Re: Let me introduce myself....

April 5, 2001

Henry,

Thanks for your response. Shane would join in this group, I asked him, but

he says he can't type and that it is too hard for him. So I will be the

voice for the both of us.

Thanks again,

Shari

April 5, 2001

In a message dated 4/5/01 2:52:59 PM Central Daylight Time, SBrabrook@...

writes:

> .

>

> I am sorry to have gone on and on with all the trivial info. We are

> full of all the same pains and problems and frustration that I'm sure you

> all

> experience. As it stands now; surgery was scheduled for March 22, but the

> surgeon canceled it due to lab results.

Welcome Shari and Shane. First of all - nothing is trivial and second - - I

don't think it matters WHY or HOW we got pancreatitis. It's just the fact

that we have it and getting help and support to deal with it. We all know

first hand what a burden this can be on other members of our family - even

just general worrying about our well being. I'm glad you found this group

because I feel that we have some very knowledgable people and there are many

that have experienced all types of procedures and can fill you in on what to

expect etc;. It seems our numbers grow every day. And I really hate that,

but at the same time it makes me feel like it is not such a horribly

" unknown " disease. Your new friend in arkansas, debbie

April 5, 2001

Hi Shari,

I don't have chron panc because of alcohol, but because of divisum (birth defect

of the ducts). I was just diagnosed in Jan of this year, so I'm relatively new

also. I can tell you that the group is more knowledgable than most doctors.

I'm sure you'll get whatever questions you have, answered.

As far as the enzymes go, I take Viokase. I take 5 tablets with anything I eat,

even if it is just a cracker. Instead of trying to eat 3 big meals, I eat about

5 little things a day. Like in the morning, I have a cup of oatmeal. It will

take me about 20 minutes to eat it. I don't eat fast. For lunch I may have a

cup of soup. For snacks around 9:30am and 1:30pm (my day starts at 5am), I have

a kiwi or fruit bar. For dinner I will have a small salad, or piece of fish and

1/2 of veggies. I find that it is more of " how much " I eat, rather than what I

eat. As long as I keep it to under 1 cup, I am ok. It still hurts after I eat,

but it is tolerable for the most part. No alcohol at all! We have some low-fat

recipes on the site. Each person is different, and what works for me, may not

work for others. Keeping a diary of what he eats and how he handles it will

help.

I'm sure it is very hard on your whole family. I don't have it near as bad as

some here, and I can see that my family life (life with my son, and life with my

husband, and life with my parents), is greatly affected already. I can let it

depress me, or I can keep my chin up and try to keep positive. I choose to keep

positive for the sake of my son. If it gets to the point that I can't help

myself, then I seek the advise of my therapist. I got a therapist for my son

and I when he was a witness to his best friends dad getting shot to death when

they were 8 yrs old. Our therapist helped us through the absolute worst time in

my life! Most of the time, he just sits there and lets me ramble... it is

theraputic just letting it all out in a safe and controlled environment. I

would highly recommend it. There must be a free program...

Well, I don't know if I was much help or not. We are all here for you if you

need us!

Hugs and Happy Thoughts,

Colorado Debi

Let me introduce myself....

Hi to everyone,

My name is Shari and I live in Lousville, KY. My husband has had

Chronic Pancreatitis now for 3 years. I was on the net searching for some

answers and found your group and thought I could probably get more help and

information from the people who know it best.

My husbands pancreatitis is due to alcohol use. Which he is trying to

quit. I have not been very patient, I must confess. The majority of the

problem started when he had an ECRP done on Oct 30, 2000 and was told when we

left the hospital to get his antibiotics filled and start taking them. When

he went to the pharmacy to get them, the pharmacist told him to be sure not

to drink while taking this medication, so my husband decided to start them

the next day since he wanted to drink that night. Consequentially he

developed a fever the next day and the Dr's office told me to get him into

the hospital ASAP. He had developed an infection and was admitted. None of

the antibiotics they gave him helped, they said they needed to go in and

drain his pseudocysts but that they wanted to wait until he was stronger

because at this time his chances were only 90/10. They finally did the

surgery when it got to 60/40 and had to end the surgery early because of

bleeding. My husband has a stone in his pancreas and they are going to

remove it as soon as he is strong enough.

I am sorry to have gone on and on with all the trivial info. We are

full of all the same pains and problems and frustration that I'm sure you all

experience. As it stands now; surgery was scheduled for March 22, but the

surgeon canceled it due to lab results. The gastro. Doc told my husband that

they are going to do another ECRP on April 16 to see if the stent is clogged

and might be causing the problem. Then he sees a new surgeon on April 27th

to see if he is strong enough to get the surgery to remove his stone. He

wants to get better and return to work. The Dr. told him that even with

surgery, he may be on the narcotics, for the pain, for life. He is having a

hard time with that, since the meds keep him from functioning normally.

