Re: To and anyone else (Pain & waiting for Upcoming Appt. with Dr. Sutherland)

April 20, 2003

Dear Jenise,

Your Welcome.

You're lucky, you can go to the ER and get treated. We live in a

very small town (population 283) and our closest ER is 24 miles away,

in another small town (Population 500 and something). It seems like

the small town doctors don't know anything about pancreatitis. I

think that they think it is all in my head. But I know that this

pain is very real (I don't cry for nothing, and if I could, I'd go to

Hollywood!). I have been suffering for over a month now with severe

pain and usually crying myself to sleep every night with my husband

just holding me and wishing that he could make the pain go away. I

do have some Demerol pills 50 mg each and my directions say that I

can take 2 every 4 hours as needed, but I do not like to take

narcotics. When I was a teenager, I was into drugs pretty heavy and

I struggled to get off of them, now the doctors seem to pass them out

freely....

I have found that if I sit at the computer and lean hard against

the desk, that the desk holds my belly for me so that I can use my

hands to type (the desk is an old metal office desk about 100 years

old and is just the right height to press my tummy against).

I am glad that you are getting help for your infection too. I

have heard that we people with pancreatitis are prone to infections,

wheather it is true or not, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I have been corresponding with Dr. Sutherland at the

University of Minnesota (I'm from Minnesota) and I have an

appointment to see him on the 29th. He said that we will decide then

if I should have the surgery (pancrectomy) or not, and if so which

(total or partial) and if I will need an islet cell transplant and

when. So, a little more than a week to go of this stupid pain and

hopefully we'll have some answers...

No more for now... I do hope you are feeling better.

Friends,

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