Re: Kept In The Dark

[Guest guest]

Dear Mr. Carne,

Please let me welcome you to our group and say that we are very

sorry to hear of your wife's difficulties with her gallbladder and

consequent pancreatitis with a pancreatic pseudocyst. I am one

of several members here that have psuedocysts (one or more...

in my case, more) and will be happy to share as much

information with you as I can about them.

As you have most likely already learned, these cell formations

sometimes appear after an acute pancreatitis attack. Not all

people who have acute attacks have pseudocysts form in their

pancreas.

Medical procedures performed for, and the ongoing treatment of,

pseudocysts varies with each individual's particular pseudocyst

structure, size and location. Not all doctors treat them in the

same manner. Some procedures include drainage, either by

fine needle aspiration or drainage tubes, or surgical removal.

Sometimes it is decided to let the pseudocysts try to resolve on

their own without intervention, if there is no evidence of

cancerous tissue and they are not over 5 cm. in size. Drainage

is not always successful in that the cysts sometimes fill right

back up again, or new ones form.

I hope that your wife's most recent surgery will prove successful,

that she is relieved of the pain, and that a good recovery will

soon follow. There is a good possibility that she may develop

chronic pancreatitis, so I hope her doctors have discussed this

possibility with her, and you. If it develops it would require an

adjustment to her lifestyle, diet and future pain management.

If you have any other questions that I, or anyone else here could

try to answer, please feel free to post again. We have a great

group here of experienced, sympathetic and supportive

individuals who are always ready to listen and help whenever

possible.

For more information, please visit our library at:

http://www.top5plus5.com

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth - SC

hhessgriffeth@...

Southeastern Representative

Pancreatitis Association Intl.

[Guest guest]

the main problem with the doctors is the the pancreas is a

very poorly understood organ. A good doctor will inform you

of this. There just isn't a lot of research done on the

organ pertaining to pancreatitis and psuedocysts.

A good website on pancreatitis in general is the

Hopkin's GI website:

http//hopkins-gi.org/

put in pancreatitis in the search section and read all that

comes up.

If you go to the yahoo posting site for this group, check on

links and visit all the ones listed. They are also good

sites that have been found.

Kimber

--

Kimber

hominid2@...

California State Chapter Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International