My husband's name is Shane. He is 6' 5 " and used to weigh 225, now he

is 150-152. He is all bone and skin. This condition has effected our family

in a major way. We have 2 children a 14 yr. old daughter and a 12 yr. old

son. They are angry with their dad for drinking and causing this. If he had

stopped drinking the first time he was hospitalized, 3 years ago, maybe it

wouldn't have became Chronic. He was in denial and now that it is Chronic,

well, frustration is all I can say. We are broke and trying for Disability,

for the second time. The Dr. says he will help him get it, but I won't be

soon enough.

I am crying the blues here and am sooo sorry. But I thought I should

give the background. I look forward to finding people that can understand

and help me understand. Also, if there is anyone that is suffering from this

problem, due to drinking, I would love to hear from you. Also anyone else. I

am frustrated with this whole pancreas problem. Maybe someone can help us

with the enzyme info we are lacking. My husband takes the enzymes most of

the time. Also, what diet info you can share. What are the majors to avoid,

we seem to discover these things after the fact. Then also any suggestions

for gaining weight. Is this a typical problem that goes along with it? What

hope is there?

As you can tell, I am feeling desperate and need to get the inside

scoop on this problem. Can you Help!??? (Sorry for the novel)

Look forward to hearing from you,

Shari in KY

April 5, 2001

Hi to everyone,

My name is Shari and I live in Lousville, KY. My husband has had

Chronic Pancreatitis now for 3 years. I was on the net searching for some

answers and found your group and thought I could probably get more help and

information from the people who know it best.

My husbands pancreatitis is due to alcohol use. Which he is trying to

quit.

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Shari,

Hello and welcome to the group! I'm so sorry to hear of your families

terrible problem with alcohol induced pancreatitis. This is a warm friendly

group of people with pancreatitis and their caregivers. aybe it would help

if your husband would care to join you in the group. As you already know

alcohol and pancreatitis are like fire and gasoline. He definitely needs to

quit or he will continue to be sick and get worse.

There may be others in our group who have more information than I do

about alcohol and pancreatitis. I just know that it is a potential lethal

combination. My pancreatits was caused by a birth defect, pancreas divism,

Latin for divided pancreas. I hope that this group can help. Somebody is

always here to talk to and there is a wealth of information within our

" family. " Again welcome and hope to see you and maybe Shane here again soon!

Your New Pancreatitis Pal,

Henry

April 5, 2001

Hello Shari,

First of all, let me say Welcome! And then, please, don't ever feel

like you are crying the blues. Its natural, my friend! It is a

tough thing to go through, but sometimes I think it is harder for the

other person to stand back & watch a loved one suffer. You are

wonderful for trying to find info to help your family through this.

You will find so many smart people here. I know they sure have

helped me out alot of times! Hope to talk to you soon.

Lots of Love & Hugs,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Hi to everyone,

>

> My name is Shari and I live in Lousville, KY. My husband has

had

> Chronic Pancreatitis now for 3 years. I was on the net searching

for some

> answers and found your group and thought I could probably get more

help and

> information from the people who know it best.

>

> My husbands pancreatitis is due to alcohol use. Which he is

trying to

> quit. I have not been very patient, I must confess. The majority

of the

> problem started when he had an ECRP done on Oct 30, 2000 and was

told when we

> left the hospital to get his antibiotics filled and start taking

them. When

> he went to the pharmacy to get them, the pharmacist told him to be

sure not

> to drink while taking this medication, so my husband decided to

start them

> the next day since he wanted to drink that night. Consequentially

he

> developed a fever the next day and the Dr's office told me to get

him into

> the hospital ASAP. He had developed an infection and was

admitted. None of

> the antibiotics they gave him helped, they said they needed to go

in and

> drain his pseudocysts but that they wanted to wait until he was

stronger

> because at this time his chances were only 90/10. They finally did

the

> surgery when it got to 60/40 and had to end the surgery early

because of

> bleeding. My husband has a stone in his pancreas and they are

going to

> remove it as soon as he is strong enough.

>

> I am sorry to have gone on and on with all the trivial

info. We are

> full of all the same pains and problems and frustration that I'm

sure you all

> experience. As it stands now; surgery was scheduled for March 22,

but the

> surgeon canceled it due to lab results. The gastro. Doc told my

husband that

> they are going to do another ECRP on April 16 to see if the stent

is clogged

> and might be causing the problem. Then he sees a new surgeon on

April 27th

> to see if he is strong enough to get the surgery to remove his

stone. He

> wants to get better and return to work. The Dr. told him that even

with

> surgery, he may be on the narcotics, for the pain, for life. He

is having a

> hard time with that, since the meds keep him from functioning

normally.

