEVER DRINK AGAIN..ANYONE HAVING THAT KIND OF PAIN WILL UNDERSTAND IT IS LIKE HAVING A BABY..AND I KNOW..BUT A WEEK AFTER GETTING OUT OF THE HOSPITAL I WOULD BE BACK TO DRINKING JUST AS MUCH AS WHAT PUT ME THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. SO STUPID I WAS. I DIDNT UNDERSTAND MYSELF I WOULD SAY "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF JO?" AND THE TRUTHFUL ANSWER TO THAT IS "YES I AM"
I HAD SO MUCH PAIN INSIDE ME.
THE TRICK HERE IS FOR YOU TO GO TO ALINON MEETINGS FOR YOURSELF. BECAUSE YOU HAVE GOTTON  YOUR HOPES UP THAT YOUR HUSBAND WONT DRINK BECAUSE OF THIS SCARE. I AM JUST TELLING YOU TO BRACE YOURSELF. IF YOU NEED TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE YOU ARE MORE THEN WELCOMED TO WRITE ME. I AM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT PAIN AND BELIEVE I CAN BE A LOT OF HELP TO YOU. BESIDES, I REALLY FEEL FOR YOU AND CARE.

[Brian to Sick and Scared]

Most cases of acute pancreatitis are caused by gallstones or alcohol abuse.  There are a number of steps to verifying the diagnosis, including physical exam, serum parameters (such as serum amylase, serum lipase, CRP level, etc.), imaging and invasive procedures.  The serum lipase level has a higher accuracy than the amylase.  Your husband's amylase level of 138 is a bit high since the range is approx. 30-110.  As for the lipase it should be between 5-200 or so.  It is critical that your husband completely abstain from alcohol.  If he fails to do so he risks death.  Good luck to you both.