Scruffy:
My father takes Creon as well. I don't mean to be contrary here, but it sounds as though you have been given a completely different explanation of what Creon does from what we were told. It makes me wonder how she is taking it and if that might be contributing to her pain. Creon is actually a synthetic enzyme that is designed to aid the digestion of food. Our pancreas produces enzymes (lipase protease, and amylase) that break down the food we eat. When some or all of the pancreas has been removed, the body needs supplemental enzymes in order to be able to digest food. That's what Creon does. It should be taken only at meal times.
My father's pancreatitis has been classified as idiopathic, because they have been unable to identify a cause. Gallstones are a common cause of pancreatitis, so it surprises me to hear that your doctors call her case idiopathic.
OK, what I'm about
to say here might sound a little harsh, and I really don't mean it that way, so I hope you will please believe that I just want to help if I can. I feel like I need to be pretty direct, and I don't want you to think I'm trying to be mean. OK?
Here's the thing... You said that you try with food but "she wants to eat what she wants to eat." I think that's where you need to start, Scruffy. As you would see if you perused the pages of this forum, part of learning to live with a chronic condition is coming to terms with the losses that are part of the deal.
PaLady and I both have chronic back pain. If you read some of our posts, you would see that we have had to make very big changes in our lives as a result of the injuries we have. And I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we don't like it. We really hate it. We wish it were different. But it IS. So we have adjusted. I know, for example, that I can't ever make plans with friends to go out for dinner in the evening anymore. I used to love to do that. Really loved it. But I am trying to work again, and now I am in so much pain and so very tired at the end of the day that it is impossible for me to bear sitting in a restaurant after work. And you know what? Most of my friends have disappeared. And it stinks. But it's something I know I just can't do. Because that's part of my chronic pain condition.
I am not saying all of this to discourage you or to say that your daughter's friends will desert her. What I'm saying is this: Your daughter has chronic pancreatitis, and people with chronic pancreatitis just can't eat whatever they want. They just can't. It stinks. But it IS. I know you feel sorry for her, and you want her to be happy, and certainly it is very hard to deny her the little joys of even having a snack she likes when she wants it. But you must. And you need to help her understand that if she truly wants to control this disease and this pain that she has to make some choices that aren't much fun. Like changing her diet.
You asked if my father has pain medicine. He does get IV pain meds when he's in the hospital, and for a while after a bad flare (hospitalization) his doctors will prescribe a small amount of oral pain medicine for him. But they have also told us that oral pain medications actually cause greater problems for the GI system, so as soon as possible they like him to get off of them. There are people here who have Chron's or IBS who cannot take narcotic pain meds for the same reason. If he takes too much of them his pain actually gets worse. The best control of this pain is control of the diet - which is to say control of the CAUSE of the pain...irritation of the GI system.
I do so much wish you and your daughter the best. I truly pray she will find relief. I hope you have not been offended by my comments here, but I truly believe that this is important. Your doctors would not have recommended it lightly.
All the best...
Ry
btw... Thanks, PaLady, for your encouragement and support. You are so sweet!