>

> My husband's name is Shane. He is 6' 5 " and used to weigh

225, now he

> is 150-152. He is all bone and skin. This condition has effected

our family

> in a major way. We have 2 children a 14 yr. old daughter and a 12

yr. old

> son. They are angry with their dad for drinking and causing this.

If he had

> stopped drinking the first time he was hospitalized, 3 years ago,

maybe it

> wouldn't have became Chronic. He was in denial and now that it is

Chronic,

> well, frustration is all I can say. We are broke and trying for

Disability,

> for the second time. The Dr. says he will help him get it, but I

won't be

> soon enough.

>

> I am crying the blues here and am sooo sorry. But I thought

I should

> give the background. I look forward to finding people that can

understand

> and help me understand. Also, if there is anyone that is suffering

from this

> problem, due to drinking, I would love to hear from you. Also

anyone else. I

> am frustrated with this whole pancreas problem. Maybe someone can

help us

> with the enzyme info we are lacking. My husband takes the enzymes

most of

> the time. Also, what diet info you can share. What are the majors

to avoid,

> we seem to discover these things after the fact. Then also any

suggestions

> for gaining weight. Is this a typical problem that goes along with

it? What

> hope is there?

>

> As you can tell, I am feeling desperate and need to get the

inside

> scoop on this problem. Can you Help!??? (Sorry for the novel)

>

> Look forward to hearing from you,

> Shari in KY

>

April 5, 2001

Hello Shari,

First of all, let me say Welcome! And then, please, don't ever feel

like you are crying the blues. Its natural, my friend! It is a

tough thing to go through, but sometimes I think it is harder for the

other person to stand back & watch a loved one suffer. You are

wonderful for trying to find info to help your family through this.

You will find so many smart people here. I know they sure have

helped me out alot of times! Hope to talk to you soon.

Lots of Love & Hugs,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Hi to everyone,

>

> My name is Shari and I live in Lousville, KY. My husband has

had

> Chronic Pancreatitis now for 3 years. I was on the net searching

for some

> answers and found your group and thought I could probably get more

help and

> information from the people who know it best.

>

> My husbands pancreatitis is due to alcohol use. Which he is

trying to

> quit. I have not been very patient, I must confess. The majority

of the

> problem started when he had an ECRP done on Oct 30, 2000 and was

told when we

> left the hospital to get his antibiotics filled and start taking

them. When

> he went to the pharmacy to get them, the pharmacist told him to be

sure not

> to drink while taking this medication, so my husband decided to

start them

> the next day since he wanted to drink that night. Consequentially

he

> developed a fever the next day and the Dr's office told me to get

him into

> the hospital ASAP. He had developed an infection and was

admitted. None of

> the antibiotics they gave him helped, they said they needed to go

in and

> drain his pseudocysts but that they wanted to wait until he was

stronger

> because at this time his chances were only 90/10. They finally did

the

> surgery when it got to 60/40 and had to end the surgery early

because of

> bleeding. My husband has a stone in his pancreas and they are

going to

> remove it as soon as he is strong enough.

>

> I am sorry to have gone on and on with all the trivial

info. We are

> full of all the same pains and problems and frustration that I'm

sure you all

> experience. As it stands now; surgery was scheduled for March 22,

but the

> surgeon canceled it due to lab results. The gastro. Doc told my

husband that

> they are going to do another ECRP on April 16 to see if the stent

is clogged

> and might be causing the problem. Then he sees a new surgeon on

April 27th

> to see if he is strong enough to get the surgery to remove his

stone. He

> wants to get better and return to work. The Dr. told him that even

with

> surgery, he may be on the narcotics, for the pain, for life. He

is having a

> hard time with that, since the meds keep him from functioning

normally.

>

> My husband's name is Shane. He is 6' 5 " and used to weigh

225, now he

> is 150-152. He is all bone and skin. This condition has effected

our family

> in a major way. We have 2 children a 14 yr. old daughter and a 12

yr. old

> son. They are angry with their dad for drinking and causing this.

If he had

> stopped drinking the first time he was hospitalized, 3 years ago,

maybe it

> wouldn't have became Chronic. He was in denial and now that it is

Chronic,

> well, frustration is all I can say. We are broke and trying for

Disability,

> for the second time. The Dr. says he will help him get it, but I

won't be

> soon enough.

