Pushing Away Pancreatitis

You have pain in your abdomen and it feels tender to the touch. Your pulse is racing. You have a fever with nausea and vomiting. You could have pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, a long flat gland that lies horizontally behind your stomach. The pancreas produces enzymes for digestion and hormones that regulate the way your body processes sugar.

Pancreatitis occurs when the digestive enzymes become activated while still in the pancreas, irritating the cells of your pancreas and causing inflammation. Acute pancreatitis appears suddenly and lasts for a couple of days. Repeated bouts of acute pancreatitis over many years can damage the pancreas and lead to chronic pancreatitis. Scar tissue may form in the pancreas, causing loss of function. A poorly functioning pancreas can cause digestion problems and diabetes.

Signs and symptoms of pancreatitis may vary, depending on which type you experience.

Acute pancreatitis signs and symptoms may include:

·       Upper abdominal pain.

·       Abdominal pain that radiates to your back.

·       Tenderness when touching the abdomen.

·       Fever.

·       Rapid pulse.

·       Nausea.

·       Vomiting.

Chronic pancreatitis signs and symptoms may include:

·       Upper abdominal pain.

·       Abdominal pain that feels worse after eating.

·       Losing weight without trying.

·       Oily, smelly stools called “steatorrhea.”

Factors that increase your risk of pancreatitis include excessive alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes, and a family history of pancreatitis.

You are more likely to develop pancreatitis if you are male, African-American, have family members who have pancreatitis, have gallstones or have family members who have had gallstones, have obesity, high triglycerides (fat in the blood) or diabetes, are a smoker, or heavy drinker (three or more drinks per day).

The two big causes of pancreatitis are gallstones and heavy alcohol drinking. You can also get pancreatitis from medications (which can irritate the pancreas), high triglyceride levels, infections, abdominal injury, metabolic disorders like diabetes, and genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis.

To diagnose acute pancreatitis, your doctor may order a blood test to measure the levels of two digestive enzymes (amylase and lipase) produced by the pancreas. High levels of these enzymes mean that you may have acute pancreatitis. An ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) scan can provide images of your pancreas, gall bladder, and bile duct to check for abnormalities.

In diagnosing chronic pancreatitis, you may need to run other tests such as a secretin pancreatic function test, which checks for your pancreas response to a hormone (secretin) released by the small intestine. Secretin triggers the pancreas to release a digestive juice. Another test is the oral glucose tolerance test, to check whether pancreatitis has damaged your insulin producing pancreas cells. This test measures how your body handles sugar with a blood test before and after you drink a sugary liquid.

A stool test may be required to see how your body handles fat. In addition your doctor may perform an endoscopic ultrasound that takes internal images of your pancreas and connecting tubes. Finally, she might perform an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) where a tube with a tiny camera is passed from your throat to your stomach into your small intestine up to an area called the ampulla, where the pancreas and bile duct opens. Dye is injected into the pancreas duct and/or the bile duct. The test is to see if anything is blocking these areas.

Treatment for acute pancreatitis may include hospitalization with supportive care and monitoring, pain medication, endoscopic surgery, and supplemental pancreatic enzymes and insulin if your pancreas isn’t functioning well.

Don’t worry, acute pancreatitis only lasts for a few days. For a more severe case, it can last weeks or months. Chronic pancreatitis requires lifelong maintenance.

Most people with a mild case of acute pancreatitis fully recover. Those with severe pancreatitis may suffer from life-threatening complications such as an infection of the pancreas, bleeding in the pseudocyst or damaged pancreas, or heart, lung, or kidney failure from spreading infection or if the pancreas leaks toxins into the blood.

Some ways to prevent pancreatitis are by maintaining a healthy weight, getting regular exercise, quitting smoking and avoiding alcohol.

If you have any questions regarding pancreatitis, please talk to your health provider.