pancreatitus

[chad]

I am a 33 year old male. About two years ago I was hospitalized with acute pancreatitus from drinking. My amylase were 220 with all other functions showing normal. within 24 hours my amylase were at 110 which I was told were at the high side of normal. I should also mention that I have generalized anxiety disorder which I have been taking buspar about 20 mgs a day and zanax in difficult situations . At the time I left the hospital 3 days later my amylase were at 23, they said anytime you have pancreatitus it deos damage to it. they never did any scans. I been in to have my amylase checked every 6 months and they have never been over 50. Althogh I have drank since then  on very few occasions, I haven't had a drink for the last 6 months. Everybody told me this was such a painful experience. I never had the pain they were talking about, I had body aches and I vomited for a couple of hours, and that was about it. Is there any safe amount of alcohol that one can consume once they have had pancreatitus? Due to my anxiety, I excessively worry about this daily, and do I need to worry about getting pancreatitus back? Could you please tell me the level of amylase in a severe case of Pancreatitus? They told me that I had a very mild case. In a normal person that has never had Pancreatitus, if they were to drink, would  their amylase be risen? Why can some people drink their whole lives and never get this? Is it hereditary?
Please note that when I first was diagnosed with this, I was having some personal problems, and I was drinking excessively the week before.
Any information would be greatly appreciated! I have talked with numerous doctors about this and have been given conflicting information, I would like to learn as much as possible about this, so I don't get it back.

Sincerely,
Chad

PS Does smoking play a role in this?

[Rick]

I have had it 3 times,first one in 1995,man there was pain bigtime amylase was 1000,that was the highest its ever been and had 2 more and not as bad. I was in the hospital 3 days each time,and my amylase was back to normal. I have been drinking alot since my wife and I were divorced. Knock on wood I havent had another attack,but after this weekend, I am going to chill on the drinking

[Julie]

In July of 1999 I was taken to the ER in extreme pain in all of the obvious areas of pancreatitis.  I went into a coma where I remained for 7 weeks.  My family was told that I would not survive the illness due to my kidneys failing and my lungs collapsing.  I was placed on dialysis and given a tracheotomy. This was the worst nightmare of my life-since I was still fighting the things they were doing to me, I was given paralytics to keep me still and as a result of the drug I suffered severe paranoia.  Anyway, when I awoke and shocked everybody, I was told that my pancreatitis was caused from high triglycerides (fats in your blood).  The normal level is approx. 150 and I was told my levels were 4000.  I am confused because they said that this was a recent increase and not accumulated over a period of time.  I am 34 years old and do not consume alcohol, however, I do admit that I did not always eat right nor did I exercise.  

   I came home on August 30, 1999 and have had only mild pain on a few occasions-just enough to scare me to death!!!  However, I did have an extreme fear of food because eating seemed to cause pain occasionally.  Recently, over the past month and a half, I have experienced 3 bouts with hives all over my body.  each attack was more severe than the other.  My doctor did not seem too concerned but you out there who have been in the pain I have been in know that everything is a concern to us, right?  Anyway, I was wondering if this was in any way connected to pancreatitis and if anyone out there had any similar experiences?  Please respond-my E-mail is ***@****.  Thanks in advance.

[rose]

I am recovering from an episode of acute pancreatitis. My lipase went from 91 to 14,000 in just seven hours! I had 10 very painful days in hospital and I am now facing investigations into why I developed it.  So far, an ultrasound hasn't shown gallstones and the CT Scan is basically normal too.  My surgeon is now testing me for campylobacter bowel infection because I am getting recurring bouts of diarrhoea too.  
I have three questions for anyone out there.
Does anyone know of any connection between campylobacter and pancreatitis?
Has anyone else experienced diarrhoea after acute pancreatitis?
Has anyone else experienced recurrent episodes of pain in the weeks following hospitalisation for pancreatits?  Some days I feel like I'm taking one step forward and 2 back. Is this normal?
All comments welcomed.

[robyn]

I have just been informed after months of agonizing pain and visits in and out of the hospital, and passing Gallstones, that I too have pancreatitus.
I still, even knowing deep down, that I am in fact an alcoholic at the age of 29, still havent "really" come to terms with it.
I lost an uncle two years ago to pancreatic cancer, and am "quite" aware that it runs in my family, (both, Alcoholism and Pancreatitus), However, something...perhaps satin, is telling me that there is just NO way this could happen to me!! I cant possibly JUST STOP drinking!!!  Not with a vacation in two weeks to california, and my wedding in October!!
I also am soo confused as to why the drs can narrow it down to drinking when there are sooo many that have this and it is caused  in soo many other ways, perhaps i am just kidding myself, but what if it isnt due to my drinking?  How will I really know? How many drs do I need to tell me it is Definately due to drinking? How stupid do I have to be in order to wait till I too die from it?  Im soo scared and feel helplessly alone even though I come from a huge (Italian) family. I say Italian, because if anyone knows how close Italian families are, then you realize the last thing I should feel is alone.
I also am Loved very much by my six year old daughter and my fiance' which you think would give me enough reason NOT to want to drink again.
The Pain alone should make me want to NOT drink again!!!
Does this ever go away? will minimizing my drinking do much damage?  im going out of my mind wondering wether I drink or not will REALLY make a difference at all?  anybody??!!!  pls give me some suggestions!!??

[sue]

Mary Kay,

I suffered with chronic and acute pancreatitis.  I also had a Whipple but the pancreatitis kept coming back - made me anemic and malnourished. I had to go on TPN feedings.  I wrote a complete story about my experiences and the new surgery available in Minneapolis, Minnesota where you can have an islet cell transplant when you have your pancrease removed.  They are having a 80+% rate of success.  I had to have my pancreas removed - but I am not a diabetic because of the islet cell transplant.

Please take a few minutes to read my story.  You will need to type in the web address:

www.insulin-free.org/stories/rebello/htm

Please let me know how you are doing.

***@****

Sue

[kim]

I',m 19 and i don't drink and i got pancertititis for 8 days