>

> I am crying the blues here and am sooo sorry. But I thought

I should

> give the background. I look forward to finding people that can

understand

> and help me understand. Also, if there is anyone that is suffering

from this

> problem, due to drinking, I would love to hear from you. Also

anyone else. I

> am frustrated with this whole pancreas problem. Maybe someone can

help us

> with the enzyme info we are lacking. My husband takes the enzymes

most of

> the time. Also, what diet info you can share. What are the majors

to avoid,

> we seem to discover these things after the fact. Then also any

suggestions

> for gaining weight. Is this a typical problem that goes along with

it? What

> hope is there?

>

> As you can tell, I am feeling desperate and need to get the

inside

> scoop on this problem. Can you Help!??? (Sorry for the novel)

>

> Look forward to hearing from you,

> Shari in KY

>

April 6, 2001

,

When is your surgery scheduled for? I am sure that the unknown is a

scary thing, but if this is going to eleviate your pain and ongoing problems,

then it is a great thing. I have told my husband to ask his DR about it. I

had not heard of it, before this group. I will be praying for you.

God Bless,

Shari/KY

April 6, 2001

Shari,

I will be scheduled for t6he surgery on the 1st of May I have an apt

then and he will let me know then... so it will probably be the end of May

thanks for the prayers we all need those and they always seem to help in one

way or the other...

thanks again

your new friend from Michigan

April 6, 2001

Shari,

I will be scheduled for t6he surgery on the 1st of May I have an apt

then and he will let me know then... so it will probably be the end of May

thanks for the prayers we all need those and they always seem to help in one

way or the other...

thanks again

your new friend from Michigan

April 6, 2001

--- SBrabrook@... wrote:

> Hi to everyone,

>

> My name is Shari and I live in Lousville, KY.

> My husband has had

> Chronic Pancreatitis now for 3 years. I was on the

> net searching for some

> answers and found your group and thought I could

> probably get more help and

> information from the people who know it best.

>

Hi Shari,

My name is , and my 11 yr old daughter has

had chronic pancreatitis sin 1/4/2000. Your letter

touched my heart. My husband use to drink alot (now

NONE after a 10 month seperation 3 years ago) and I

had gallbladder problems when pregnant with my

daughter ( a whole lot of stones and a lot of

attacks.) And sometimes I wonder if my husband and I

are to blame for her illness. I hope you can convince

your children not to be angry at him. I can't blame

them if he doesn't stop though. I know my situation

if different but I wanted to tell you I am here if you

need to chat. Put me on your buddylist if you like

(swetet@...) My daughter has to eat very low fat

and takes the enzymes, it is a family effort to cook

and eat this way. Hope to talk to you soon

__________________________________________________

April 6, 2001

--- SBrabrook@... wrote:

> Hi to everyone,

>

> My name is Shari and I live in Lousville, KY.

> My husband has had

> Chronic Pancreatitis now for 3 years. I was on the

> net searching for some

> answers and found your group and thought I could

> probably get more help and

> information from the people who know it best.

>

Hi Shari,

My name is , and my 11 yr old daughter has

had chronic pancreatitis sin 1/4/2000. Your letter

touched my heart. My husband use to drink alot (now

NONE after a 10 month seperation 3 years ago) and I

had gallbladder problems when pregnant with my

daughter ( a whole lot of stones and a lot of

attacks.) And sometimes I wonder if my husband and I

are to blame for her illness. I hope you can convince

your children not to be angry at him. I can't blame

them if he doesn't stop though. I know my situation

if different but I wanted to tell you I am here if you

need to chat. Put me on your buddylist if you like

(swetet@...) My daughter has to eat very low fat

and takes the enzymes, it is a family effort to cook

and eat this way. Hope to talk to you soon

__________________________________________________

April 10, 2001

hi shari,

my name is dot i wish it was my husband or myself with this horrible

condition but it is my 15 yr old daughter krystal. she has been in school

almost a full 2 months thank god except her report card is yucky c,d,f,f oh

well atleast she was there. she will be 16 on may 25 we are holding our

breath until her sweet 16 birthday party. everyone needs to cross there

fingers that she gets to enjoy it outside of the hospital. we have 4 doc

appt. between then and now maybe they will decreas some of her meds. 1800.00

dollars is getting too much every month. and 38 pills a day krystal tells me

that it is a form of taking drugs and that her dare officer always told her

not to take drugs but i tell her that it will not work and yes she has to

take them. teen agers will try anything wont they.we live in south louisiana

east of baton rouge.

here is a pic of her on xmas morning with her favorite thing in this

world.

well have to go now .

hugs and joy,

dot ( walker, louisiana )

April 10, 2001