Looking for Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction Treatment

[ajcauff]

I have had sphincter of oddi dysfunction for almost 2 and 1/2 years.  About every six months (why it's this time frame I have no idea, but they are very consistent, except for when I was pregnant with my third child, I was attack free!) I am faced with severe attacks where I experience extreme upper right abdominal pain, elevated liver enzymes, some vomiting, and am sick for usually a couple days...knocks me off my feet!  I am usually hospitalized for the first part of the attack because the pain is so excruciating, I compare it to that of labor pains!  I have had my sphincter cut in hopes that this would relax it and eliminate my attacks but have had no success with this procedure.  I was wondering if anyone else with SOD has undergone any other treatments that have been successful??

[ajcauff]

Thank you for your response and information!  My doctor is an internal/liver specialist here in Nebraska.  We have not discussed any of the meds you have suggested and I am not currently taking any medication for the SOD.  Where I only have attacks around every six months, after my ERCP he suggested just monitoring my condition for now unless the attacks became more frequent or longer.  I am sort of a health nut so my diet is quite low fat and healthy.  I am fortunate to only have problems twice a year with this condition, but where I am only 30 years old, I am beginning to look at it from a more long-term point of view and would like to keep treatment options open, even though they are scarce.  I will keep your suggestions in mind and discuss them further with my doctor.  I greatly appreciate your help!!

[CalGal]

Ajcauff, unfortunately at the current time there are few options for the treatment of SOD. If you had and ERCP with manometry done and the readings were high, then the sphincterotomy was probably the best thing that could have been done. Typically, after this, the area is stented to help prevent pancreatitis, but the whole procedure does not guarantee that the condition might not return. And unfortunately it does not mean that you won't develop scar tissue that might necessitate more intervention.

Are you following a low fat diet and avoiding any other foods that might trigger discomfort/pain? Has your doc teamed this with the use of antispasm meds? Or certain forms of calcium channel blockers that might help keep the spasms down? Does your doc avoid the use of narcotic-based meds that can make the pressure higher in the ducts and cause more pain? And lastly, are you working with one of the specialists in the are of SOD treatment? Most docs don't understand the problem and have very little idea of what do to from the small arsenal of 'weapons' they currently have for this problem.