In April 09 I suddenly got the worst case of indigestion I had ever had in my life after eating something fried. After a week of suffering and not being able to find any relief, I went to the ER. After several blood tests and ultrasounds, they determined I had acute pancreatitis. I was given pain meds, anti-nausea meds and told to follow up with my primary. Three days later I end up back in the ER in severe pain and sicker then I was just a few days before. This time they did more blood tests and a CT scan. When results came back I was shocked to hear everything was normal. The doctor told me they couldn't find anything wrong with me and that I needed to follow up with my primary. They did at least give me more pain meds. After another week of being sick and in constant pain, my primary admitted me to the hospital for exploration. After having an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and a HIDA scan it was determined that my gallbladder needed to be removed. On 5/12/09 I had surgery and for the first few days felt pretty good. Exactly one week after my surgery the diarrhea started and from there things just progressed down hill. I was hospitalized again 5/29/09 for 3 days for dehydration. During this time a GI doctor came to visit me and told me he didn't think what I was going through was normal and that he would like to see me again before I left the hospital. Before that could happen, the attending physician discharged me because according to him I was fine and this was just how my life was going to be so get used to it. The next day I got in touch with the GI doctor and he worked me into his schedule the next day. He did a few tests including an MRCP but found nothing abnormal except for a slightly dialated (7mm) common bile duct. He didn't think this was anything to be concerned about but referred me on to the SOD specialist of the group. After reviewing all my records on everything he decided that an ERCP was the only course of treatment. On 7/6/09 I went in for the procedure and during this time they found the pressure to be high in the CBD and performed a sphincterotomy on two of the sphincters but not touching my pancreas. My pancreatic duct is very small so he thought it was best to leave it alone for now. For the first day or so I felt ok but now I am sick again and facing a second ERCP. When I called my doctor to tell him I was sick again he said yeah he had a feeling this was going to happen. I have done some research and the pancreatic sphincter seems to be a controversial subject. Why put a patient who is already suffering through more procedures than you have to? I'm already sick so the thought of pancreatitis doesn't scare me at all if there is a possibility I will be better when it's over. I am currently on a daily regimen(sp?) of vicodin, levsin (anti-spasmodic), zofran(anti-nausea), and questran(to bind with bile), all of which do nothing. I have an appointment 8/10/09 with another GI who specializes in pancreas and liver disorders to get a second opinion. In the mean time though what can I do? My doctor won't give me anything stronger then vicodin because he doesn't want me to build up a tolerance. I can understand his concern but I am in pain! Does anyone out there have any advice about medications or treatments that have worked for them? I can't get these doctors to understand that I'm not a pill popper, I just want my life back!