Re: Remainder of Med. History

[Guest guest]

Hi Crystal,

How long have you had pancreatitis? Do you have children? Do you ever feel

that sometimes you have to put your flareups on a schedule? I guess there is

never a good time to be sick. One GI dr. I have is really passionate about

his work. Ever since he started treating me, I think he has worn his heart

on his sleeve. He enjoys seeing my family, when I am in the hosital and

they're visiting me. He did my daughters colonoscopy in 98. He always ask

about her. When I returned to him 2 weeks ago, he asked me if I had forgot

about him. I hadn't seem him since the spring. Since the ERCP last Tues.

he has checked on me everyday. The only thing I worry about is him not being

able to offer alot to me medically and being disappointed like the other

drs. I've had. He has already advised me against surgery. My other GI dr.

says consider it. We'll see what happens after the MRCP. I have an appt. on

Thurs. a.m. I guess everything will follow from there.

[Guest guest]

Marie,

Like you i had people telling me that i couldn't possibly hurt as

bad as I said i did. My parents didn't believe i was sick my husband

doubted me. That's why I love being a part of this group. It helps me

so much to know that I can come here and talk to people that really

truly understand what is going on and I want to thank you all for that.

Crystal

[Guest guest]

Marie,

I'm 21 now my pancreatitis started when I was 18. I have two children

one is 4 and one is 7 months. I find it very demanding to be a parent.

My oldest daughter has been so strong for the past couple years she is

the only reason why I have hung on this long. Sometimes I feel like she

takes care of me more than I take care of her. In the beginning I had

two docs i didn't care for now I have two gi's that i love and a general

practitioner that I love to. My gp sat at the hospital one day and held

my hand till I feel asleep. He knows how much I hate IV's so he is the

only one who does mine. He comes in the middle of the night and will

put them in for me he is the best. I take it you suffer from insomnia

to?

Crystal

[Guest guest]

WOW marie, you have been thru the ringer too!! i am just a baby pancreatitis

sufferer but i am so thankful to hear your stories because the doctors are not

nearly so informative as you guys are!! :0) hang in there everybody!! lynn

DCP6364@... wrote:

From: DCP6364@...

Hi Karyn and other members,

I don't know if you all have read any of my pancreatitis bio. if you have

then you know I too have had very similar experiences. If you haven't then

that's ok too. Although you might want to take the time to go back and read

what I had sent previously, because that way you can be a bigger help to me

when I am needing questions answered. Oh well, I can't even remeber where I

left off. I'll just quit dragging this out, because most of you have been

there before.

I ended up having my gallbladder removed in 94 or 95, these days dates are

becoming insignificant with illness. This was yet another ploy by the drs.

to nip this illness in the bud. But it too failed. There were no stones,

not in the gallbladder, not anywhere. As a matter of fact my gallbladder was

perfectly normal. However I ended in the hospital 4 days because I continued

to have abd. pain, vomitting, and high enzymes. I finally talked the surgeon

into releasing me. I couldn't wait to return to work, don't ask me why. I

still had pain, diarrhea, and nausea. For some strange reason though, I kept

telling myself work was important, home was important, I could not get or be

sick. I returned to work 7 days following surgery. My 5th or 6th day back I

got very nauseated. I had a parent/teacher conference that day. GOD help me

if I had missed it, I never had before and I wasn't going to start now. I

sat through the entire conference ill. I drove all the way to work ill,

wondering if I was going to make it to work without throwing up all over the

car. After I got to work I kept telling myself, you can hold on, hang in

there, you'll be fine. I did all the motivating I could do. I later found

myself in the bathroom vomitting like there was no tomorrow. When I called

my dr. from work he said go to the hospital, I was already there. I vomitted

all night, I faintly remember anything. I was so bad they decided not give

me anything for nausea. The next day my dr. did a colonoscopy and a GI

series. I think this is when the Crohn's was origanlly found, the dr.

mistook it for Colitis. This was discovered in 1998. Anyway the next step

was a stent. I just remember waking up with an NG tube down my nose and in

excrutiating pain. This is when I found out I was allergic to morphine. I

remember getting very sick, crying for my family, and then being rushed to

MICU. When I woke up after going through the trauma of the stent placement,

a surg. looking for a sight for a CVL placement. I had already decided that

if I made it out of all this alive, I would just take this pancreatits for

what it was. I would not seek anymore treatment. The stent was removed

after only 4 days, the surgeon informed me I would not need surgery, and the

dr. just wiped his hands of me. He told me a person with pancreatitis

usually develops diabetes after about 5 years and that is what I had to look

forward too. I only went to the dr. a few times since then. Once I took TPN

at home because I refused to go back to the hospital. Then in 98 I was

struck with a vengence. My liver was enlarged. I took prednisone for 3

months. The Crohn's was finally diagnosed accurately. I was hopitalized

twice in 98. I never returned to work and as you all know the rest is

history. I think since I refused medical attention in the past it was

probably the worse thing I could have done. But you all know sometimes the

dr. can make you feel like a real psycho case. That's the last thing you

need when you feel like your insides are being ripped out. I sometimes did

think that maybe my pain and symptoms were in my head. Thanks Karyn for this

online group because for once I can sit and say I really was sick, I really

am sick, it's not in my head. Sorry for taking up your time, but I

appreciate your sharing my story.

