pancreatitis

[33mark]

I’ve been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and I don’t know what the future will be like

[JunoBug7]

Hey Mark,

I know how scary it is being diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. I got diagnosed in February 2024 and it’s still unreal to me. Things that have helped me immensely are nerve blocks. Depending on what caused your chronic pancreatitis, things could look very different. I asked my doctor last month how the rest of life would look like. He said that usually people have less pain the more the disease progresses as the nerves become more and more damaged. The pancreas can also become calcified and develop stones that can become stuck. I know this sounds terrible, but there is a bunch of research being done so hopefully we can have more than Zenpep or Creon. Everything is going to be okay though. You’re not alone

[Beekepper]

Hi Mark,

Mate.... I got the CP diagnosis also. I had EPI and thats how they found out. How did you get diagnosed?

[33mark in reply to Beekepper]

had a lot of gut pain. Had a few stays in the hospital and pain kept coming back lipase was always over 1000. One of the many scans showed it up.

[Howimportant]

Make sure your taking enough creon a paper I read suggested 2500 creon per 2kg of weight made a huge difference to me because I’m now breaking down my food better

[longingtrustingHIM]

I appreciate your sharing this with us. I will check out my dosage....maybe this will be key to understanding why sometimes I seem to react so much more (negatively, with cp symptoms) than other times. Sometimes it seems to have no rhyme nor reason. Happy for you to find help this way. Again - thanks for sharing your story. This is what makes this site such a blessing. We can help and encourage one another in a shared journey no one chose - and we can all benefit from tips and experiences.

[Epiguy]

Hello Mark and welcome to the club. Yeah, being diagnosed with CP along with EPI can be unnerving at first. But what it really comes down to is monitoring what you eat and drink. Now a great deal of this comes down to trial and error; and also taking your PERT pills with most meals. Another way of looking at your diagnosis is it will force you to eat carefully, and by extension, healthy. This may actually enhance and prolong your life!

So: watch what you eat, get some exercise, watch your alcohol consumption (you do not have to quit entirely-but you do have to moderate significantly), and enjoy you new healthy lifestyle. You will be all the better for it.

Good Luck!

[33mark in reply to Epiguy]

That is a great way to look at it. I appreciate it very much

[Epiguy]

👍