I know this may sound like an off-the-wall question, but have you been tested for autoimmune pancratitis?
Hi. Not to my knowledge. I had never heard of autoimmune pancreatitis until I read some of the posts on this board. My frustration is this: I know that I have seen the best gastro. doctor for pancreatitis. I was greatful for that. However, since 1994 when I saw him, every doctor now that sees me just says, "Oh, you saw Dr. --- so there's nothing more we can do but maintain you." This is very frustrating since I know that there have had to be improvements and gains in the area of pancreatitis in the past 14 years! I just want to have the same chances that someone who has just been diagnosed with pancreatitis has now. I've been under maintainance medical care for the last 12 years, just treating the pain. I will investigate the autoimmune pancreatitis. I have an appointment on Jan 15th with a PA from the Dr's office I mentioned above. Hopefully there will be something more from them besides taking out my pancreas.
well,i dont know what there getting ,you cannot simply have your pancreas removed,,,and there is no such thing as a pancreas transplant.
you have to have one to live,onless you undergo that RARE,,very rare procedure where they.over time introduce your liver to healthy pancreas enzyme injections in a certain area...then if all works out,the pancreas can be removed,and the liver will have the area there work kinda like a internal pancreas..but you will be a diabetec,and you will need enzymes to digest food,but you will be alive!!!
pancreatitis is a progressive thing,and has a very high mortality rate.
sorry.
they are right though,,,pain managment is key in living a comfortable life,,id not worry about the narcotic part of it,,id rather live comfortable then live miserable with a disease you cannot cure,you understand?
again,i dont understand what they told you but they cannot remove it,you need it!,,good or bad,unless they do that procedure,and only a few doc in the country can do it from what i understand.
You may want to read up on partial and total pancreatectomy. They can and do remove the total pancreas.
Yes, they do perform pancreatectomies. In 1998, before the doctors could implant the morphine pump (back then, they only put these pumps in patients with pancreatic cancer and there was a big control protocol on who got them and how) I had to have several surgeons who said this was the last resort before the pancreatectomy. The surgeons told me that if they did a pancreatectomy there was about a 5% survival rate for 5 years. I understand that is still about the same survival odds. With this surgery one immediately begins a brittle diabetic and also one has to be on continual pancreatic enzymes. If I would have had it back at that time, I would have already been dead for at least 5-10 years. I've learned not to let Drs take anything out that they can't put back, if you can't live or perform without it!
I don't know if I mentioned it above but I also have hypothyroidism and am on 100 mcg of Levothyroxizine. I believe that hormones trigger my pancreatitis, and I was on hormone replacement therapy. I quit taking those. Then I realized that milk seemed to trigger it. However, I learned that Organic milk that doesn't contain hormones doesn't seem to trigger it. Lately, I've been drinking non-organic milk because I couldn't get the organic. I think that this is what has triggered it perhaps again.
My big concern is that I have these high HGB, RBC and Hematocrit and liver enzymes now. Does anyone know what might cause this?
Also, because of the defects in my pancreas I'm not a candidate for the Whipple procedure.
my husband goes to charlotesville,va hospital. the dr there is kahlah. spelling? he saved my husnad life. he is french.he has chronic pancreatis also. we have to watch what he eats. no fats. although he is malnutrished. he is alove. he still drinks smoes but dosent eat. he dosnt cre about his life anymore. he is only 46. one day he will be gone. i tell my kids about not drinking. becaue tis will happen to you.
I'm sorry to hear about your husband. I do not drink and do not smoke, and I still have very bad pancreatitis. I've lived with it for 14-15 years and fight it every day. If your husband drinks and smokes he is hurting himself. I hope that you and your children are getting support from someone. I also hope you have life insurance on your husband! He is killing himself with drinking if he has pancreatitis! You should at least have life insurance so that you and your children will have an income when he is gone, so that you can take care of you and your kids! It is very selfish for someone with pancreatitis and a family to continue to drink. I don't mean to be judgemental, but you need to be encouraged to take care of yourself even if he is not taking care of his ownself.
well,like she said,if the survival rate is 5% for 5 years,id say you cant live without it!!...
i have seen where they transplant healthy pancreas cells into your liver,and then remove the pancreas,this part of the liver now acts like the pancreas!!!!
i seen it on a program,and the guy was doing fine,diabetec,but fine.