Marie

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[Guest guest]

Here is another question: My specialist told my that I should have no fear

of developing Diabetes. It doesn't sound like this is true? Is it? And

what has everyone else heard?

Nic

>From: DCP6364@...

>Reply-To: pancreatitisonelist

>To: pancreatitisonelist

>Subject: Remainder of Med. History

>Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 01:04:25 EST

>

>From: DCP6364@...

>

>Hi Karyn and other members,

>I don't know if you all have read any of my pancreatitis bio. if you have

>then you know I too have had very similar experiences. If you haven't then

>that's ok too. Although you might want to take the time to go back and

>read

>what I had sent previously, because that way you can be a bigger help to me

>when I am needing questions answered. Oh well, I can't even remeber where

>I

>left off. I'll just quit dragging this out, because most of you have been

>there before.

>

>I ended up having my gallbladder removed in 94 or 95, these days dates are

>becoming insignificant with illness. This was yet another ploy by the drs.

>to nip this illness in the bud. But it too failed. There were no stones,

>not in the gallbladder, not anywhere. As a matter of fact my gallbladder

>was

>perfectly normal. However I ended in the hospital 4 days because I

>continued

>to have abd. pain, vomitting, and high enzymes. I finally talked the

>surgeon

>into releasing me. I couldn't wait to return to work, don't ask me why. I

>still had pain, diarrhea, and nausea. For some strange reason though, I

>kept

>telling myself work was important, home was important, I could not get or

>be

>sick. I returned to work 7 days following surgery. My 5th or 6th day back

>I

>got very nauseated. I had a parent/teacher conference that day. GOD help

>me

>if I had missed it, I never had before and I wasn't going to start now. I

>sat through the entire conference ill. I drove all the way to work ill,

>wondering if I was going to make it to work without throwing up all over

>the

>car. After I got to work I kept telling myself, you can hold on, hang in

>there, you'll be fine. I did all the motivating I could do. I later found

>myself in the bathroom vomitting like there was no tomorrow. When I called

>my dr. from work he said go to the hospital, I was already there. I

>vomitted

>all night, I faintly remember anything. I was so bad they decided not give

>me anything for nausea. The next day my dr. did a colonoscopy and a GI

>series. I think this is when the Crohn's was origanlly found, the dr.

>mistook it for Colitis. This was discovered in 1998. Anyway the next step

>was a stent. I just remember waking up with an NG tube down my nose and in

>excrutiating pain. This is when I found out I was allergic to morphine. I

>remember getting very sick, crying for my family, and then being rushed to

>MICU. When I woke up after going through the trauma of the stent

>placement,

>a surg. looking for a sight for a CVL placement. I had already decided

>that

>if I made it out of all this alive, I would just take this pancreatits for

>what it was. I would not seek anymore treatment. The stent was removed

>after only 4 days, the surgeon informed me I would not need surgery, and

>the

>dr. just wiped his hands of me. He told me a person with pancreatitis

>usually develops diabetes after about 5 years and that is what I had to

>look

>forward too. I only went to the dr. a few times since then. Once I took

>TPN

>at home because I refused to go back to the hospital. Then in 98 I was

>struck with a vengence. My liver was enlarged. I took prednisone for 3

>months. The Crohn's was finally diagnosed accurately. I was hopitalized

>twice in 98. I never returned to work and as you all know the rest is

>history. I think since I refused medical attention in the past it was

>probably the worse thing I could have done. But you all know sometimes the

>dr. can make you feel like a real psycho case. That's the last thing you

>need when you feel like your insides are being ripped out. I sometimes did

>think that maybe my pain and symptoms were in my head. Thanks Karyn for

>this

>online group because for once I can sit and say I really was sick, I really

>am sick, it's not in my head. Sorry for taking up your time, but I

>appreciate your sharing my story.

>

>Marie

>

>---------------------------

[Guest guest]

Nic

I'm not sure what everyone else on the list knows, however I have been

doing quite a lot of research on this subject, and I've learned so much. My

grandmother got diabetes from chronic pancreatitis about 15 years ago. By now

they may be able to do something more to prevent it I'm not too sure. Anyways

I just thought I'd throw in my portion.

Just to let Karyn and Andree know, I went to see my doctor today and he's

going to be doing the first round of blood work on Wednesday, and an

ultrasound and I'll probably be going in for some more testing in the next

few weeks.

Tara

[Guest guest]

Nic,

I didn't develop my diabetic condition until 3 years after my pancreatic

surgery (the second one). Having pancreatitis does not preclude your

becoming diabetic but it does increase the likelihood of you developing

diabetes at a later date.

Andre'

[Guest guest]

Tara,

Good luck with your tests. Have patience. Not all test results will

indicate the level or nature of your illness. My serum amylase and lipase

were always within the normal range even during attacks. Ultrasound and CAT

Scans were not useful towards my diagnosis. The only test I had that was any

good as far as diagnosing the nature of my illness was an ERCP (I've had more

than I care to remember. The number is in double figures).

Hang in there regardless of the tests outcome. Stay adamant about what is

going on in your body. You will get people who will not understand the

nature of your illness but hopefully, you will or have a doctor familiar with

pancreatic patients. If you don't already have this, I suggest you find a

doctor who has experience with treating pancreatitis. Believe me, it's tough

enough with someone familiar with the nature of this illness without getting

someone less familiar.

Good luck in your treatment plan. You will continue to be in my thoughts and

prayers for a quick diagnosis and treatment of your illness.

Andre'